1.
Frankfurt Airport
–
Frankfurt Airport is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the worlds leading financial centres. It is operated by Fraport and serves as the hub for Lufthansa including Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa Cargo as well as Condor. The airport is also the 12th busiest worldwide by number of passengers in 2015, with 61.032 million passengers using the airport in 2015. It also had a throughput of 2.076 million metric tonnes in 2015 and is the busiest airport in Europe by cargo traffic. As of summer 2017, Frankfurt Airport serves 293 destinations, making it the airport with the most direct routes in the world, in 2016 passengers at the airport fell 0. 4% to 60,792,308 down from 61.032 million in 2015. Frankfurt Airport lies 12 km southwest of central Frankfurt, near the Autobahn intersection Frankfurter Kreuz, the airport grounds, which form a city district of Frankfurt named Frankfurt-Flughafen, are surrounded by the Frankfurt City Forest. The southern portion of the airport grounds extend partially into the cities of Rüsselsheim am Main and Mörfelden-Walldorf, and a western portion of the grounds lie within the city of Kelsterbach. Thereby, along with a rail and motorway connection, the airport serves as a major transport for the greater region. That section of Rhein-Main later became the base for the Graf Zeppelin, its sister ship LZ-130, the airships were dismantled and their huge hangars demolished on 6 May 1940 during conversion of the base to military use. Luftwaffe engineers subsequently extended the runway and erected hangars and other facilities for German military aircraft. During World War II the Luftwaffe used the field sporadically as a fighter base, on 16 November 1909, the worlds first airline was founded in Frankfurt am Main, The Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft. DELAG then built the first airport in Frankfurt, called Airship Base at Rebstock and it opened in 1912 and was extended after World War I, but in 1924 an experts report already questioned the possibility of further expansions at this location. With the foundation of Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926 a rapid boom of civilian air travel started, plans for a new and larger airport located in the Frankfurt City Forest south-west of Schwanheim were approved in 1930, but were not realised due to the Great Depression. After the Machtergreifung in 1933 the government revived the plans and started the construction of the new airport, on the northern part of the airport originated in 1935 a two-storey station building with a six-storey tower, and other operating and outbuildings for maintenance and storage of aircraft. The approximately 100 hectares runway received a grass cover, the official opening of the new Flug- und Luftschiffhafen Rhein-Main took place on July 8,1936. The first plane that landed was a Ju 52/3m, Six days later,1936800 tons of cargo and 58,000 passengers were transported, in 193770,000 passengers and 966 tons of cargo. In the coming years, the new airport was base of the two largest German airships LZ127 Graf Zeppelin and LZ129 Hindenburg. In 1938 Frankfurt was a distribution point for the transport of airmail to North America
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
–
Frankfurt Airport Flughafen Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt Airport
–
Rhein-Main Air Base during the
Berlin Airlift
Frankfurt Airport
–
Civil air traffic at Frankfurt Airport in 1951
2.
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
–
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the central railway terminus in Leipzig, Germany. At 83,460 square metres, it is the worlds largest railway station measured by floor area and it has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train sheds, a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches, and a 298 metres long facade. Two Leipzig City Tunnel underground platforms were inaugurated in December 2013, the station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of twenty in Germany. It also functions as a shopping centre. Train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn, S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland, Erfurter Bahn, as of 2008, Leipzig Hauptbahnhof handled an average of 120,000 passengers per day. Initially trains departed from separate termini, such as Bayerischer Bahnhof, while the citys population increased sharply, especially upon German unification in 1871, the spatial separation proved to be complicated and ineffective. Therefore, two state railways rivalled to meet the demands of a steadily growing transport volume in the Leipzig area, finally in 1898, the Leipzig city council decided on a joint terminal for Royal Saxon and Prussian state railways north of the city centre. A building contract with both organisations was signed in 1902 and a competition with 76 participants was held in 1906. The winning design by the archtitects William Lossow and Max Hans Kühne featured two identical domed entrance halls facing the street, one for each company, the foundation stone was laid on 16 November 1909 and the platforms were gradually brought into operation station from 1912 onwards. When construction works finished on 4 December 1915, Leipzig Hauptbahnhof had become one of the worlds largest railway stations with 26 platforms. The separate administration of the Saxon and Prussian parts of the station continued even after World War I, not until 1934 Leipzig Hauptbahnhof as a whole was assigned to the Reichsbahn directorate in Halle. By 1939, it had one of Germanys busiest railway stations. Numerous travellers and railway employees were killed buried in the underground air-raid shelter, rail traffic discontinued completely in April 1945. After the war, train service was quickly resumed, the concourse, however, remained without a roofing, until in 1954 the East German Council of Ministers resolved upon a complete reconstruction. The full restoration of Leipzig Hauptbahnhof was finished on 4 December 1965,50 years after its inauguration, after German reunification the station was renovated and modernized by the Deutsche Bahn AG. The concourse floor was removed and two basement levels were dug out to create a shopping mall, other areas of the building were largely restored and modernized at the time. The modified station building was inaugurated on 12 November 1997, the Leipzig City Tunnel, an underground railway line between the south of Leipzig and Hauptbahnhof via the central Markt station, opened on 14 December 2013. On the site of closed track No, the following services currently call at the station, Media related to Leipzig Hauptbahnhof at Wikimedia Commons
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
–
View from
City-Hochhaus
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
–
Thuringian and Dresden stations in Leipzig, 1860 map
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
–
Concourse, 1916
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
–
Concourse, 1953
3.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Europe
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
–
A medieval
T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of
Noah — Asia to Sem (
Shem), Europe to Iafeth (
Japheth), and Africa to Cham (
Ham)
Europe
–
Early modern depiction of
Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical
Europa of the 8th century BC.
4.
Economy of Germany
–
Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP. The country is a member of the European Union and the Eurozone. The economic model of Germany is based on the concept of the market economy. In 2016, Germany recorded the highest trade surplus in the world worth $310 billion, Germany is the third largest exporter in the world with 1.21 trillion euros in goods and services exported in 2016. The service sector contributes around 70% of the total GDP, industry 29. 1%, exports account for 41% of national output. Germany is rich in timber, iron ore, potash, salt, uranium, nickel, copper, energy in Germany is sourced predominantly by fossil fuels, followed by nuclear power second, then gas, wind, biomass, hydro and solar. Germany is the first major industrialized nation to commit to the energy transition called Energiewende. Germany is the producer of wind turbines in the world. Renewables now produce over 27% of electricity consumed in Germany,99 percent of all German companies belong to the German Mittelstand, small and medium-sized enterprises, which are mostly family-owned. ON, Bayer, and RWE. Germany is the top location for trade fairs. Around two thirds of the leading trade fairs take place in Germany. The largest annual trade fairs and congresses are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, Cologne, Leipzig. The Industrial Revolution in Germany occurred a century later than in England, France, the establishment of the Deutscher Zollverein and the expansion of railway systems were the main drivers of Germanys industrial revolution and political union. In 1834, tariff barriers between German states were eliminated, between 1845 and 1870,5,000 more miles of rail had been built and in 1850 Germany was building its own locomotives. Over time, other German states joined the union and started linking their railroads. Another factor which propelled German industry forward was the unification of the monetary system, the Deutsche Mark was introduced in 1871, a new monetary coinage system backed by gold. However, this system did not fully come into use as silver coins retained their value until 1907, the victory of Prussia over Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War marked the end of French hegemony in Europe and resulted in the creation of the German Empire in 1871. Regarding politics and society, between 1881 and 1889 Chancellor Otto von Bismarck promoted laws that provided insurance and improved working conditions
Economy of Germany
–
Frankfurt, financial capital of Germany.
Economy of Germany
–
Train factory of
August Borsig in 1847.
Economy of Germany
–
The invention of the automobile.
Karl Benz with his wife, Bertha Benz, in a Benz Viktoria, model 1894.
Economy of Germany
–
The invention of the cruise ship.
Albert Ballin 's SS Auguste Viktoria in 1890.
5.
Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
Germany
–
The
Nebra sky disk is dated to c. 1600 BC.
Germany
–
Flag
Germany
–
Martin Luther (1483–1546) initiated the
Protestant Reformation.
Germany
–
Foundation of the
German Empire in
Versailles, 1871.
Bismarck is at the center in a white uniform.
6.
Transport
–
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, the field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles and operations. Transport is important because it enables trade between people, which is essential for the development of civilizations, terminals may be used both for interchange of passengers and cargo and for maintenance. Vehicles traveling on these networks may include automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, trucks, people, helicopters, operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be public or private, depending on the country. Passenger transport may be public, where operators provide scheduled services, freight transport has become focused on containerization, although bulk transport is used for large volumes of durable items. Transport plays an important part in growth and globalization, but most types cause air pollution. While it is subsidized by governments, good planning of transport is essential to make traffic flow. A mode of transport is a solution that makes use of a type of vehicle, infrastructure. The transport of a person or of cargo may involve one mode or several of the modes, each mode has its own advantages and disadvantages, and will be chosen for a trip on the basis of cost, capability, and route. Human powered transport, a form of transportation, is the transport of people and/or goods using human muscle-power. Modern technology has allowed machines to enhance human power, human-powered vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as snow and water, by watercraft rowing and skiing, even the air can be entered with human-powered aircraft. Animal-powered transport is the use of working animals for the movement of people, humans may ride some of the animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them, alone or in teams, to pull sleds or wheeled vehicles. A fixed-wing aircraft, commonly called airplane, is a craft where movement of the air in relation to the wings is used to generate lift. The term is used to distinguish this from rotary-wing aircraft, where the movement of the lift surfaces relative to the air generates lift, a gyroplane is both fixed-wing and rotary-wing. Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large airliners, two things necessary for aircraft are air flow over the wings for lift and an area for landing. The majority of aircraft also need an airport with the infrastructure to receive maintenance, restocking, refueling and for the loading and unloading of crew, cargo and passengers. While the vast majority of land and take off on land, some are capable of take off and landing on ice, snow
Transport
–
People walking in front of the
bulk carrier BW Fjord
Transport
–
French
National Police use several modes of transport, each with their distinct advantages.
Transport
–
Human-powered transport remains common in developing countries.
Transport
–
An
Air France Airbus A318 lands at
London Heathrow Airport.
7.
