DID YOU KNOW?

• — Nearly half of all Germans are fluent in English, but only 3% of Germans speak French fluently.

• — Most Germans take environmental issues seriously. Public recycling bins can be found in all towns and cities. This attitude is also reflected in the policies of the Green Party, a political party that stresses environmental issues.

• — The Hanseatic League was established in northern Germany in the 14th century by trading companies (hansas) to combat piracy in the North and Baltic Seas. Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck are still known as Hanseatic cities.

• — Chimney sweeps can still be seen in Germany, dressed in the traditional black suit and black top hat.

• — Germans have played an important role in the world of fashion and design, not only because of designers such as Hugo Boss, Karl Lagerfeld, Wolfgang Joop and Jil Sander, but also in the work of photographer Helmut Newton and model Claudia Schiffer.

• — Michael Schumacher, the German racer for the Ferrari team, recently revived interest in Formula One racing when he won the World Championship two years in a row.

• — The Romans were the first to enjoy Germany's hot springs. They built baths which people used to cure arthritis and rheumatism. These baths are still used today in towns such as Trier and Baden-Baden.

• — Göttingen is the headquarters of the Max Planck Institute, named in honor of the discoverer of quantum theory, who lived in the town

• — German beer gardens date back to the Middle Ages, when brewers planted chestnut trees around their storage areas to shade the beer from the sun.

• — The modern printed book was invented in Mainz, Germany, in the 15th century by Johannes Gutenberg, who created a printing press that used movable metal type.

• — In 1632, the villagers of Oberammergau in Bavaria promised to perform a Passion Play if the village was spared from the plague that was killing many Europeans. No one in the village died from the plague and the villagers have performed the play every ten years since then. Almost everyone in the village takes part.

• — The Christmas tree tradition is believed to have originated in Germany in the 17th century. German Christmas trees are often decorated with real candles.

• — Till Eulenspiegel was a 14th century peasant who was famous for his wit and irreverence. He loved to play practical jokes on pompous people in authority. His story was written down in the 16th century and became the inspiration for an orchestral work by Richard Strauss and a poem by Gerhardt Hauptmann.

• — King Ludwig ruled over the German region of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886. He had many beautiful fairy-tale castles built throughout Bavaria during his reign. He spent huge amounts of money to build them and it was because of this that his subjects called him “Mad” King Ludwig. Today, these castles are visited by millions of tourists.