We have had such a great time on our travel to Germany from home! We have come to appreciate the fascinating history of Germany. We hope you enjoy it as well.
Germany is famous for castles, Christmas markets, fairy tales, fast cars and some seriously good food, but there is much more to this European country.
These fun facts about Germany are a great introduction for kids and families who want to learn more about German history, culture, food and traditions. And instead of stopping with the facts, we’ve included some of our favorite ways to explore Germany at home, including German recipes, movies, music and crafts.
I was actually born in Germany while my dad was stationed there in the military. Although we moved before I was three, I’ve been back several times, and Germany has always been a country my family loves. When we created our Travel the World From Home series, it was especially fun to introduce my kids to a country that has been part of my own story.
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25 Fun Facts About Germany
From fairy-tale castles and gummy bears to famous inventions and Christmas traditions, Germany has plenty of surprises!
Germany’s Geography
1. Germany is right in the middle of Europe.
Germany shares a border with nine countries: Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.
2. More than 80 million people live in Germany.
That makes Germany one of the most populated countries in Europe.
3. Berlin is Germany’s capital and largest city.
It is known for its museums, monuments, art, history and the remains of the Berlin Wall.
4. The Black Forest is a real place.
The Schwarzwald is a beautiful region of mountains, forests and small towns in southwestern Germany.
5. Germany isn’t just mountains and forests.
Northern Germany reaches the North Sea and Baltic Sea, while southern Germany stretches into the Bavarian Alps.
Castles & Fairy Tales
6. Germany has thousands of castles and castle ruins.
You could travel around Germany for weeks and still only see a tiny fraction of them.
7. Neuschwanstein Castle looks like it belongs in a fairy tale.
King Ludwig II built the spectacular Bavarian castle in the 1800s, and today it is one of Germany’s most recognizable landmarks.
8. The Brothers Grimm were German.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected and published stories that eventually became famous around the world, including Cinderella, Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel.
9. You can follow a Fairy Tale Route through Germany.
The German Fairy Tale Route connects towns and landscapes associated with the Brothers Grimm and their stories.
10. Some German towns really do look like storybooks.
Half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets and medieval town centers can still be found throughout the country.
German Food
11. Germans love bread.
Germany has an enormous variety of breads and rolls, from dark rye breads to crusty breakfast rolls.
12. Pretzels have been eaten in Germany for hundreds of years.
Large soft pretzels called Brezeln are particularly associated with southern Germany.
13. Germany has hundreds of varieties of sausage.
Bratwurst may be the one Americans know best, but different regions have their own specialties.
14. Gummy bears were invented in Germany.
Hans Riegel created the original gummy bear in Bonn in the 1920s. The name HARIBO comes from HAns RIegel BOnn.
15. Black Forest cake comes from Germany.
The famous chocolate-and-cherry dessert is known in Germany as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
Things Germany Gave the World
16. The modern automobile was invented by a German.
Karl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886, widely considered the first practical modern automobile.
17. Germany is still famous for its cars.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen are all German brands.
18. The printing press changed the world from Germany.
Johannes Gutenberg developed his movable-type printing press in Mainz in the 1400s, making books much easier to reproduce.
19. Some of the world’s most famous composers were German.
Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven were both born in what is now Germany.
20. An early programmable digital computer was built in Germany.
German engineer Konrad Zuse created the Z3 in Berlin in 1941.
German Traditions & Culture
21. Christmas markets are a centuries-old German tradition.
During Advent, cities and towns fill their squares with decorated stalls selling food, ornaments, gifts and warm drinks.
22. The Christmas tree tradition has strong German roots.
Decorated evergreen trees became an important Christmas tradition in German-speaking areas before spreading around the world.
23. Oktoberfest actually starts in September.
Munich’s famous festival generally begins in September and finishes in early October.
24. German can have some incredibly long words.
The language allows smaller words to be combined into compound words, creating words that can look enormous to English speakers.
25. Germany has more than one way to say hello.
Hallo works throughout Germany, but regional greetings are common too. In Bavaria, you may hear Servus or Grüß Gott.
Now Explore Germany With Your Kids
Reading fun facts is a great introduction to Germany, but we had much more fun when we actually cooked, watched, listened and created our way through the country.
Below you’ll find the German food we made, movies we watched, music we listened to and crafts we tried as a family. You can choose one activity for a quick introduction to Germany or put several together for your own Germany day at home.
What to make for your German food
German food is up there with my favorite food in the world! I know that sounds a little strange but the Germans have perfected starchy delicious potatoes, spaetzle, and dumplings and add to them delicious rich gravy and well seasoned meat.
When I was growing up my very favorite food was spaetzle (tiny homemade pasta browned in butter) and I asked for it for every birthday. My mom who (if you haven’t figured out from the recipes I have linked to, her recipe is linked below) might be one of the best cooks in the world, always obliged and added rolled rouladen, schnitzel, or sausages.