Infrastructure
–
Infrastructure refers to the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function. The word was imported from French, where it means subgrade, the word is a combination of the Latin prefix infra, meaning below, and structure. The military use of the term achieved currency in the United States after the formation of NATO in the 1940s and this crisis discussion contributed to an increase in infrastructure asset management and maintenance planning in the US. Public-policy discussions have been hampered by lack of a definition for infrastructure. A1987 US National Research Council panel adopted the public works infrastructure. The OECD also classifies communications as a part of infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers has not defined the term, though issuing a US Infrastructure Report Card every 2-4 years. Hard infrastructure refers to the physical networks necessary for the functioning of an industrial nation. The term critical infrastructure distinguishes those infrastructure elements that, if damaged or destroyed. Similarly, a booking system might be critical infrastructure for an airline. These elements of infrastructure are the focus of efforts in the aftermath of natural disasters. The term infrastructure may be confused with the following overlapping or related concepts, service connections to municipal service and public utility networks would also be considered land improvements, not infrastructure. The term public works includes government-owned and operated infrastructure as well as buildings, such as schools. Public works generally refers to physical assets needed to deliver public services, public services include both infrastructure and services generally provided by government. Infrastructure may be owned and managed by governments or by private companies, generally, most roads, major ports and airports, water distribution systems and sewage networks are publicly owned, whereas most energy and telecommunications networks are privately owned. Publicly owned infrastructure may be paid for taxes, tolls, or metered user fees. Major investment projects are financed by the issuance of long-term bonds. Government owned and operated infrastructure may be developed and operated in the sector or in public-private partnerships. As of 2008 in the United States for example, public spending on infrastructure has varied between 2. 3% and 3. 6% of GDP since 1950, many financial institutions invest in infrastructure
Infrastructure
–
Grand Coulee Dam
8.
German Autobahnen
–
The Autobahn is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is Bundesautobahn, which translates as federal motorway, the literal meaning of the word Bundesautobahn is Federal Auto Track. German autobahns have no federally mandated speed limit for some classes of vehicles, however limits are posted in areas that are urbanized, substandard, accident-prone, or under construction. On speed-unrestricted stretches, a speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour applies. A2008 estimate reported that 52% of the network had only the advisory speed limit, 15% had temporary speed limits due to weather or traffic conditions. Measurements from the German State of Brandenburg in 2006 showed average speeds of 142 km/h on a 6-lane section of autobahn in free-flowing conditions. Germanys autobahn network has a length of about 12,993 kilometres in 2016. Longer similar systems can be found in the United States and India, only federally built controlled-access highways with certain construction standards including at least two lanes per direction are called Bundesautobahn. They have their own, white-on-blue signs and numbering system, in the 1930s, when construction began on the system, the official name was Reichsautobahn. Various other controlled-access highways exist on the federal, state, district and these highways are considered autobahnähnlich and are sometimes colloquially called Gelbe Autobahn because most of them are Bundesstraßen with yellow signs. Some controlled-access highways are classified as Bundesautobahn in spite of not meeting the construction standard. Nearly all exits are to the right, in the postwar years, a thicker asphaltic concrete cross-section with full paved hard shoulders came into general use. The top design speed was approximately 160 km/h in flat country, a flat-country autobahn that was constructed to meet standards during the Nazi period, could support the speed of up to 150 km/h on curves. The current autobahn numbering system in use in Germany was introduced in 1974, all autobahns are named by using the capital letter A, which simply stands for Autobahn followed by a blank and a number. The main autobahns going all across Germany have a single digit number, shorter autobahns that are of regional importance have a double digit number. The first digit used is similar to the system above, depending on the region, east-west routes are always even-numbered, north-south routes are always odd-numbered. The north-south autobahns are generally numbered using odd numbers from west to east, that is to say, similarly, the east-west routes are numbered using even numbers from north to south. One project was the private initiative HaFraBa which planned a car only road crossing Germany from Hamburg in the North via central Frankfurt am Main to Basel in Switzerland
German Autobahnen
–
Autobahns 3 and 5 at
Frankfurter Kreuz near
Frankfurt am Main
German Autobahnen
–
The German Autobahn sign with route markers for Bundesautobahnen 1, 3 & 5
German Autobahnen
–
Rare sight in Europe: 4 lanes in each direction of travel for 21 kilometers. The section between Zeppelinheim and Darmstadt, it is the oldest Autobahn.
German Autobahnen
–
Typical section of modern autobahn near an interchange, with overhead direction signs.
9.
Rhine
–
The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
Rhine
–
Lorelei rock in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhine
–
Map of the Rhine basin
Rhine
–
The Rein da Tuma is captured in the center of the picture and led into the
Curnera Reservoir
Rhine
–
The outflow from
Lake Toma is traditionally seen as the source of the Rhine
10.
Hamburg
–
Hamburg, officially Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union. It is the second smallest German state by area and its population is over 1.7 million people, and the wider Hamburg Metropolitan Region covers more than 5.1 million inhabitants. The city is situated on the river Elbe, the official long name reflects Hamburgs history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, a city-state, and one of the 16 states of Germany. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a sovereign state. Prior to the changes in 1919, the civic republic was ruled by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten. Though repeatedly destroyed by the Great Fire of Hamburg, the floods and military conflicts including WW2 bombing raids, the city managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe. On the river Elbe, Hamburg is a port and a global service, media, logistics and industrial hub, with headquarters and facilities of Airbus, Blohm + Voss, Aurubis, Beiersdorf. The radio and television broadcaster NDR, Europes largest printing and publishing firm Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg has been an important financial centre for centuries, and is the seat of Germanys oldest stock exchange and the worlds second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank. The city is a fast expanding tourist destination for domestic and international visitors. It ranked 16th in the world for livability in 2015, the ensemble Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2015. Hamburg is a major European science, research and education hub with several universities and institutes and its creative industries and major cultural venues include the renowned Elbphilharmonie and Laeisz concert halls, various art venues, music producers and artists. It is regarded as a haven for artists, gave birth to movements like Hamburger Schule. Hamburg is also known for theatres and a variety of musical shows. St. Paulis Reeperbahn is among the best known European entertainment districts, Hamburg is on the southern point of the Jutland Peninsula, between Continental Europe to the south and Scandinavia to the north, with the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the north-east. It is on the River Elbe at its confluence with the Alster, the city centre is around the Binnenalster and Außenalster, both formed by damming the River Alster to create lakes. The island of Neuwerk and two neighbouring islands Scharhörn and Nigehörn, in the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park, are also part of Hamburg. The neighbourhoods of Neuenfelde, Cranz, Francop and Finkenwerder are part of the Altes Land region, neugraben-Fischbek has Hamburgs highest elevation, the Hasselbrack at 116.2 metres AMSL. Hamburg has a climate, influenced by its proximity to the coast
Hamburg
–
1st row: View of the
Binnenalster; 2nd row:
Große Freiheit,
Speicherstadt,
River Elbe; 3rd row: Alsterfleet; 4th row:
Port of Hamburg, Dockland office building
Hamburg
–
Hamburg, seen from the
International Space Station
Hamburg
–
Hamburg in 1150
Hamburg
–
Seal of 1241 (Replica)
11.
Air travel
–
Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliding, parachuting, airplanes, jets, or anything else that can sustain flight. Use of air travel has increased in recent decades - worldwide it doubled between the mid-1980s and the year 2000. Air travel can be separated into two classifications, national/domestic and international flights. Flights from one point to another within the country are called domestic flights. Flights from a point in one country to a point within a different country are known as international flights, travelers can use domestic or international flights in either private or public travel. Travel class on an airplane is usually split into a two, three or four class model service, US Domestic flights usually have two classes, Economy Class and a Domestic First Class partitioned into cabins. International flights may have up to four classes, Economy Class, Premium Economy, Business Class or Club Class, most air travel starts and ends at a commercial airport. Modern aircraft consume less fuel per person and mile travelled than cars when fully booked, instead, the scheduled flights are predominant, resulting in a far worse fuel efficiency. According to the ATAG, flights produced 781 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas CO2 in 2015 globally, deep vein thrombosis is the third-most common vascular disease, next to stroke and heart attack. It is estimated that DVT affects one in 5,000 travellers on long flights, risk increases with exposure to more flights within a short time frame and with increasing duration of flights. During flight, the cabin pressure is usually maintained at the equivalent of 6. Most healthy travelers will not notice any effects, however, for travelers with cardiopulmonary diseases, cerebrovascular disease, anemia, or sickle cell disease, conditions in an aircraft can exacerbate underlying medical conditions. Aircraft cabin air is dry, usually 10%–20% humidity, which can cause dryness of the mucous membranes of the eyes. Http, //openflights. org/ a tool that lets you map your flights around the world
Air travel
–
An
S7 Airlines Boeing 767-300ER landing
Air travel
–
A Eurocopter AS350B
helicopter in flight
Air travel
–
A
hot air balloon in flight
12.
Deutsche Bahn
–
Deutsche Bahn AG is a German railway company. Headquartered in Berlin, it is a private company, with the Federal Republic of Germany being its single shareholder. It carries about two billion passengers each year, Deutsche Bahn came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany. It also gained ownership of railway assets in West Berlin held by the Verwaltung des ehemaligen Reichsbahnvermögens. There are three periods of development in this unified German railway, its formation, its early years. At its creation, Deutsche Bahn took over the abbreviation and logo DB from the West German state railway Deutsche Bundesbahn, erik Spiekermann designed the new corporate font DB Type. However, these plans have been put on hold, and the Bahntower leased for at least three more years, the second step of the Bahnreform was carried out in 1999. This new organisational scheme was introduced not least to implement European Community directive 91/440/EEC that demands access to railway systems free of discrimination. In December 2007, DB reorganised again, bringing all passenger services into its DB Bahn arm, logistics under DB Schenker and infrastructure, the DB is owned by the Federal Republic. By the Constitution, the Federal Republic is required to retain a majority of the infrastructure stocks, in 2008, it was agreed to partially private DB, with 25% of the business to be sold to the private sector. However the onset of the Financial crisis of 2007–08 saw this cancelled, in World war II the Deutsche Reichsbahn helped the Nazis to deport the Jews from Greece. As of 2016, the company currently lacks a management director, other members of the board include, Dr. The DB group is divided into five main groups, Arriva, DB Bahn, DB Dienstleistungen, DB Netze. These subsidiaries are companies in their own right, although most of them are 100% owned by DBAG, Deutsche Bahn placed a bid in May 2010 for the UK-based transport company Arriva. Arriva runs bus and rail companies in 12 European countries, the merger was approved by the European Commission in August 2010, subject to DB divesting Arriva services in Germany. The merger became effective on 27 August 2010, services in the UK formerly run as DB Regio are now operated by a new subdivision of the company, Arriva UK Trains. It operates the Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, Grand Central, on 1 April 2016 Arriva became the operator of the Northern rail franchise. It also holds a 50% shareholding in London Overground Rail Operations and has lodged an application to operate services under the Great North Western Railway brand, in November 2016, Arriva Rail London will commence operating the London Overground concession in its own right
Deutsche Bahn
–
The corporate headquarters of Deutsche Bahn at
Potsdamer Platz in
Berlin
Deutsche Bahn
–
Arriva North West Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied
Volvo B7TL in
Liverpool in June 2013
Deutsche Bahn
–
An
ICE 3 long-distance high speed train of
DB Fernverkehr and
Siemens Velaro
Deutsche Bahn
–
A regional train of
DB Regio
13.
