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Programs Offered:
WISE Abroad offers
language training and
internships in Tubingen, Germany.
About Germany and Tubingen:
Very near Stuttgart in southern Germany is one of Germany's most
important and famous university towns, Tubingen, which was built
on a hillside above the Neckar River and at the edge of the
Black Forest. The city itself dates from 1078, while the
university was founded in 1477. This hilly region has patches of
beautiful dark forest, green meadows and small lakes. This is
the area where cuckoo clocks are manufactured. Situated near the
Alps, the Black Forest is also very popular for outdoor
activities such as hiking, cross-country skiing and ski jumping.
At the edge of the Black Forest and stunningly
nestled in the Swabian mountains is Stuttgart which is the
home of Porsche and Mercedes.
Although it boasts of fairy-tale sights and picturesque scenery
that is reminiscent of medieval times, Germany is undoubtedly a
postindustrial, multicultural country with all the inherent
advantages and conflicts. Germany's is far from being
homogeneous where each of its regions display sharply defined
elements, each one maintaining its distinctive character in
terms of dialect, traditional dress and foods. Berlin, today the
No. 1 tourist attraction, is the biggest winner of
reunification. The north has the wonderful seafaring
cities of Hamburg and Bremen. Along the Rhine and Moselle Rivers
are glorious castles and steep, terraced vineyards. From
Frankfurt to Bremen runs a path of idyllic villages, and in the
south are the famous Black Forest, Munich and Bavaria's loud
beer halls and rococo palaces and churches.
Location:
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and
the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of
Denmark
Population
82,424,609 (July 2004 est.)
Religion
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim
3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Language
German Government Type
Federal republic
Economy:
Germany's affluent and technologically
powerful economy- the fifth largest national economy in the
world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the
entire euro zone, and a quick turnaround is not in the offing in
the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001 - 2003 fell short of 1%.
The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy
continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual
transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion.
Germany's ageing population, combined with high unemployment,
has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding
contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor
market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and
the setting of wages on a national basis - have made
unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and
growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could
allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European
economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor
market rigidities are further addressed. The government is also
starting long-needed structural reforms designed to revitalize
the country's economy. In the short run, however, the fall in
government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the
deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.
NOTE: Please visit the CIA World
FactBook for more country facts at:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Source: CIA World Factbook |
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