Northern Germany

Geographic region in Europe

Northern Germany (link=no, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig Holstein, Mecklenburg Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city states Hamburg and Bremen. It contrasts with Southern Germany, Western Germany and Eastern Germany.

Northern Germany generally refers to the Sprachraum area north of the Uerdingen and Benrath line isoglosses, where Low German dialects are spoken. These comprise the Low Saxon dialects in the west (including the Westphalian language area up to the Rhineland), the East Low German region along the Baltic coast with Western Pomerania, the Altmark and northern Brandenburg, as well as the North Low German dialects. Although from the 19th century onwards, the use of Standard German was strongly promoted especially by the Prussian administration, Low German dialects are still present in rural areas, with an estimated number of five to eight million active speakers. However, since World War II and the immigration of expellees from the former eastern territories of Germany, its prevalence has steadily reduced. Besides which, Frisian is spoken in East and North Frisia, as well as Danish (Standard and South Jutlandic) in parts of Schleswig.

The key terrain feature of Northern Germany is the North German Plain including the marshes along the coastline of the North and Baltic Seas, as well as the geest and heaths inland. Also prominent are the low hills of the Baltic Uplands, the ground moraines, end moraines, sandur, glacial valleys, bogs and Luch. 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.

Northern Germany has traditionally been dominated by Protestantism, especially Lutheranism. The two northern provinces of Schleswig Holstein and Lower Saxony have the highest proportion of self reported Lutherans in Germany. Exceptions include the Catholic districts of Emsland, Cloppenburg and Vechta in the west, traditionally linked to the Catholic region of Westphalia in the south, and the southernmost region of Lower Saxony, around the city of Duderstadt, comprising part of the traditional Catholic enclave of Eichsfeld. 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.

The traditional northern German daily diet is centered around boiled potatoes, rye bread, dairy products, cabbages, cucumbers, berries, jams, fish, and pork and beef. A breakfast specialty is the crispbread (Knäckebrot), eaten with a variety of toppings such as ham, soft cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, and liver paste. Lentil stews and soups are very popular as a working lunch. Regional specialties in Schleswig Holstein, Mecklenburg Vorpommern and Lower Saxony include blood sausage (Blutwurst) and a variety of black puddings commonly eaten for brunch. Another northern German regional specialty are meatloaves (Hackbraten), made from a mixture of ground pork and beef and served with mashed potatoes, brown sauce and lingonberry jam. Many traditional meat based lunch dishes are served with boiled or mashed potatoes and brown sauce. Eating brunch is very popular during weekends in the larger towns and cities. In regions nearer to the coast, fish is very popular, with pickled herring and salmon being delicacies. Drinking coffee is firmly rooted in northern Germany and the northern provinces on average consume around of coffee per capita annually. This is more than the of coffee per capita consumed in the south. Coffee is frequently drunk four times a day: at breakfast, after lunch, in the evening at around 4 pm, and after dinner. Many people also drink a coffee at their place of work at the start of the day's work, and a coffee break with colleagues around an hour before or after lunch. There is also a strong tradition of taking coffee breaks and visiting cafés with friends and acquaintances. In places such as publicly funded universities where free coffee is not available to students, it is not uncommon for students to bring their own hot coffee in insulated flasks and drink from it intermittently. Cafés usually offer medium fat milk and sugar cubes along with filter coffee. Commonly eaten desserts include waffles with ice cream, pancakes, the sweet bun roll with cream known as Heißwecke, and blueberry pie (Heidelbeerkuchen) with vanilla cream. 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 of tea per capita and year, more than in any particular country. Lunch at workplaces and educational institutions in northern Germany begins very earlyusually 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 lateraround 1 pm. The drinking culture in the north is more or less similar to that of the rest of the country, heavily based on beer with pale lagers and pilsners being favourites. Unlike Bavaria, Austria and Central Germany, dark beers or dark lagers are not at all popular in northern Germany. The north has a slightly stronger tradition of hard liquor, such as corn, vodka, and schnapps. Binge drinking is far more common in the northalmost 70% of binge drinking hospitalizations on weekends happen in the eight northern provinces and states containing just 40% of the population. As in all of Germany, mulled wine is a popular alcoholic drink during the Christmas season.

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 Nordderby (Northern derby) is played between Hamburger SV and SV Werder Bremen, whereas the Hamburg derby is played between Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli. Other notable men's football clubs include Hertha Berlin, VfL Wolfsburg, Hannover 96, Eintracht Braunschweig, F. C. Hansa Rostock, 1. FC Magdeburg. Hamburger SV won the 1982–83 European Cup and six German championships, whereas Werder Bremen won the German championship four times and Hertha Berlin twice. 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 Basketball Bundesliga teams include Alba Berlin, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig, Hamburg Towers and EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Notable Eishockey Bundesliga teams include Eisbären Berlin, Grizzlys Wolfsburg, Hamburg Freezers, Hannover Scorpions and Fischtown Pinguins. Notable handball teams include GWD Minden, SG Flensburg Handewitt, TuS Nettelstedt Lübbecke, THW Kiel, Handball Hamburg, SC Magdeburg, Buxtehuder SV, VfL Oldenburg and HSG Blomberg Lippe. Notable marathon races include the Berlin Marathon (one of the World Marathon Majors), Hamburg Marathon, Hannover Marathon. Notable tennis tournaments include the Halle Open, International German Open and Sparkassen Open. Other notable competitions are the Kiel Week, EuroEyes Cyclassics and the Hanse Sail. The Olympiastadion in Berlin has hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and Internationales Stadionfest. The sailing competitions for the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics were held at the Bay of Kiel.