Intercity-Express
–
The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and its surrounding countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn, the brand name ICE is among the best-known in Germany, with a brand awareness close to 100%, according to DB. There are currently 259 trainsets in five different versions of the ICE vehicles in use, named ICE1, ICE2, ICE T, ICE3, the ICE3, including its variant models, is made by a consortium led by Bombardier and Siemens. Procurement of a version, ICx, began c. 2008, and was rebranded ICE4 in late 2015, introduction of the trains are expected from 2016. Apart from domestic use, the trains can also be seen in countries neighbouring Germany, there are, for example, ICE1 lines to Basel and Zurich. ICE3 trains also run to Liège and Brussels and at speeds to Amsterdam. On 10 June 2007, a new line between Paris and Frankfurt/Stuttgart was opened, jointly operated by ICE and TGV trains, ICE trains to London via the Channel Tunnel are planned for 2018. While ICE 3M trains operate the Paris-Frankfurt service, SNCFs TGV runs from Paris to Munich, German and Austrian ICE T trains run to Vienna. On 9 December 2007, the ICE TD was introduced on the service from Berlin via Hamburg to the Danish cities of Aarhus and Copenhagen. The Spanish railway operator RENFE also employs trains based on the ICE3 called AVE Class 103 which are certified to run at speeds up to 350 km/h. Wider versions were ordered by China for the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway link and by Russia for the Moscow – Saint Petersburg, the Deutsche Bundesbahn started a series of trials in 1985 using the InterCityExperimental test train. The IC Experimental was used as a train and for high-speed trials. The train was retired in 1996 and replaced with a new trial unit, the order was extended to 60 units in 1990, with German reunification in mind. However, not all trains could be delivered in time, the ICE network was officially inaugurated on 29 May 1991 with several vehicles converging on the newly built station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe from different directions. The first ICE trains were the trainsets of ICE1, which came into service in 1989, the Hanover-Würzburg line and the Mannheim-Stuttgart line, which had both opened the same year, were hence integrated into the ICE network from the very beginning. Due to the lack of trainsets in 1991 and early 1992, prior to that date, ICE trainsets were used when available and were integrated in the Intercity network and with IC tariffs. In 1993, the ICE line 6s terminus was moved from Hamburg to Berlin, from 1997, the successor, the ICE2 trains pulled by Class 402 powerheads, was put into service
Intercity-Express
–
A German ICE 3 trainset
Intercity-Express
–
InterCityExperimental (ICE V) first run as a full train, near Munich (Sept. 1985)
Intercity-Express
–
ICE 1 on the
Nuremberg-Ingolstadt line (Dec. 2006)
Intercity-Express
–
ICE 2 near Ingolstadt (Feb. 2007)
14.
Rapid transit in Germany
–
Rapid transit in Germany consists of five U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. There are also eighteen premetro or Stadtbahn systems that are rapid transit in the city center, the U-Bahn consists of five systems, in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Nuremberg, these are all run by the transit authorities in the city. The thirteen S-Bahn systems are in Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, Hanover, Magdeburg, Mitteldeutschland, Munich, Nuremberg, Rhein-Main, Rhein-Neckar, Rhein-Ruhr, Rostock and Stuttgart. The S-Bahn systems are all franchised to the incumbent train operating company Deutsche Bahn, normal headway is 20 minutes and use dedicated tracks running alongside mainline routes. Ticketing is governed by the transport authority and connectivity is integrated into the city public transport system. In 1882, the number of steam-powered trains around Berlin prompted the Prussian State Railways to construct separate rail tracks for suburban traffic. The Berliner Stadtbahn connected Berlins eight intercity rail stations which were spread throughout the city, a lower rate for the newly founded Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn was introduced on 1 October 1891. This rate and the succession of trains made the short-distance service stand out from other railroads. The second suburban railroad was the Hamburg-Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn connecting Hamburg with Altona, the Altona office of the Prussian State Railroad established the steam powered railroad in 1906. The beginning of the 20th century saw the first electric trains, as the steam powered trains came to be nuisances to more and more people, the Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn switched to direct current wagons running on 750 V from a third rail. In 1924, the first electrified route went into service, the third rail was chosen because it made both the modifications of the rail tracks and the side-by-side use of electric and steam trains easier. To set it apart from its competitor, the subterranean U-Bahn, the Hamburg service had established an experimental alternating current line in 1907. The whole network still used steam power until 1940, when the old locomotives were replaced by 1200 V DC electric ones, in 1934, the Hamburg-Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn was renamed as S-Bahn. The name was adopted for Hamburgs city-owned independent mass transit tram lines. Nuremberg and Munich decided on a full U-Bahn independent from their existing tramways and those systems of tram in tunnels in city centre areas do not meet the criteria of a metro, they are instead light rail systems. Nonetheless, they are referred to as U-Bahn. Officially, they are called Stadtbahn or U-Stadtbahn, during the 1990s, when, according to original planning, the tramways of Nuremberg and Munich were scheduled to disappear, a reorientation process set in. In Nuremberg and Munich, after 30 years new rolling stock was purchased, existing lines were modernised, today, Berlin, Munich and Nuremberg not only have buses, but also trams, S-Bahn, and U-Bahn systems, each with non-shared tracks and different vehicles
Rapid transit in Germany
–
U-Bahn, S-Bahn and a Regionaltrain in
Hamburg
Rapid transit in Germany
–
Electric
multiple unit of Berlin S-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany
–
U-Bahn at
Jungfernstieg station in Hamburg
15.
Public transport
–
Public transport modes include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail, high-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world. Most public transport runs to a timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway. Share taxis offer services in many parts of the world. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service, there are distinct differences in urban public transit between Asia, North America, and Europe. In Asia, mass transit operations are run by profit-driven privately owned and publicly traded mass transit. In North America, mass transit operations are run by municipal transit authorities. In Europe, mass transit operations are run by both state-owned and private companies. Public transport services can be profit-driven by use of pay-by-the-distance fares or funded by government subsidies in which flat rate fares are charged to each passenger. Services can be profitable through high ridership numbers and high farebox recovery ratios, or can be regulated. Fully subsidized, zero-fare services operate in some towns and cities, for geographical, historical and economic reasons, there are differences internationally regarding use and extent of public transport. It has 3,400 members from 92 countries, conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferries, and the earliest public transport was water transport, on land people walked or rode an animal. Ferries appear in Greek mythology—corpses in ancient Greece were buried with a coin underneath their tongue to pay the ferryman Charon to take them to Hades, the omnibus was introduced to London in July 1829. The first passenger railway opened in 1806, it ran between Swansea and Mumbles in southwest Wales in the United Kingdom. In 1825 George Stephenson built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in northeast England, the usability of different types of public transport, and its overall appeal, can be measured by seven criteria, although they overlap somewhat. These are speed, comfort, safety, cost, proximity, speed is calculated from total journey time including transfers. Proximity means how far passengers have to walk or otherwise travel before they can begin the public transport leg of their journey, timeliness is how long they have to wait for the vehicle. Directness records how far a journey using public transport deviates from the shortest route, an airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports
Public transport
–
New York City Subway, the world's largest
rapid transit system by length of routes and by number of
stations
Public transport
–
The
Moscow Metro is one of the
busiest metro systems in the world and is the busiest in Europe.
Public transport
–
A hybrid-engine fully accessible
Toronto Transit Commission transit bus in Toronto
Public transport
–
Early trolley car in
Newton, Massachusetts
16.
German reunification
–
The end of the unification process is officially referred to as German unity, celebrated on 3 October. Following German reunification, Berlin was once designated as the capital of united Germany. The East German regime started to falter in May 1989, when the removal of Hungarys border fence with Austria opened a hole in the Iron Curtain and it caused an exodus of thousands of East Germans fleeing to West Germany and Austria via Hungary. The united Germany is the continuation of the Federal Republic. For political and diplomatic reasons, West German politicians carefully avoided the term reunification during the run-up to what Germans frequently refer to as die Wende, after 1990, the term die Wende became more common. The term generally refers to the events led up to the actual reunification, in its usual context. When referring to the events surrounding unification, however, it carries the connotation of the time. However, anti-communist activists from Eastern Germany rejected the term Wende as it was introduced by SEDs Secretary General Egon Krenz, the capital city of Berlin was divided into four occupied sectors of control, under the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Germans lived under such imposed divisions throughout the ensuing Cold War, into the 1980s, the Soviet Union experienced a period of economic and political stagnation, and they correspondingly decreased intervention in Eastern Bloc politics. In 1987, US President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at Brandenburg Gate challenging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall that had separated Berlin. The wall had stood as an icon for the political and economic division between East and West, a division that Churchill had referred to as the Iron Curtain. In early 1989, under a new era of Soviet policies of glasnost, perestroika and taken to more progressive levels by Gorbachev. Further inspired by images of brave defiance, a wave of revolutions swept throughout the Eastern Bloc that year. In May 1989, Hungary removed their border fence and thousands of East Germans escaped to the West, however, events rapidly came to a head in early 1990. First, in March, the Party of Democratic Socialism—the former Socialist Unity Party of Germany—was heavily defeated in East Germanys first free elections. A grand coalition was formed under Lothar de Maizière, leader of the East German wing of Kohls Christian Democratic Union, on a platform of speedy reunification, second, East Germanys economy and infrastructure underwent a swift and near-total collapse. While East Germany had long been reckoned as having the most robust economy in the Soviet bloc, the East German mark had been practically worthless outside East Germany for some time before the events of 1989–90 further magnified the problem. Discussions immediately began for a merger of the German economies
German reunification
–
Berlin Wall at the
Brandenburg Gate, 10 November 1989
German reunification
–
Map showing the division of
East and
West Germany until 1990, with
West Berlin in yellow.
German reunification
–
Brandenburg Gate in
Berlin, national symbol of today's
Germany and its reunification in 1990.
German reunification
–
Police officers of the East German
Volkspolizei wait for the official opening of the
Brandenburg Gate on 22 December 1989.
17.
East Germany
–
East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt
East Germany
–
GDR leaders: President
Wilhelm Pieck and Prime Minister
Otto Grotewohl, 1949
East Germany
–
Flag (1959–1990)
East Germany
–
SED First Secretary,
Walter Ulbricht, 1950
East Germany
–
Head of State:
Erich Honecker (1971–89)
18.
