Īround 260, Germanic peoples broke into Roman-controlled lands. However, Baden-Württemberg, southern Bavaria, southern Hesse and the western Rhineland had been incorporated into Roman provinces. By 100 AD, when Tacitus wrote Germania, Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube (the Limes Germanicus), occupying most of modern Germany. The outcome of this battle dissuaded the Romans from their ambition of conquering Germania, and is thus considered one of the most important events in European history. In 9 AD, three Roman legions were defeated by Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Under Augustus, the Roman Empire began to invade lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes, creating a short-lived Roman province of Germania between the Rhine and Elbe rivers. From southern Scandinavia and northern Germany, they expanded south, east, and west, coming into contact with the Celtic, Iranian, Baltic, and Slavic tribes.

The Germanic peoples are thought to date from the Nordic Bronze Age, early Iron Age, or the Jastorf culture. Main articles: Jastorf culture, Germanic peoples, Germania, Migration Period, and Frankish Realm A model of Augusta Treverorum, part of the Roman Empire in the 4th century It has the third-greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Germany is a member of the United Nations, European Union, NATO, Council of Europe, G7, G20, and OECD.

As a developed country it offers social security, a universal health care system and a tuition-free university education. As a global power in industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer. Germany has been described as a great power with a strong economy it has the largest economy in Europe, the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth-largest by PPP. After the fall of communist led-government in East Germany, German reunification saw the former East German states join the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community and the European Union, while the German Democratic Republic was a communist Eastern Bloc state and member of the Warsaw Pact. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, in 1949, Germany as a whole was organized into two separate polities with limited sovereignty: the Federal Republic of Germany, generally known as West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic, known as East Germany, while Berlin continued its de jure Four Power status. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship, World War II, and the Holocaust. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was in turn transformed into the semi-presidential Weimar Republic. Following the Napoleonic Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German Confederation was formed in 1815.įormal unification of Germany into the modern nation-state was commenced on 18 August 1866 with the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the Prussia-led North German Confederation later transformed in 1871 into the German Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt the largest urban area is the Ruhr. Its 16 constituent states are bordered by Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in the western region of Central Europe.

Map of germany black forest