I am so excited for you to be able to eat my favorite food with us this week!
It’s my mom’s recipe and it is stellar! My kids get excited whenever I make it and my husband groans. He says it uses every dish in the kitchen to make it. I will agree that it isn’t a quick meal nor a mess free one but it is worth it because it is sooo good.
Allergy options
My oldest son has Celiac disease and can’t eat any gluten so when I make this dish I have to make gluten free bread crumbs, do a different flour dredge, make 2 gravies and 2 spaetzle so perhaps that is why it is such a disaster when I am finished. If you need tips on making in Celiac friendly please email me or send me a message and I’m happy to share what I know.
These little pastas are a cross between a tiny dumpling and an egg pasta. I love the recipe above and the only thing I do differently is mix the egg and milk together and add it to the dry ingredients at once.
A number of years ago my mom gave me this spaetzle maker and it is so great to use that I make way more spaetzle than I used to.
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If you would rather you can use a colander and a wooden spoon to push the dough into the water. It’s not quite as fast and messier to clean up, but it certainly works.
What to watch for your movie about Germany
We have watched a bunch of Germany movies this week because the kids really enjoyed them. Every single one of the were set in the backdrop of WW2 but there is one that is young kid friendly.
“Night Crossing”
I first watched this Disney movie when I lived in Tunisia and we watched it projected on our living room wall with a projector provided by the embassy. I was riveted then and my kids loved it now.
It is the story of 2 families who build a hot air balloon to escape out of East Germany to freedom in the west. It is a great story about perseverance and family love. It is a gentle story that shows why they want to escape but glosses over the war. Therefore, it is a great way to introduced WW2 and its aftermath without the horrors that accompany it.
If you have kids over the age of 12 this is a great movie. It is the story of a young boy who wants desperately to be a Nazi, has Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend, and befriends a Jewish girl hiding in his attic.
This movie is full of contradictions. It is full of dark humor, some really upsetting moments, and a welcome change from many WW2 movies. The child actors are stupendous and every time imaginary Hitler is on screen you will roll in laughter.
Be aware there is some violence, language and disturbing images.
This classic is considered to be one of the greatest movies about WW2 ever. My boys groaned a bit about watching an “old” movie but they were into it within 10 minutes.
The story is about a group of Allied soldiers in a prisoner of war camp and their attempts to escape. It is action packed, filled with well-known actors and motorcycle chase at the end.
Some people die, but it isn’t gory or particularly violent. It is suspenseful. It should capture the attention of kids 8 and up.
This is a fact book with a story included so it is entertaining for young ones and elementary school kids. It has German words you can learn to pronounce and is a great primer on the beauties of Germany. It also comes in a Kindle edition so you can download it right away.
How else can you explore Germany from home?
I highly recommend this song and video about Germany. Its catchy and your kids will learn tons while enjoying the song.
Have your kids read this really easy to digest fact sheet about Germany. (It will help them solve this week’s crossword puzzle from the activity pack.)
What to craft from Germany
Moravian Stars
Moravian stars are a popular Christmas decorations throughout Germany and in other European countries. They get their name from the Moravian church that began in Germany and popularized these stars. In Germany they are called Herrnhut stars.
I love Moravian Stars and when I saw a tutorial I thought it would be so much fun to make! They are fun, but they are also better suited for teenagers and adults as they are a little bit fussy. So if you have older kids here is what you need:
12×12 paper– we used more of the paper we had from our Morocco craft. It was great to use because it has 2 different prints on each side, making the stars really cool.
Cut your 12 x12 paper into 1″ strips and tape each piece together to make 4 -1″x48″ strips. (We experimented with lots of different sizes and found this worked the best.)
Follow this YouTube tutorial. (We tried 3 other tutorials that were hard to follow until we found one that made any kind of sense.) This one is easy to understand and you can slow the playback in YouTube to make it even easier!And after a lot of folding and a few broken piece of paper I had to tape back together this is what we got!
We want to make a bunch and string them together for my son’s room.
If you want an easier craft or one that will be fun for younger kids here are a few that use materials you should already have from other crafts.
We try to listen to music from each country while we do our craft projects. Here is Germany’s.
The kids noticed that there were some similarities between German music and Russian music. It’s so exciting for them to understand that they have similar backgrounds and influences.
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I love your idea about traveling the world from home and will be sharing this with my daughters and grandchildren. Just one correction, Jägerschnitzel is spelled with a “J” as the first letter, not a “Y.”
Spätzle are one of this German born and raised Oma as well.
I love your idea about traveling the world from home and will be sharing this with my daughters and grandchildren. Just one correction, Jägerschnitzel is spelled with a “J” as the first letter, not a “Y.”
Spätzle are one of this German born and raised Oma as well.
Thanks for the heads up!