German Government
–
Germany is a democratic, federal parliamentary republic, and federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. There is a multi-party system that, since 1949, has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union, the judiciary of Germany is independent of the executive and the legislature. The political system is out in the 1949 constitution, the Grundgesetz. West Germany was a member of the European Community in 1958. It is part of the Schengen Area, and has been a member of the eurozone since 1999 and it is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20 and the OECD. After 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany had Christian Democratic chancellors for 20 years until a coalition of Social Democrats, since 1982, Christian Democratic leader Helmut Kohl was chancellor in a coalition with the Liberals for 16 years. In this period fell the reunification of Germany, in 1990, on the GDR territory, five Länder were established or reestablished. The two parts of Berlin united as one Land, the political system of the Federal Republic remained more or less unchanged. Specific provisions for the former GDR territory were enabled via the treaty between the Federal Republic and the GDR prior to the unification day of October 3rd,1990. After 16 years of the Christian–Liberal coalition, led by Helmut Kohl, SPD vice chairman Gerhard Schröder positioned himself as a centrist candidate, in contradiction to the leftist SPD chairman Oskar Lafontaine. The Kohl government was hurt at the polls by slower growth in the East in the previous two years, and constantly high unemployment. The final margin of victory was high to permit a red-green coalition of the SPD with Alliance 90/The Greens. Initial problems of the new government, marked by disputes between the moderate and traditional left wings of the SPD, resulted in some voter disaffection. Lafontaine left the government in early 1999, the CDU won in some important state elections but was hit in 2000 by a party donation scandal from the Kohl years. As a result of this Christian Democratic Union crisis, Angela Merkel became chair, the next election for the Bundestag was on 22 September 2002. Gerhard Schröder led the coalition of SPD and Greens to a victory over the Christian Democrat challengers headed by Edmund Stoiber. In its second term, the coalition lost several very important state elections. On 20 April 2003, chancellor Schröder announced massive labor market reforms, called Agenda 2010, on 22 May 2005 the SPD received a devastating defeat in its former heartland, North Rhine-Westphalia
German Government
–
Gerhard Schröder in the 2002 elections
German Government
–
Germany
German Government
–
Joschka Fischer in the 2005 elections
German Government
–
Chancellor since 2005:
Angela Merkel of the
Christian Democrats
19.
Freeway
–
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway which has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway, other similar terms include Interstate and parkway. Some of which may be limited-access highways, although this term can refer to a class of highway with somewhat less isolation from other traffic. In countries following Vienna convention, the motorway qualification implies they are forbidden for walking or parking, a controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals, intersections or property access. They are free of any at-grade crossings with roads, railways, or pedestrian paths. Entrances and exits to the highway are provided at interchanges by slip roads, on the controlled-access highway, opposing directions of travel are generally separated by a median strip or central reservation containing a traffic barrier or grass. Elimination of conflicts with other directions of traffic dramatically improves safety and capacity, controlled-access highways evolved during the first half of the 20th century. Italy opened its first autostrada in 1924 connecting Milan to Varese, Germany began to build its first 30-kilometre autobahn controlled-access highway without speed limits in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn. It then rapidly constructed a system of such roads in anticipation of their use in the Second World War. The first North American freeways opened in the New York City area in the 1920s, Britain, heavily influenced by the railways, did not build its first motorway, the Preston By-pass, until 1958. Most technologically advanced nations feature a network of freeways or motorways to provide high-capacity urban travel, or high-speed rural travel. Many have a national-level or even international-level system of route numbering, exit is marked with another symbol. The definitions of motorway from the OECD and PIARC are almost identical, british Standards Motorway, Limited-access dual carriageway road, not crossed on the same level by other traffic lanes, for the exclusive use of certain classes of motor vehicle. ITE Freeway, A divided major roadway with full control of access and this definition applies to toll as well as toll-free roads. Freeway A, This designates roadways with greater complexity and high traffic volumes. Usually this type of freeway will be found in areas in or near the central core. Freeway B, This designates all other divided roadways with full control of access where lighting is needed, principal arterials may cross through urban areas, serving suburban movements. The traffic is characterized by high speeds and full or partial access control, other roads leading to a principal arterial are connected to it through side collector roads
Freeway
–
The interchange between US-131, M-6 and 68th Street in
Wyoming, Michigan, shows many of the features of controlled-access highways—opposing traffic on separate carriageways, no
at-grade intersections and no direct access to properties.
Freeway
–
French A10 near Orléans showing hard shoulder and emergency telephone. The broken demarcation line for the hard shoulder is specific to France, and serves as a safety reference mark for drivers: the advisory distance from the vehicle ahead is two dashes minimum.
Freeway
–
De Lucht Rest Area on the Dutch A2 - A typical rest area with services (fuel, refreshments and toilets). The only access is via the highway that it serves.
Freeway
–
Traffic congestion, such as this on the
Downtown Connector in
Atlanta, is tied to
photochemical smog.
20.
Autobahn
–
The Autobahn is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is Bundesautobahn, which translates as federal motorway, the literal meaning of the word Bundesautobahn is Federal Auto Track. German autobahns have no federally mandated speed limit for some classes of vehicles, however limits are posted in areas that are urbanized, substandard, accident-prone, or under construction. On speed-unrestricted stretches, a speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour applies. A2008 estimate reported that 52% of the network had only the advisory speed limit, 15% had temporary speed limits due to weather or traffic conditions. Measurements from the German State of Brandenburg in 2006 showed average speeds of 142 km/h on a 6-lane section of autobahn in free-flowing conditions. Germanys autobahn network has a length of about 12,993 kilometres in 2016. Longer similar systems can be found in the United States and India, only federally built controlled-access highways with certain construction standards including at least two lanes per direction are called Bundesautobahn. They have their own, white-on-blue signs and numbering system, in the 1930s, when construction began on the system, the official name was Reichsautobahn. Various other controlled-access highways exist on the federal, state, district and these highways are considered autobahnähnlich and are sometimes colloquially called Gelbe Autobahn because most of them are Bundesstraßen with yellow signs. Some controlled-access highways are classified as Bundesautobahn in spite of not meeting the construction standard. Nearly all exits are to the right, in the postwar years, a thicker asphaltic concrete cross-section with full paved hard shoulders came into general use. The top design speed was approximately 160 km/h in flat country, a flat-country autobahn that was constructed to meet standards during the Nazi period, could support the speed of up to 150 km/h on curves. The current autobahn numbering system in use in Germany was introduced in 1974, all autobahns are named by using the capital letter A, which simply stands for Autobahn followed by a blank and a number. The main autobahns going all across Germany have a single digit number, shorter autobahns that are of regional importance have a double digit number. The first digit used is similar to the system above, depending on the region, east-west routes are always even-numbered, north-south routes are always odd-numbered. The north-south autobahns are generally numbered using odd numbers from west to east, that is to say, similarly, the east-west routes are numbered using even numbers from north to south. One project was the private initiative HaFraBa which planned a car only road crossing Germany from Hamburg in the North via central Frankfurt am Main to Basel in Switzerland
Autobahn
–
Autobahns 3 and 5 at
Frankfurter Kreuz near
Frankfurt am Main
Autobahn
–
The German Autobahn sign with route markers for Bundesautobahnen 1, 3 & 5
Autobahn
–
Rare sight in Europe: 4 lanes in each direction of travel for 21 kilometers. The section between Zeppelinheim and Darmstadt, it is the oldest Autobahn.
Autobahn
–
Typical section of modern autobahn near an interchange, with overhead direction signs.
21.
AVUS
–
The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße, better known as AVUS, is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it is the oldest controlled-access highway in Europe, until 1998 it was also used as a motor racing circuit. Today the AVUS forms the part of the Bundesautobahn 115. The highway is located in the districts of Berlin, linking the Stadtring at the Funkturm junction in Charlottenburg with Nikolassee. It runs through the Grunewald forest along the historic Königsweg road from Charlottenburg to Potsdam and the parallel Berlin-Blankenheim railway line. While normal for a road, it is shaped for a race track as it is essentially just two long straights in the form of a dual carriageway, with a hairpin corner at each end. The north curve featured a steep banking from 1937 to 1967. While the original layout was 19 km long, the turn was moved several times, to shorten the track to 8.3 km, then 8.1 km without the banking,4.8 km. In 1907 the Kaiserlicher Automobilclub association devised a circuit, as both a motor-sport venue and a testing track for the motor industry. A developing company was established in 1909, however, a lack of finances, during the Great War works discontinued, and though Russian Army prisoners were temporarily employed in AVUSs construction, the track was still unfinished. From 1920 the remaining work was financed by business man and politician Hugo Stinnes. The circuit including a building and several stands was inaugurated in the course of the first post-war International Automobile Exhibition with a motor race on 24 September 1921. Afterwards the road was open to the public at a charge of ten Marks, at the time of opening, AVUS was 19½ km long - each straight being approximately half that length, and joined at each end by flat large radius curves, driven counter-clockwise. While the Grand Prix motor racing scene still evaded German tracks, on 11 July 1926 the track played host to the first international German Grand Prix for sports cars, organised by the Automobilclub von Deutschland, the former KAC. The 1921 roadway turned out to be insufficient, already in the two days before the young Italian driver Enrico Platé had been in a car crash, whereby his mechanic was killed. The Grand Prix was won by his fellow team-member, the so-far unknown Mercedes-Benz salesman Rudolf Caracciola from Dresden, the fastest lap of 161 km/h was set by Ferdinando Minoia in an OM. On 23 May 1928 Fritz von Opel achieved a record of 238 km/h in an Opel RAK2. The competition on 22 May 1932 saw further notable participants like the Earl Howe, Hans Stuck, the Czechoslovak driver Prince George Christian of Lobkowicz died when his Bugatti Type 54 crashed in the southern hairpin
AVUS
–
ADAC Reichsfahrt, 1922
AVUS
–
AVUS
AVUS
–
Caracciola (left) after winning the 1926 German Grand Prix
AVUS
–
AVUS race, 1931
22.
Automobile
–
A car is a wheeled, self-powered motor vehicle used for transportation and a product of the automotive industry. The year 1886 is regarded as the year of the modern car. In that year, German inventor Karl Benz built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, cars did not become widely available until the early 20th century. One of the first cars that was accessible to the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the United States of America, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts, cars are equipped with controls used for driving, parking, passenger comfort and safety, and controlling a variety of lights. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, examples include rear reversing cameras, air conditioning, navigation systems, and in car entertainment. Most cars in use in the 2010s are propelled by a combustion engine. Both fuels cause air pollution and are blamed for contributing to climate change. Vehicles using alternative fuels such as ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles and natural gas vehicles are also gaining popularity in some countries, electric cars, which were invented early in the history of the car, began to become commercially available in 2008. There are costs and benefits to car use, the costs of car usage include the cost of, acquiring the vehicle, interest payments, repairs and auto maintenance, fuel, depreciation, driving time, parking fees, taxes, and insurance. The costs to society of car use include, maintaining roads, land use, road congestion, air pollution, public health, health care, road traffic accidents are the largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide. The benefits may include transportation, mobility, independence. The ability for humans to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for the nature of societies and it was estimated in 2010 that the number of cars had risen to over 1 billion vehicles, up from the 500 million of 1986. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China, India, the word car is believed to originate from the Latin word carrus or carrum, or the Middle English word carre. In turn, these originated from the Gaulish word karros, the Gaulish language was a branch of the Brythoic language which also used the word Karr, the Brythonig language evolved into Welsh where Car llusg and car rhyfel still survive. It originally referred to any wheeled vehicle, such as a cart, carriage. Motor car is attested from 1895, and is the formal name for cars in British English. Autocar is a variant that is attested from 1895
Automobile
–
Benz "Velo" model (1894) by German inventor
Carl Benz – entered into an
early automobile race as a
motocycle
Automobile
–
A modern car,
BMW E90
Automobile
–
Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the
Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris
Automobile
–
Karl Benz, the inventor of the modern car
23.
