Updated on February 20, 2023
All about German culture: 9 reasons to fall in love with it
What makes German culture so unique? Aside from a bazillion different types of bread, they also love to travel and learn, but still prefer to pay in cash. Home to about 83 million people and located in the heart of Europe, here are the major aspects that make up the German culture:
Much of Germany’s history took place under a monarchy. In fact, the last emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, didn’t officially abdicate until after WWI in 1918. Even though that was just over 100 years ago, Germany still maintains formal aspects, especially within the language.
Unlike in English where everyone is referred to as you, German has a separate word for informal you – du –and formal you – Sie. Du is the equivalent of calling someone by their first name whereas Sie is the equivalent of using Mr./Mrs. and their last name.
This is an important aspect of the German language to pay attention to because it can cause offense if you call someone du when you should be saying Sie, instead.
The general rule of thumb is that anyone you speak to that you don’t know, anyone in positions of authority (doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc.), and anyone who is your supervisor at work should be referred to as Sie. You can change to du once the person gives permission.
Germany has one of the shortest average workweeks in the world as a developed country at about 34 hours per week. This can be contributed to the combination of a strong social system and a culture that prioritizes having a healthy work-life balance.
Employees in Germany get an average of 30 days of holiday per year, plus 10 bank holidays. This enables Germans to travel much more extensively than other countries, as well as spend more time with family and friends. Germans also tend not to work weekends and the majority of businesses and shops are fully closed on Sundays.
Education is a big deal in Germany: 86% of the country’s 25-64 year-olds have obtained at least an upper secondary qualification. Public education including university is free for all students (even international ones) because German culture heavily prioritizes learning. Because education is quite accessible for the majority of the population, the workforce often requires a Bachelor’s degree at minimum (with the exception of trade and vocational positions).
Germans love education so much that they’ve even been termed “Das Land der Dichter und Denker” (The country of poets and thinkers) due to famous intellectual figures like Albert Einstein, Robert Koch, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
At the core of German cuisine is and always will be bread. There are a bazillion different types of bread at the bakery. Germans even have a meal time known as Abendbrot which literally translates as “evening bread”.
And it is exactly what it sounds like: an evening meal of bread and a few toppings, most often eaten cold. Contrary to other cultures where cuisine involves complex spices and hot meals for dinner, many Germans prefer simplicity and a cold meal in the evening.
While Germany is stereotyped as a technologically developed country, ex-pats who move here will be surprised to find that it isn’t completely true, especially when it comes to payment systems.
Cash is still the dominant form of payment and there are often businesses like restaurants and kiosks that only accept cash payments. Furthermore, Germans are highly credit card averse, so your typical Visa or Mastercard often won’t work here either. You’ll need to use a German EC card (debit card) for the majority of non-cash payments.
Germans love their cars like a part of their own family. Consider how many large car manufacturers are based here: Porsche, Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Opel, and Ford-Werke GmbH. Although many Germans do take public transport or ride their bike to work, they are also well-known for driving without a speed limit on the Autobahn.
Interestingly, this no-speed limit rule on the Autobahn is one of the core elements of German freedom. While they do love to follow the rules in daily life, the Autobahn is one place they’d like to keep free of them.
It’s impossible to speak about German culture without mentioning punctuality because it is so extremely important. Being on time has a lot to do with the cultural view of respect: if you’re not on time (or at least give notice), then you’re not respecting the other person’s time. When you’re on time, things are organized, and they go according to plan. And things going according to plan is a big deal here because that’s a major factor in why German society functions so smoothly.
Around one-third of Germans are a member of a sports club or actively participate in a sports team, which most of the time means playing football. Furthermore, the professional German football league – Bundesliga – gets the second-highest attendance of all sports in the world.
They’ve won four World Cup matches so far, which is a great source of German pride. Everyone from children to grandmas gathers together to watch on a yearly basis.
Where is one of the best places to get a cheap but delicious beer? Germany. German beer is one of the top things any tourist should try while visiting because they’ll truly be drinking a part of the German soul. There is evidence that Germany has the oldest brewery in history known as Weihenstephan in Bavaria, originating from the 8th century AD.
Beer brewing became so popular that nowadays you can drink a different type of beer every day for 15 years. Despite these numbers, the craft beer scene hasn’t taken a stronghold, as Germany’s beer purity law began 500 years ago and is still in place. But the beer still tastes fantastic anyways!
Immersing yourself in a new culture is always an inspiring experience. As for any new discovery, some characteristics might be already familiar, whereas others might sound more exotic or unusual to us. Now that you know what are some of the pillars of German culture, you can deep dive into it with no fears and fall deeply in love with its uniqueness.
