NSR-What is the cultural/economic center of Germany?

[Catfish]

Is it still Berlin? Or is it another city? I was shocked to learn that Berlin isn't the biggest city in Germany.

[CanuckFan]

I take it you took Geography in the States then??

[Catfish]

Originally posted by CanuckFan
I take it you took Geography in the States then??

No need to get snippy...lol. I know Berlin is the OFFICIAL capital. Was under the assumption the the bulk of Germans lived in the Rhineland/Western Germany.

[F96]

Originally posted by Catfish
Is it still Berlin? Or is it another city? I was shocked to learn that Berlin isn't the biggest city in Germany.

Kassel

[SoftTackle]

I don't think there is really a cultural/economic capital. Germany has only been a nation state for about 150 years or so and before then it was made up of independent states. So a number of major cities like Hamburg, Munich and Berlin arose in comparison to Paris and London dominating both their respective nations.

[CanuckFan]

Berlin is still by far the biggest city in terms of population, with over 3 million. Followed by Hamburg and Munich (over 1 million).
A whole bunch of cities in the Ruhr valley are over 1/2 million, within short distances of each other.
Not sure what you would call the cultural capital though; I would say it is Berlin now.

[Catfish]

Thank you!

[Tegtmeier]

There isn't a real cultural capital in Germany. As already mentioned by SoftTackle, the situation in Germany is quite different compared to England with London or France with Paris. Though Berlin is by far the biggest german city, the other big cities ( Hamburg, Munich, Cologne ) all have their own and unique cultural life and lots of things which distinguishes them from the other cities and makes them special.
If you are looking for the most beautiful german city, you must come to Hamburg though :D ( even 'Kaiser' Franz is saying that :D ) .
To talk about the economical center, the economical power of Germany is concentrated in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. The majority of the biggest german companies ( e.g. DaimlerChrysler, BMW, Allianz, Siemens ...) have their headquarters and main production facilities in these two states.
The financial capital of Germany is Frankfurt, the german stock market and all major banks and financial companies are located there..

[jonam]

Cultural diversity

Cultural federalism. Nowhere is the federal structure of the Federal Republic more evident than in the cultural sphere. Germany has never had a cultural metropolis comparable to Paris in France or London in England. The considerable cultural autonomy of the states has led to the formation of large and small cultural centers with different profiles. Cultural and scholarly activity is to be found even in small towns and communities.

This diversity is apparent, simply from the regional distribution of the different cultural institutions and activities in Germany. The Deutsche Bibliothek (German Library), a federal institution, has library facilities in Frankfurt/Main, Leipzig and Berlin. The Federal Records Office is headquartered in Koblenz and has branches in a number of cities including Bayreuth, Berlin, Freiburg im Breisgau and Potsdam. Hamburg has the largest concentration of media; Cologne, Düsseldorf and Kassel are just three of the centers of modern art. Berlin has the most theaters. The Academies of Science have their seat in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Göttingen, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Mainz and Munich. The most prominent museums are situated in Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt/Main, Hildesheim, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart. The two most important literary archives are in Marbach and Weimar.

The establishment and maintenance of most cultural institutions in Germany is the responsibility of the cities and municipalities. Legislation on cultural matters – with a few exceptions – is the prerogative of the states.

For these reasons, the Federal Republic of Germany has never had a minister for cultural affairs at the federal level. The new Federal Government, however, has appointed a State Minister and Federal Government Commissioner for Cultural Affairs and the Media in the Federal Chancellery. While maintaining the cultural sovereignty of the states, he coordinates the Federation’s cultural policy duty and federal responsibilities, which were previously distributed among several ministries. He will give impetus to, and be a contact person for the Federation’s cultural policy, and see himself as a representative of German culture at the international – and especially European – level. He is particularly committed to supporting cultural projects and institutions in the capital, Berlin, and in the new states.

taken from German embassy Washington D.C. (http://www.germany-info.org/relaunch/index.html) (have a look at this site for infos about Germany)

p.s.: If you are really interested in Germany and are maybe planning to visit the country buy "lonely planet - Germany" for 24.99$. Great handbook for foreigners and even Germans will find the one or other info they didn't knew!

p.p.s.: the cultural and economic centre of Germany is of course Salzkotten (http://www.salzkotten.de)!!!! :-)

[olafgb]

Very well summarized by Tegtmeier, although we can discuss about Hamburg ;) (for sure many nice locations, but there's also quite the opposite). All of the big cities have their own characteristics. Berlin for sure is THE German metropolis with permanent changes and also the cultural center, but this doesn't mean that other cities don't have an own identity.

The biggest German cities:
1 Berlin 3.4 M
2 Hamburg 1.7 M
3 Munich 1.2 M
4 Cologne 960 K
5 Frankfurt/Main 650 K
6 Essen 600 K
7 Dortmund 590 K
8 Stuttgart 580 K
9 Düsseldorf 570 K
10 Bremen 540 K

[Frankfurt Blue]

When I look out of my office window and see the banks towering into the sky, and the European Central Bank is here too, the centre ahs to be Frankfurt am Main. Plus it has the biggest airport in Germany.

[96Squig]

Welll, you can divide germany also in ti#s main industrial areas, that gives you also an information about how the cities are tied together (or not)
the most important is by far the Ruhrgebiet (Rheinisch-Westfälisches Industriegebiet wurde uns in Erdkunde beigebracht ;-) ), followed by the Berlin area, than Munich-Augsburg and the lower Rhine area aroiund Stuttgart. next should be hamburg, followed by Frankfurt, the Hanover area (is by far more important than Bremen for example), Franken (Nuremberg, Erlangen, Fürth) and the Leibzig-Dresden-Chemnitz triangle.
cultural I would say Berlin is most important but all the other cities are important on their way and have important aspects (Hanover has fairs like the Cebit - world largest Computer fair!) for example, so many international visitors come here.

[PileD]

Originally posted by olafgb
Very well summarized by Tegtmeier, although we can discuss about Hamburg ;) (for sure many nice locations, but there's also quite the opposite). All of the big cities have their own characteristics. Berlin for sure is THE German metropolis with permanent changes and also the cultural center, but this doesn't mean that other cities don't have an own identity.

The biggest German cities:
1 Berlin 3.4 M
2 Hamburg 1.7 M
3 Munich 1.2 M
4 Cologne 960 K
5 Frankfurt/Main 650 K
6 Essen 600 K
7 Dortmund 590 K
8 Stuttgart 580 K
9 Düsseldorf 570 K
10 Bremen 540 K

But the biggest area, that is like one city, is the
Ruhr area (Ruhrgebiet) with 8,5 M poeple.
The wide Ruhr area (with Düsseldorf etc.) count over 10,5 M people.