Speed limit
–
Road speed limits are used in most countries to set the maximum speed at which road vehicles may legally travel on particular stretches of road. Speed limits may be variable and in some places speeds are unlimited, Speed limits are normally indicated on a traffic sign. Speed limits are set by the legislative bodies of nations or provincial governments. The first maximum speed limit was the 10 mph limit introduced in the United Kingdom in 1861, the highest posted speed limit in the world is 140 km/h, which applies to some roads in Poland and Bulgaria, similarly Texas posts 85 mph on one 40-mile long toll road. However, some roads have no speed limit for certain classes of vehicles, best known are Germanys less congested Autobahns, where automobile drivers have no mandated maximum speed. Measurements from the German state of Brandenburg in 2006 showed average speeds of 142 km/h on a 6-lane section of autobahn in free-flowing conditions, rural roads on the Isle of Man and the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana, also lack speed limits. Speed limits are set to attempt to cap road traffic speed. It is often done with an intention to improve traffic safety. Speed limits may also be set in an attempt to reduce the impact of road traffic. Some cities have reduced limits to as little as 30 km/h for both safety and efficiency reasons, however, it has also been shown that in some circumstances changing a speed limit has little effect on the average speed of cars. In situations where the road speed is considered too high by governments. For some classes of vehicle, speed limiters may be mandated to enforce compliance, since their introduction, speed limits have been opposed by some motoring advocacy groups. The United Kingdom Stage Carriage Act 1832 first introduced the offense of endangering the safety of a passenger or person by furious driving. The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896, which raised the limit to 14 mph is celebrated to this day by the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The first person to be convicted of speeding is believed to be Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent and he was fined 1 shilling plus costs. In Australia, during the early 20th century, there were reported for furious driving offences. One conviction in 1905 cited furiously driving 20 mph when passing a tram traveling at half that speed. Most jurisdictions use the metric speed unit of kilometers per hour for speed limits, while some, primarily the United States, Australia followed the United Kingdom system before changing to the metric system in the 1970s
Speed limit
–
A typical 60 km/h speed limit sign used in Australia
Speed limit
–
A typical 50 mph speed limit sign in the United States.
Speed limit
–
Antique
New Hampshire speed limit sign.
Speed limit
–
A speed limit sign in
Ontario
24.
German Democratic Republic
–
East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt
German Democratic Republic
–
GDR leaders: President
Wilhelm Pieck and Prime Minister
Otto Grotewohl, 1949
German Democratic Republic
–
Flag (1959–1990)
German Democratic Republic
–
SED First Secretary,
Walter Ulbricht, 1950
German Democratic Republic
–
Head of State:
Erich Honecker (1971–89)
25.
West Germany
–
West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
West Germany
–
Konrad Adenauer in parliament, 1955
West Germany
–
Flag
West Germany
–
Rudi Dutschke, student leader.
West Germany
–
The
Volkswagen Beetle – for many years the most successful car in the world – on the assembly line in Wolfsburg factory, 1973.
26.
European Union
–
The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
European Union
–
In 1989, the
Iron Curtain fell, enabling the union to
expand further (
Berlin Wall pictured).
European Union
–
Flag
European Union
–
2009, the
Lisbon Treaty entered into force.
European Union
–
The 65,993 km (41,006 mi) coastline dominates the European climate (
Cyprus).
27.
Soviet bloc
–
The Eastern Bloc was the group of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The terms Communist Bloc and Soviet Bloc were also used to denote groupings of states aligned with the Soviet Union, although these terms might include states outside Central and Eastern Europe. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who viewed the Soviet Union as a socialist island, Eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Bessarabia in northern Romania were recognized as parts of the Soviet sphere of influence. Lithuania was added in a secret protocol in September 1939. During the Occupation of East Poland by the Soviet Union, the Soviets liquidated the Polish state, Soviet authorities immediately started a campaign of sovietization of the newly Soviet-annexed areas. Soviet authorities collectivized agriculture, and nationalized and redistributed private and state-owned Polish property, the international community condemned this initial annexation of the Baltic states and deemed it illegal. In June 1941, Germany broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact by invading the Soviet Union, from the time of this invasion to 1944, the areas annexed by the Soviet Union were part of Germanys Ostland. Thereafter, the Soviet Union began to push German forces westward through a series of battles on the Eastern Front, from 1943 to 1945, several conferences regarding Post-War Europe occurred that, in part, addressed the potential Soviet annexation and control of countries in Central Europe. I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask for nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he wont try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace. While meeting with Stalin and Roosevelt in Tehran in 1943, Churchill stated that Britain was vitally interested in restoring Poland as an independent country, Britain did not press the matter for fear that it would become a source of inter-allied friction. In February 1945, at the conference at Yalta, Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of influence in Central Europe. Stalin eventually was convinced by Churchill and Roosevelt not to dismember Germany, after resistance by Churchill and Roosevelt, Stalin promised a re-organization of the current pro-Soviet government on a broader democratic basis in Poland. He stated that the new primary task would be to prepare elections. In addition to reparations, Stalin pushed for war booty, which would permit the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations without quantitative or qualitative limitation, a clause was added permitting this to occur with some limitations. At first, the Soviets concealed their role in other Eastern Bloc politics, as a young communist was told in East Germany, its got to look democratic, but we must have everything in our control. Moscow-trained cadres were put into crucial power positions to fulfill orders regarding sociopolitical transformation, elimination of the bourgeoisies social and financial power by expropriation of landed and industrial property was accorded absolute priority. These measures were publicly billed as reforms rather than socioeconomic transformations, the bloc system permitted the Soviet Union to exercise domestic control indirectly. Crucial departments such as responsible for personnel, general police, secret police
Soviet bloc
–
The Big Three:
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Premier of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin at the
Yalta Conference, February 1945.
Soviet bloc
–
Political situation in Europe during the
Cold War
Soviet bloc
–
World War II Polish Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk fled Poland in 1947 after facing arrest and persecution.
Soviet bloc
–
Germans watching Western supply planes at
Berlin Tempelhof Airport during the
Berlin Airlift.
28.
Intercity bus service
–
Intercity bus services may be operated by government agencies or private industry, for profit and not for profit. Intercity coach travel can serve areas or countries with no train services, Intercity bus services are of prime importance in lightly populated rural areas that often have little or no public transportation. Intercity bus services are one of four common transport methods between cities, not all of which are available in all places, the others are by airliner, train, and private automobile. The first intercity scheduled transport service was called the stagecoach and originated in the 17th century, crude coaches were being built from the 16th century in England, but without suspension, these coaches achieved very low speeds on the poor quality rutted roads of the time. By the mid 17th century, a basic infrastructure was being put in place. The first stagecoach route started in 1610 and ran from Edinburgh to Leith and this was followed by a steady proliferation of other routes around the country. A string of coaching inns operated as stopping points for travellers on the route between London and Liverpool by the mid 17th century, the coach would depart every Monday and Thursday and took roughly ten days to make the journey during the summer months. They also became adopted for travel in and around London by mid-century. Shakespeares first plays were staged at coaching inns such as The George Inn, the speed of travel remained constant until the mid-18th century. Robert Hooke helped in the construction of some of the first spring-suspended coaches in the 1660s and spoked wheels with iron rim brakes were introduced, in 1754, a Manchester-based company began a new service called the Flying Coach. It was advertised with the following announcement - However incredible it may appear, this coach will arrive in London in four days. A similar service was begun from Liverpool three years later, using coaches with steel spring suspension and this coach took an unprecedented three days to reach London with an average speed of eight miles per hour. Even more dramatic improvements to coach speed were made by John Palmer at the British Post Office and his experimental coach left Bristol at 4 pm on 2 August 1784 and arrived in London just 16 hours later. The golden age of the stagecoach was during the Regency period, the era saw great improvements in the design of the coaches, notably by John Besant in 1792 and 1795. His coach had a greatly improved turning capacity and braking system, obadiah Elliott registered the first patent for a spring-suspension vehicle. Each wheel had two steel leaf springs on each side and the body of the carriage was fixed directly to the springs attached to the axles. Steady improvements in construction were also made at this time, most importantly the widespread implementation of Macadam roads up. Coaches in this period travelled at around 12 miles per hour and greatly increased the level of mobility in the country, both for people and for mail
Intercity bus service
–
An integral bodywork MCI 102DL3, the most common intercity bus owned by
Greyhound Lines, the largest provider of intercity bus service in North America. Greyhound no longer operates the 102DL3 in this configuration.
Intercity bus service
–
Two
Oxford Tube body on chassis vehicles at the Buckingham Palace Road terminus
Intercity bus service
–
Behind time, anonymous engraving of a stagecoach in England.
Intercity bus service
–
The
Hyde Park Gate in
London, erected by the
Kensington Turnpike Trust. These trusts helped to stimulate a sustained period of road improvement in the 18th century.
29.
Wirtschaftswunder
–
The term Wirtschaftswunder, also known as The Miracle on the Rhine, describes the rapid reconstruction and development of the economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II. The expression referring to this phenomenon was first used by The Times in 1950, in Austria, efficient labor practices led to a similar period of economic growth. The era of economic growth raised West Germany and Austria from total devastation to developed nations in modern Europe. At the founding of the European Common Market in 1957 West Germanys economic growth stood in contrast to the conditions at the time in the United Kingdom. The fundamental reason for the economic recovery of West Germany can be found in the ordoliberal growth model. West Germany had a skilled workforce and a technological level in 1946. These initial problems were overcome by the time of the reform of 1948. This act to strengthen the West German economy had been forbidden during the two years that JCS1067 was in effect. JCS1067 had directed the U. S. forces of occupation in West Germany to take no steps looking toward the rehabilitation of Germany. At the same time, the government, following Erhards advice, walter Heller, a young economist with the U. S.64 cut a wide swath across the German tax system at the time of the currency reform. Individual income tax rates, in particular, fell dramatically, previously the tax rate on any income over 6,000 Deutschmark had been 95 percent. After tax reform, this 95 percent rate applied only to annual incomes above 250,000 Deutschmark, for the West German with an annual income of about 2,400 Deutschmark in 1950, the marginal tax rate fell from 85 percent to 18 percent. West Germany proceeded quickly after 1948 to rebuild its capital stock, the very high capital investment rate thanks to low consumption and a very small need for replacement capital investments drove this recovery during the 1950s. Living standards also rose steadily, with the power of wages increasing by 73% from 1950 to 1960. As noted by the British journalist Terence Prittie in the early Sixties, Today the German working-man leads a comfortable life and he eats well, and his food – although German cooking lacks the elegance of French – is wholesome and appetizing. He buys good clothes, and he dresses his wife and children well and he generally has money to spare for television sets, week-end excursions and football matches. And he is not afraid of celebrating occasionally on a grander scale, productivity growth in West Germany enabled most workers to obtain significant improvements in their living standards and ‘security of life. In addition to the barriers that had to be overcome for the West German economic recovery
Wirtschaftswunder
–
The
Volkswagen Beetle was an icon of West German reconstruction. This
one-off celebrated the 1,000,000th made.
