Northern Germany

These features were formed during the Weichselian glaciation and contrast topographically with the adjacent Central Uplands of Germany to the south, such as the Harz and Teutoburg Forest, which are occasionally counted as part of Northern Germany.

Culture

Northern Germany has traditionally been dominated by

Culturally and socially, Northern Germany is characterized by higher levels of income equality and gender equality than southern and south-western Germany. While the national federal Gini coefficient for Germany stands at around 30, the southern states have a Gini coefficient of 30.6 whereas for the Northern states the Gini coefficient stands at 27.5 which is closer to the Scandinavian average of 25. Traditional society in the western part of Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and some parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt) until the early 20th century was based on well-off, literate and landowning yeoman farmers owning relatively large pieces of land, making a living growing grain crops and raising dairy cattle and pigs, and a large and educated middle class in the towns and cities working in the civil service, or as businessmen, artisans, blue-collar workers and skilled workers. Thus, the proportion of serfs, landless labourers, semi-skilled industrial workers and large landlords was relatively smaller, making for a more stable society than elsewhere in Germany like the Rhineland region and the region east of the Elbe river. Additionally, Northern cities like Hamburg, Bremen and Rostock have always been economic powerhouses of trade and commerce and have had a long tradition of innovation and creativity in business and industry.

Cuisine

The traditional northern German daily diet is centered around boiled

The northwesternmost region of East Frisia is an exception insofar as tea is largely preferred over coffee there, to the extent that East Frisians drink about 300 litres (79 US gal) of tea per capita and year, more than in any particular country.^[2]

Lunch at workplaces and educational institutions in northern Germany begins very early – usually between 11:45 and 12:15 pm, and dinner is usually eaten between 7 and 8 pm in the evening. This is because the work and school day starts pretty early, at 8 am sharp. Lunches eaten at home during holidays and weekends usually start later – around 1 pm.

The drinking culture in the north is more or less similar to that of the rest of the country, heavily based on

In the

From 1500 onwards, the former Saxon territories (except for Westphalia) were incorporated into the Lower Saxon Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. The Hanseatic League is also part of the common history and culture of the cities in northern Germany.

Northern Germany corresponds to the territory of the

• the easternmost and southeastern part (mainly East Prussia, Brandenburgian Pomerania, and Brandenburg) was owned by or part of the State of the Teutonic Order and later Brandenburg-Prussia,
• the middle part (the island of Rügen, parts of Western Pomerania, eastern coastal regions of Schleswig-Holstein, and a fragmented Mecklenburg in the middle) during the Early Middle Ages was at least in parts inhabited by a large Slavic population (see Obotrites and Veleti) and for a long time from the High Middle Ages onwards was first under Danish (Principality of Rügen, 1168–1365), then Swedish influence as Swedish Pomerania (1628-1807/15),
• and the Western part (today most of Schleswig-Holstein and all of
  British Zone of Occupation in Allied-occupied Germany
  between 1945–49.

A number of Scottish and English Lutheran Families settled in Northern Germany between the years 1683 and 1709, with the result that many Germans in Northwest Germany can claim Scottish and English ancestry.[3]

Northern German states

The term northern German states is always used to refer to the following coastal federal States of Germany:

• Bremen
• Hamburg
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• Lower Saxony
• Schleswig-Holstein

In some cases, it also includes the non-coastal states of:

• Brandenburg
• Berlin
• Saxony-Anhalt
• North Rhine-Westphalia

Northern Germany as a region or as a historical landscape includes additional federal states (see geography above). Northwestern Germany is usually considered to be part of Northern Europe both culturally and geographically where as the southern states are much closer to Central European cultures.

Major cities

Where a city has different names in English and German, the English name is given first.

Rank	City	Pop. 1950	Pop. 1960	Pop. 1970	Pop. 1980	Pop. 1990	Pop. 2000	Pop. 2010	Area [km2]	Density per km2	Growth [%] (2000– 2010)	surpassed 100,000	State (Bundesland)
1.	Berlin	3,336,026	3,274,016	3,208,719	3,048,759	3,433,695	3,382,169	3,460,725	887,70	3,899	2.32	1747	Berlin
2.	Hamburg	1,605,606	2,376,958	1,793,640	1,645,095	1,652,363	1,715,392	1,786,448	755,16	2,366	4.14	1787	Hamburg
3.	Bremen	499,549	563,270	592,533	555,118	551,219	539,403	547,340	325,42	1,682	1.47	1875	Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
4.	Hanover / Hannover	444,296	574,672	521,003	534,623	513,010	515,001	522,686	204,14	2,560	1.49	1875	Lower Saxony
5.	Bielefeld	153,613	174,527	168,609	312,708	319,037	321,758	323,270	257,92	1,253	0.47	1930	North Rhine-Westphalia
6.	Münster	118,496	180,871	198,878	269,696	259,438	265,609	279,803	302,96	924	5.34	1915	North Rhine-Westphalia
7.	Brunswick / Braunschweig	223,760	242,489	223,275	261,141	245,816	245,816	248,867	192,15	1,295	1.24	1890	Lower Saxony
8.	Kiel	254,449	271,610	271,070	250,062	245,567	232,612	239,526	118,65	2,019	2.97	1898	Schleswig-Holstein
9.	Magdeburg	260,305	261,594	272,237	289,032	278,807	231,450	231,549	200,99	1,152	0.04	1882	Saxony-Anhalt
10.	Lübeck	238,276	232,140	239,955	220,588	214,758	213,399	210,232	214,21	981	−1.48	1912	Schleswig-Holstein
11.	Rostock	133,109	158,630	198,636	232,506	248,088	200,506	202,735	181,26	1,118	1.11	1935	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Rank	City	Pop. 1950	Pop. 1960	Pop. 1970	Pop. 1980	Pop. 1990	Pop. 2000	Pop. 2010	Area [km2]	Density per km2	Growth [%] (2000– 2010)	surpassed 100,000	State (Land)

Sports

The German Football Association was founded in Leipzig in 1900. Several cities in Northern Germany have hosted matches of the 1974 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1988 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The

In women's football, the VfL Wolfsburg won the Bundesliga three times and the UEFA Women's Champions League twice, whereas 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam won the Bundesliga six times and the UEFA Champions League twice.

Notable

Notable Eishockey-Bundesliga teams include Eisbären Berlin, Grizzlys Wolfsburg, Hamburg Freezers, Hannover Scorpions and Fischtown Pinguins.

Notable handball teams include

Notable marathon races include the Berlin Marathon (one of the World Marathon Majors), Hamburg Marathon, Hannover Marathon.

Notable tennis tournaments include the

Other notable competitions are the

The sailing competitions for the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics were held at the Bay of Kiel.

See also

• Southern Germany
• Western Germany
• Central Germany (cultural area)

References