Wirtschaftswunder
–
German children in a
refugee camp,
Western Germany, 1945
30.
Richtgeschwindigkeit
–
An advisory speed limit is a speed recommendation by a governing body, used when it may be non-obvious to the driver that the safe speed is below the legal speed. It is a posting which approximates the Basic Speed Law or rule, Advisory speed limits are often set in areas with many pedestrians, such as in city centers and outside schools, and on difficult stretches of roads, such as on tight corners or through roadworks. The advisory speed limit when not posted is generally the same as the speed limit in ideal conditions. As local councils require consent from the Department for Transport before changing speed limits, the Richtgeschwindigkeit is a legal term in Germany describing the advisory speed limit for roads without a mandatory speed limit. Autobahns have a speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour on non-signposted sections. Until 31 August 2009, a different reference speed could be posted by the traffic signs number 380 and 381, according to §42 of the German traffic code, as these traffic signs were only rarely used, they meanwhile have been abolished. The signage for advisory speed limits is not defined by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, though they list speeds, the U. S. advisory speed signs are classified as warning signs, not regulatory signs, as primary speed signs are. Australia uses a design as the U. S. in spite of regulatory speed limit signs being quite different. Germany uses a square sign with a background and white lettering, similar to the minimum speed limit sign. The United Kingdom currently uses a white rectangle with black lettering stating Max Speed. Media related to Advisory speed limit road signs at Wikimedia Commons
Richtgeschwindigkeit
–
A U.S. advisory speed limit sign, warning drivers of a curve ahead.
31.
Controlled-access highway
–
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway which has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway, other similar terms include Interstate and parkway. Some of which may be limited-access highways, although this term can refer to a class of highway with somewhat less isolation from other traffic. In countries following Vienna convention, the motorway qualification implies they are forbidden for walking or parking, a controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals, intersections or property access. They are free of any at-grade crossings with roads, railways, or pedestrian paths. Entrances and exits to the highway are provided at interchanges by slip roads, on the controlled-access highway, opposing directions of travel are generally separated by a median strip or central reservation containing a traffic barrier or grass. Elimination of conflicts with other directions of traffic dramatically improves safety and capacity, controlled-access highways evolved during the first half of the 20th century. Italy opened its first autostrada in 1924 connecting Milan to Varese, Germany began to build its first 30-kilometre autobahn controlled-access highway without speed limits in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn. It then rapidly constructed a system of such roads in anticipation of their use in the Second World War. The first North American freeways opened in the New York City area in the 1920s, Britain, heavily influenced by the railways, did not build its first motorway, the Preston By-pass, until 1958. Most technologically advanced nations feature a network of freeways or motorways to provide high-capacity urban travel, or high-speed rural travel. Many have a national-level or even international-level system of route numbering, exit is marked with another symbol. The definitions of motorway from the OECD and PIARC are almost identical, british Standards Motorway, Limited-access dual carriageway road, not crossed on the same level by other traffic lanes, for the exclusive use of certain classes of motor vehicle. ITE Freeway, A divided major roadway with full control of access and this definition applies to toll as well as toll-free roads. Freeway A, This designates roadways with greater complexity and high traffic volumes. Usually this type of freeway will be found in areas in or near the central core. Freeway B, This designates all other divided roadways with full control of access where lighting is needed, principal arterials may cross through urban areas, serving suburban movements. The traffic is characterized by high speeds and full or partial access control, other roads leading to a principal arterial are connected to it through side collector roads
Controlled-access highway
–
The interchange between US-131, M-6 and 68th Street in
Wyoming, Michigan, shows many of the features of controlled-access highways—opposing traffic on separate carriageways, no
at-grade intersections and no direct access to properties.
Controlled-access highway
–
French A10 near Orléans showing hard shoulder and emergency telephone. The broken demarcation line for the hard shoulder is specific to France, and serves as a safety reference mark for drivers: the advisory distance from the vehicle ahead is two dashes minimum.
Controlled-access highway
–
De Lucht Rest Area on the Dutch A2 - A typical rest area with services (fuel, refreshments and toilets). The only access is via the highway that it serves.
Controlled-access highway
–
Traffic congestion, such as this on the
Downtown Connector in
Atlanta, is tied to
photochemical smog.
32.
Bundesautobahn 8
–
The A8 is a significant East-West transit route. Its construction began in March 1934 during Nazi rule as a Reichsautobahn, although most parts have been modernized and extended since, significant sections remain in their original configuration from the 1930s - 2+2 lanes, no emergency lanes, steep hills and tight curves. In combination with todays traffic this makes the A8 one of the most crowded, especially in the wintertime the slopes of the Black Forest, the Swabian Alb near Aichelberg, as well as the Irschenberg become bottlenecks when heavy trucks crawl uphill. Modern sections with 3+3 lanes and more are f. e, Karlsruhe - Pforzheim-North, Pforzheim-South - Stuttgart - Mühlhausen, AK Ulm/Elchingen - Augsburg - Munich-Eschenried, and AK Munich-South - AD Inntal. Other sections in Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate and Munich have 2+2 in modern standard, at least, complete section Karlsruhe - Salzburg will be extended to 3 +3 lanes. Plans for the section between Pirmasens and Karlsruhe were abandoned in the 1980s, instead of this section B10 Pirmasens - Landau was expanded. Landau - Karlsruhe was built as a part of A65 in the 90s, in Munich there is also a gap, section from Augsburg ends in Munich-Obermenzing, section from Salzburg ends in Munich-Haidhausen. Near Heusweiler a wire netting was built as a cage to protect verhicle electronic from radiation of Heusweiler radio transmitter. The transmitter has been deactivated but has yet to be removed - together with the wire netting, towards Zweibrücken exit and access are as usual. A8 and A62 should meet here in an interchange, after A8 section Pirmasens -Karlsruhe had been cancelled the interchange was later used for Winzeln slip road. In Gruibingen motorway service Gruibingen was built according to feng shui philosophy, at Drakensteiner Hang between Mühlhausen and Hohenstadt A8 is divided into separate northbound and southbound routes on either side of the peak. Near Adelsried is Autobahnkirche Maria, Schutz der Reisenden and it was built 1956 as first of meanwhile 42 in Germany. They are also responsible for maintenance during this period, for transit traffic around Munich road marks signalize to use orbital motorway A99 north/east at Eschenried and Munich-South interchanges. But those who are familiar with place often use A99 west - Mittlerer Ring - A995 as a shorter and faster route, however this route leads through Munich and therefore authorities want to keep transit traffic out of town. Geographic data related to Bundesautobahn 8 at OpenStreetMap Bundesautobahn 8 – Detailed route plan
Bundesautobahn 8
–
BAB 93 junction near
Rosenheim
Bundesautobahn 8
–
A8
33.
Bundesautobahn 24
–
Bundesautobahn 24 is an autobahn in northern Germany that connects the large metropolitan regions of Hamburg and Berlin. It was one of the three access roads to West Berlin during the Cold War. On that road, there is a 150 km long section that has no speed limit at all, planning for the autobahn began as far back as the 1930s, before World War II numerous bridges and sections of roadside shoulder were built between Hamburg and Berlin. The German divide, however, put a hold on further work and it was not until 1978 that construction was resumed, carried out by a GDR work force, in 1982 the A24 could finally be opened. Most pre-war bridges could not be used, however, and were replaced by new structures, bundesautobahn 24 – Detailed route plan
Bundesautobahn 24
–
Autobahn 24 near junction Schwerin
Bundesautobahn 24
–
A24
Bundesautobahn 24
–
unused bridge near
Hagenow on the former planned route of the 1930s
Bundesautobahn 24
–
Truck destroyed the central barrier on the A24 (Feb. 2009)
34.
Ring road
–
A ring road is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town or city. Australia and India also use the ring road, as in Melbournes Western Ring Road. In Canada the term is the most commonly used, with orbital also used to a lesser extent. In Europe, some ring roads, particularly those of standard which are longer in length, are often known as orbital motorways. Examples include the London Orbital, Rome Orbital and Manchester Orbital, in the United States, many ring roads are called beltlines, beltways, or loops, such as the Capital Beltway around Washington, D. C. Some ring roads, such as Washingtons Capital Beltway, use Inner Loop and Outer Loop terminology for directions of travel, the term ring road is occasionally – and inaccurately – used interchangeably with the term bypass. Construction of fully circumferential ring roads has generally occurred more recently, beginning in the 1960s in many areas, Interstate Highway System and similar-quality roads elsewhere were designed. Columbus, Ohio, in the United States, also has two, while Houston, Texas will have three official ring roads, some cities have far more – Beijing, for example, has five ring roads, simply numbered in increasing order from the city center. Geographical constraints can complicate or prohibit the construction of a ring road. Adjacency of international boundaries may also prohibit ring road completion in other cases, sometimes, the presence of significant natural or historical areas limits route options, as for the long-proposed Outer Beltway around Washington, D. C. C. Ring roads can also exist around radio masts carrying an umbrella antenna at the basements of the anchor of the wire of the umbrella antenna, such ring roads are usually only for internal use and closed to the public. Most orbital motorways are purpose-built major highways around a town or city, in the United States, beltways are commonly parts of the Interstate Highway System. Similar roads in the United Kingdom are often called orbital motorways, an excellent example of this is Londons North Circular/South Circular ring road. Such loops not only function as a bypass for through traffic, in the United States, an Interstate highway loop is usually designated by a three-digit number beginning with an even digit before the two-digit number of its parent interstate. Interstate spurs, on the hand, generally have three-digit numbers beginning with an odd digit. Circumferential highways are prominent features in or near large cities in the United States. In many cases, such as Atlanta, Georgia, Interstate 285 serves as a bypass while other highways pass directly through the city center. However, if a primary Interstate passes through a city and a loop bypasses it on one side
Ring road
–
The
Leeds Inner Ring Road was built in a series of tunnels to save space and avoid physically separating the city's centre from its suburbs.
Ring road
–
The inner ring road of
Sheffield, England.
Ring road
–
The
Capital Beltway (I-495) northbound on the west side of Washington, D.C.
Ring road
–
I-275 passing through Sharonville (Northern Cincinnati)
35.
Bundesautobahn 555
–
Bundesautobahn 555 is an autobahn connecting the cities of Cologne and Bonn. It was constructed between 1929 and 1932, and opened to traffic on August 6,1932, until it was extended to six lanes between 1964 and 1966, there was no central barrier. Especially at night, speeds in excess of 200 km/h were not unusual, in 2004, however, a speed limit was introduced around Wesseling for reasons of noise reduction, effectively cutting the area for legal speeding in half. Bonn locals, however, use that term for the B9 where diplomats regularly sped under protection of diplomatic immunity, bundesautobahn 555 – Detailed route plan
Bundesautobahn 555
–
A555
36.
LKW-Maut
–
Germanys LKW-Maut is a toll for goods vehicles based on the distance driven in kilometres, the number of axles and the emission category of the vehicle. As much as 35% of truck miles travelled on Germany’s motorways are generated by foreign lorries, the motorway freight tolling was authorized by the Motorway Toll Act for Heavy Goods Vehicles and the Toll Regulation. The toll is based on the route and the class of the vehicle, its weight. Certain vehicles, such as vehicles and buses, are exempt from the toll. An average user is charged €0.15 per kilometre, Toll Collect oversees the toll collection on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. Toll Collect has developed an automatic system for truckers, based on a combination of GSM. To take advantage of the automatic log-on, lorry drivers are required to register the company as well as each individual lorry. After registration an on-board unit can be installed by an authorized Toll-Collect partner, once the toll information has been submitted to the Toll-Collect centre a bill is generated and e-mailed to the driver or owner of the lorry. The German government paid for the approximately 450,000 OBUs currently in use, alternatively lorry drivers who rarely use German toll roads can log-on manually at one of 3,500 toll station terminals or over the internet. The log-on to a toll station terminal, located near motorway access ramps, is similar to purchasing a ticket, the driver enters the vehicle information, starting point and destination. The toll station calculates the fees based on the shortest route within the road network. As of December 2006 90% of the lorries on German roads paid the toll automatically, in 2006 the toll-collection rate for automatic transactions was 99. 75%. The system enforcement is based on 300 gantries equipped with infrared detection equipment, owing to the large volume of data generated by these gantries, not all of the gantries installed are in operation at the same time. Only selected gantries are in operation and able to identify vehicles for which the toll has not been paid, in addition Federal Officers of Freight in 300 mobile enforcement vehicles patrol the motorways and are authorized to pull lorries over and check for payment records. If a fee has not been paid and the GPS data is unclear a charge for 500 km of travel is imposed, the collection costs are estimated at 20 per cent of gross revenues. During the first eight months of operation of the scheme 11.6 million lorries were checked for violation, Toll revenues in excess of system operating costs provide funding for transport infrastructure improvements. The scheme has provided companies with an incentive to purchase vehicles with lower emission rates. The UK Commission for Integrated Transport cites a 6% decrease in the number of empty runs and those factors are likely to lower the emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants on German roads
LKW-Maut
–
Toll-collect gantry on A65.
LKW-Maut
–
Road sign for toll road for heavy trucks
37.
States of Germany
–
Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
States of Germany
38.
Landkreis
–
A German district is an administrative subdivision known as Landkreis, except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where it is known simply as Kreis. Most major cities in Germany are not part of a rural district, in this context, those cities are referred to as Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis. Rural districts are at a level of administration between the German states and the municipal governments. They correspond to level 3 administrative units of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, previously, the similar title Reichskreis was given to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire. The related term Landeskommissariat was used for administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century. The majority of German districts are rural districts of which there are 295, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not usually belong to a district, but take over district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities. These are known as urban districts —cities which constitute a district in their own there are currently 107 of them. As of 2011, approximately 25 million people live in these 107 urban districts, in North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers. Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are part of a larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, the classification as midsize town is usually based on a towns registered population, but varies from state to state. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district, urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. The district council is the highest institution of a district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of rural districts are not situated within the district proper. Most of those districts are named after this central city as well. Moers is the biggest city in Germany that is neither an urban district, in parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as Kreisverwaltung or Landratsamt. In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative commission called Kreisausschuss
Landkreis
–
Germany
39.
InterCityExpress
–
The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and its surrounding countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn, the brand name ICE is among the best-known in Germany, with a brand awareness close to 100%, according to DB. There are currently 259 trainsets in five different versions of the ICE vehicles in use, named ICE1, ICE2, ICE T, ICE3, the ICE3, including its variant models, is made by a consortium led by Bombardier and Siemens. Procurement of a version, ICx, began c. 2008, and was rebranded ICE4 in late 2015, introduction of the trains are expected from 2016. Apart from domestic use, the trains can also be seen in countries neighbouring Germany, there are, for example, ICE1 lines to Basel and Zurich. ICE3 trains also run to Liège and Brussels and at speeds to Amsterdam. On 10 June 2007, a new line between Paris and Frankfurt/Stuttgart was opened, jointly operated by ICE and TGV trains, ICE trains to London via the Channel Tunnel are planned for 2018. While ICE 3M trains operate the Paris-Frankfurt service, SNCFs TGV runs from Paris to Munich, German and Austrian ICE T trains run to Vienna. On 9 December 2007, the ICE TD was introduced on the service from Berlin via Hamburg to the Danish cities of Aarhus and Copenhagen. The Spanish railway operator RENFE also employs trains based on the ICE3 called AVE Class 103 which are certified to run at speeds up to 350 km/h. Wider versions were ordered by China for the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway link and by Russia for the Moscow – Saint Petersburg, the Deutsche Bundesbahn started a series of trials in 1985 using the InterCityExperimental test train. The IC Experimental was used as a train and for high-speed trials. The train was retired in 1996 and replaced with a new trial unit, the order was extended to 60 units in 1990, with German reunification in mind. However, not all trains could be delivered in time, the ICE network was officially inaugurated on 29 May 1991 with several vehicles converging on the newly built station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe from different directions. The first ICE trains were the trainsets of ICE1, which came into service in 1989, the Hanover-Würzburg line and the Mannheim-Stuttgart line, which had both opened the same year, were hence integrated into the ICE network from the very beginning. Due to the lack of trainsets in 1991 and early 1992, prior to that date, ICE trainsets were used when available and were integrated in the Intercity network and with IC tariffs. In 1993, the ICE line 6s terminus was moved from Hamburg to Berlin, from 1997, the successor, the ICE2 trains pulled by Class 402 powerheads, was put into service
InterCityExpress
–
A German ICE 3 trainset
InterCityExpress
–
Intercity-Express
InterCityExpress
–
InterCityExperimental (ICE V) first run as a full train, near Munich (Sept. 1985)
InterCityExpress
–
ICE 1 on the
Nuremberg-Ingolstadt line (Dec. 2006)
40.
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof
–
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is the primary railway station in the city of Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany. The station is known for its 12-storey tower with a large, rotating and illuminated Mercedes-Benz star insignia on top. The planned underground through station is configured at a 90 degree angle to the present station, construction is scheduled from 2010 to 2019. The station building was constructed using reinforced concrete, which was covered with roughly hewn shell limestone ashlar. The station tower is 56 metres high, with a rotating Mercedes-Benz star, measuring 5 metres in radius, on the terrace on the 9th level. Also on the tower is a clock, whose radius measures 5.5 metres, inside the tower is the TurmForum Stuttgart 21, which provides information and media to do with the Stuttgart 21 project. The inscription is a work by the artist Joseph Kosuth from the early 1990s. Also in the hall, near the south exit, a DB Lounge for first-class passengers and members of frequent-traveller programs, such as bahn. comfort, AIRail, or Miles & More. In the underground S-Bahn station, which is on the 3rd underground floor, all S-Bahn traffic, under the station forecourt, the seven lines of the Stadtbahn traverse the 2nd underground floor. A personnel passage on the 1st underground floor, which many stores and boutiques, serves as the pedestrian connection between the Hauptbahnhof and the city center. A part of this 1st underground floor is taken up by a parking garage. Until 1922, the station was located on the Schlosstrasse. The first station building, a station with 4 tracks, was built by Karl Etzel for the opening of the Württemberg Central Railway. The building was not remarkable at the time, with the hall, made of wood. On 26 September 1846, the first train, arriving from Canstatt, by 1854, the first phase of railway construction in the Kingdom of Württemberg, with routes to Heilbronn, Bretten, Ulm, and Friedrichshafen, was completed. Due to increasing traffic, the first building was replaced by new construction in the same spot in the 1860s. Between 1863 and 1867, the engineers Klein, Morlok, and Abel created this station, with 8 tracks. By 1900, this station had already proven to be too small again, parts of the façade of this building are today part of an event center and cinema, the Metropol
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof
–
Station building (2004)
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof
–
The station tower of the Hauptbahnhof, seen from the middle of the Schlossgarten
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof
–
The Hauptbahnhof, seen from the TV tower
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof
–
The Centralbahnhof in 1900
41.
Rail transport in Germany
–
As of 2015, Germany had a railway network of 33,331 km of which 19,983 km were electrified and 18,201 km were double track. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways, the UIC Country Code for Germany is 80. In the same year they carried 346,118,000 tonnes of goods at a distance of 309 km. Deutsche Bahn is the provider of railway service. In recent years a number of competitors have started business and they mostly offer state-subsidized regional services, but some, like Veolia Verkehr offer long-distance services as well. Deutsche Bahn is gradually increasing the percentage of InterCityExpress services, usual procedure under EU legislation is to award the contract to the lowest bid by means of a tender procedure. The respective states are free to announce short- or long-term contracts as well as to stipulate further conditions e. g. on rolling stock. In recent years, many bids were won by private companies like NordWestBahn or Arriva. The first long distance railway was the Leipzig-Dresden railway, completed on 7 April 1839. The following years saw a growth, By the year 1845, there were already more than 2,000 km of railroads in Germany. German unification in 1871 stimulated consolidation, nationalization into state-owned companies, by 1880, Germany had 9,400 locomotives pulling 43,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of freight, and forged ahead of France. During the Second World War, austere versions of the locomotives were produced to speed up construction times. These were the so-called war locomotives, absent a good highway network and trucks, the Germans relied heavily on the railways, supplemented by slower river and canal transport for bulk goods. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, train frequency rapidly increased on the existing East/West corridors, closed links which had formerly crossed the border were re-opened. On 3 October 1990, Germany was reunified, however, this was not immediately the case with the railways, administrative and organisational problems led to the decision to completely re-organise and reconnect Germanys railways. The so-called Bahnreform came into effect on 1 January 1994, when the State railways Deutsche Bundesbahn, the German railways were long protected from competition from intercity buses on journeys over 50 km. However, in 2013, this protection was removed, leading to a significant shift from rail to bus for long journeys, the European Union Commission issued a TSI on 30 May 2002, that sets out standard platform heights for passenger steps on high-speed rail. These standard heights are 550 mm and 760 mm, in Germany new builds are 550 mm and 760 mm. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has new builds with 550 mm. Hesse, NRW, Berlin had new builds with 760 mm
Rail transport in Germany
–
An
ICE 3 at
St. Ingbert
Rail transport in Germany
–
Volume-Percentage of private railway companies in Germany
Rail transport in Germany
–
Current departments (post 2007)
42.
History of rail transport in Germany
–
This had been preceded by the opening of the horse-hauled Prince William Railway on 20 September 1831. The first long distance railway was the Leipzig-Dresden railway, completed on 7 April 1839, the forerunner of the railway in Germany, as in England, was to be found mainly in association with the mining industry. Mine carts were used below ground for transportation, initially using wooden rails, but the railway network in the Ruhr was not utilized as public transport. Some of these tracks were already using iron rails - hence the German term for railway, Eisenbahn, the Rauendahler Schiebeweg in Bochum and the Schlebusch-Harkorter Kohlenbahn are examples of railways from those early days that can still be seen today. From 1827-1836, a wagonway was built in Austria and Bohemia from Budweis to Gmunden via Linz. This engine worked, but failed to meet due to its poor performance. In the first half of the 19th century, opinions about the railways in Germany varied widely. The initial impetus to build was hampered by complicated negotiations on land ownership, however, by the 1840s, trunk lines did link the major cities, each German state being responsible for the lines within its own borders. During the 1820s, the nobility favoured costly and economically inefficient canal projects over railroads and it is a means to the improvement of the culture of the nation. It brings talent, knowledge and skill of every kind readily to market and it secures the community against dearth and famine, and against excessive fluctuation in the prices of the necessaries of life. It promotes the spirit of the nation, as it has a tendency to destroy the Philistine spirit arising from isolation and provincial prejudice and it binds nations by ligaments, and promotes an interchange of food and of commodities, thus making it feel a unit. The iron rails become a system, which, on the one hand, strengthens public opinion. Lacking a technological base at first, the Germans imported their engineering and hardware from Britain, observers found that already as early as 1890, their engineering became superior to Britains. The following years saw a growth, By the year 1845, there were already more than 2,000 km of railway line in Germany. Most German states had state-owned railway companies, but there were large private companies as well. One of these companies, the Rhenish Railway, built the first ever international railway line. The line connected Cologne to Antwerp in Belgium and was opened in 1843, in 1820 Friedrich Harkort founded a consortium with the aim of building a wagonway from the Schlebusch Coal Region to Haspe. The Schlesbusch-Harkort Coal Railway, with a length of one Prussian mile, was completed by 1828 and was the first railway to operate over such a distance
History of rail transport in Germany
–
2010 postage stamp
History of rail transport in Germany
History of rail transport in Germany
–
In 1833 the economist
Friedrich List (1789–1846) published in Leipzig a design for a German railway system
History of rail transport in Germany
–
The Adler (built 1835) in an 1850 photograph
43.
Deutsche Bahn AG
–
Deutsche Bahn AG is a German railway company. Headquartered in Berlin, it is a private company, with the Federal Republic of Germany being its single shareholder. It carries about two billion passengers each year, Deutsche Bahn came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany. It also gained ownership of railway assets in West Berlin held by the Verwaltung des ehemaligen Reichsbahnvermögens. There are three periods of development in this unified German railway, its formation, its early years. At its creation, Deutsche Bahn took over the abbreviation and logo DB from the West German state railway Deutsche Bundesbahn, erik Spiekermann designed the new corporate font DB Type. However, these plans have been put on hold, and the Bahntower leased for at least three more years, the second step of the Bahnreform was carried out in 1999. This new organisational scheme was introduced not least to implement European Community directive 91/440/EEC that demands access to railway systems free of discrimination. In December 2007, DB reorganised again, bringing all passenger services into its DB Bahn arm, logistics under DB Schenker and infrastructure, the DB is owned by the Federal Republic. By the Constitution, the Federal Republic is required to retain a majority of the infrastructure stocks, in 2008, it was agreed to partially private DB, with 25% of the business to be sold to the private sector. However the onset of the Financial crisis of 2007–08 saw this cancelled, in World war II the Deutsche Reichsbahn helped the Nazis to deport the Jews from Greece. As of 2016, the company currently lacks a management director, other members of the board include, Dr. The DB group is divided into five main groups, Arriva, DB Bahn, DB Dienstleistungen, DB Netze. These subsidiaries are companies in their own right, although most of them are 100% owned by DBAG, Deutsche Bahn placed a bid in May 2010 for the UK-based transport company Arriva. Arriva runs bus and rail companies in 12 European countries, the merger was approved by the European Commission in August 2010, subject to DB divesting Arriva services in Germany. The merger became effective on 27 August 2010, services in the UK formerly run as DB Regio are now operated by a new subdivision of the company, Arriva UK Trains. It operates the Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, Grand Central, on 1 April 2016 Arriva became the operator of the Northern rail franchise. It also holds a 50% shareholding in London Overground Rail Operations and has lodged an application to operate services under the Great North Western Railway brand, in November 2016, Arriva Rail London will commence operating the London Overground concession in its own right
Deutsche Bahn AG
–
The corporate headquarters of Deutsche Bahn at
Potsdamer Platz in
Berlin
Deutsche Bahn AG
–
Deutsche Bahn AG
Deutsche Bahn AG
–
Arriva North West Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied
Volvo B7TL in
Liverpool in June 2013
Deutsche Bahn AG
–
An
ICE 3 long-distance high speed train of
DB Fernverkehr and
Siemens Velaro
44.
DB Netz
–
DB Netz AG is a 100%-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn is a railway infrastructure provider, which owns and operates a majority of the German railway system. The company was established in the course of the stage of the German rail reform as a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn. DB Netz’s headquarters are in Frankfurt and it has seven regional divisions, the locations of its regional headquarters are Berlin, Frankfurt, Duisburg, Hanover, Karlsruhe, Leipzig and Munich. In Dec 2007, it was superseded by DB Netze when DB reorganised into 3 departments covering passengers, logistics and infrastructure
DB Netz
–
Current departments (post 2007)
45.
Willy Brandt
–
He was the first Social Democrat chancellor since 1930. Brandt was originally considered one of the leaders of the wing of the SPD. He served as Foreign Minister and as Vice Chancellor in Kurt Georg Kiesingers cabinet, Brandt was controversial on both the right wing, for his Ostpolitik, and on the left wing, for his support of American policies, including the Vietnam War, and right-wing authoritarian regimes. The Brandt Report became a measure for describing the general North-South divide in world economics and politics between an affluent North and a poor South. Brandt was also known for his fierce anti-communist policies at the domestic level, Brandt resigned as chancellor in 1974, after Günter Guillaume, one of his closest aides, was exposed as an agent of the Stasi, the East German secret service. Willy Brandt was born Herbert Ernst Carl Frahm in the Free City of Lübeck on 18 December 1913 and his mother was Martha Frahm, a single parent, who worked as a cashier for a department store. His father was an accountant from Hamburg named John Möller, whom Brandt never met, as his mother worked six days a week, he was mainly brought up by his mothers stepfather, Ludwig Frahm, and his second wife, Dora. After passing his Abitur in 1932 at Johanneum zu Lübeck, he became an apprentice at the shipbroker and he joined the Socialist Youth in 1929 and the Social Democratic Party in 1930. He left the SPD to join the left wing Socialist Workers Party, which was allied to the POUM in Spain. In 1933, using his connections with the port and its ships and it was at this time that he adopted the pseudonym Willy Brandt to avoid detection by Nazi agents. In 1934, he took part in the founding of the International Bureau of Revolutionary Youth Organizations, Brandt was in Germany from September to December 1936, disguised as a Norwegian student named Gunnar Gaasland. The real Gunnar Gaasland was married to Gertrud Meyer from Lübeck in a marriage of convenience to protect her from deportation, Meyer had joined Brandt in Norway in July 1933. In 1937, during the Civil War, Brandt worked in Spain as a journalist, in 1938, the German government revoked his citizenship, so he applied for Norwegian citizenship. In 1940, he was arrested in Norway by occupying German forces, on his release, he escaped to neutral Sweden. In August 1940, he became a Norwegian citizen, receiving his passport from the Norwegian legation in Stockholm, in exile in Norway and Sweden Brandt learned Norwegian and Swedish. Brandt spoke Norwegian fluently, and retained a relationship with Norway. In late 1946, Brandt returned to Berlin, working for the Norwegian government, in 1948, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany and became a German citizen again, formally adopting the pseudonym Willy Brandt as his legal name. In 1950, Brandt, being a member of the federal parliament, being confronted with this during his life, Brandt always denied
Willy Brandt
–
Brandt in 1980
Willy Brandt
–
Brandt meeting
John F. Kennedy in 1961
Willy Brandt
–
Willy Brandt with
French president
Georges Pompidou in
Cologne, 3 July 1972.
Willy Brandt
–
Willy Brandt talking at an
SPD meeting in
Dortmund, 1983
46.
Vienna
–
Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
Vienna
Vienna
Vienna
Vienna
47.
Copenhagen
–
Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
Copenhagen
–
From upper left:
Christiansborg Palace,
Frederik's Church,
Tivoli Gardens and
Nyhavn.
Copenhagen
–
Reconstruction of Copenhagen c. 1500
Copenhagen
–
The
Tøjhus Arsenal (
1604)
Copenhagen
–
The
Børsen, former stock exchange (completed
1640)
48.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
Paris
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In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
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Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
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The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
49.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
50.
Brussels
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Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
Brussels
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A
collage with several views of Brussels, Top: View of the
Northern Quarter business district, 2nd left: Floral carpet event in the
Grand Place, 2nd right:
Brussels City Hall and
Mont des Arts area, 3rd:
Cinquantenaire Park, 4th left:
Manneken Pis, 4th middle:
St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, 4th right:
Congress Column, Bottom:
Royal Palace of Brussels
Brussels
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Charles of Lorraine founded what would become Brussels c. 979
Brussels
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Grand Place after
the 1695 bombardment by the French army
Brussels
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Episode of the
Belgian Revolution of 1830,
Wappers (1834)
The Autobahn is the German federal highway system. The official German term is Bundesautobahn (plural Bundesautobahnen, abbreviated BAB), which translates as "federal motorway". Where no local speed limit is posted, the advisory limit (Richtgeschwindigkeit) is 130 km/h. The Autobahn network has a total length of about 12,845 kilometres (7,982 mi) in 2012,[5] which ranks it among the most dense and longest systems in the world. Only federally built controlled-access highways meeting certain construction standards including at least two lanes per direction are called "Bundesautobahn", they have their own, blue-coloured signs and their own numbering system. All Autobahnen are named by using the capital letter A, followed by a blank and a number (for example A 8).
The national roads in Germany are called Bundesstraßen (federal roads). Their numbers are usually well known to local road users, as they appear (written in black digits on a yellow rectangle with black border) on direction traffic signs and in street maps. A Bundesstraße is often referred to as "B" followed by its number, for example "B1", one of the main east-west routes. More important routes have lower numbers. Odd numbers are usually applied to north-south oriented roads, and even numbers for east-west routes. Bypass routes are referred to with an appended "a" (alternative) or "n" (new alignment), as in "B 56n".
Driving in Germany travel guide from Wikivoyage
