Middle Germany
Encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Central Germany (disambiguation)Central GermanyCentral Germany has different meanings in different contexts:* Central Germany is the region where the Central German dialects are spoken...
.
Central Germany is an economic and cultural region in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Its exact borders depend on context, but it is often defined as being a region within the federal states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
and Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
, or a smaller part of this region (such as Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
).
The name dates from the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, when the region was approximately in the centre of the country. Since the German Empire's eastern territories became part of Poland, "Central Germany" has been located east of the centre of the country, but the name is still often used in business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, media
Media (communication)
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...
and by the Central German Metropolitan Region.
History
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, parts of Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
and the south of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, the region is described as an area south of the linguistic Benrath line
Benrath line
In German linguistics, the Benrath line is the maken-machen isogloss: dialects north of the line have the original in maken , while those to the south have...
where Central German dialects
Central German
Central German is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany.-History:...
were spoken. It was for centuries one of the most advanced areas in Germany, a center of both the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and the 19th-century Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
Until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, this area was seen as the middle of Germany due to it being approximately midway between Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
and Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
. The Middle German Chemical Triangle
Middle German Chemical Triangle
The Middle German Chemical Triangle is the industrial conurbation around the cities and towns of Halle , Merseburg and Bitterfeld in the North German state of Saxony-Anhalt and Leipzig and Schkeuditz in the Free State of Saxony...
was the central region of the three main German industrial areas between the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
and Upper Silesia
Upper Silesian Industrial Region
The Upper Silesian Industrial Region is a large industrial region in Poland. It lies mainly in the Silesian Voivodeship, centered around Katowice....
. After 1945, when Germany lost its eastern territories, the area fell into the remaining East German territory.
For decades until Chancellor Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
started his Ostpolitik
Ostpolitik
Neue Ostpolitik , or Ostpolitik for short, refers to the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic beginning in 1969...
, "central Germany" was used in official West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
usage to denote the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, by both the Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
and the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, and by a large number of West German residents who had been expelled
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
from the eastern provinces, who held a wide range of political views. However, after the West German government accepted the fixed eastern border
Oder-Neisse line
The Oder–Neisse line is the border between Germany and Poland which was drawn in the aftermath of World War II. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
with Poland in 1970
Treaty of Warsaw (1970)
The Treaty of Warsaw was a treaty between West Germany and the People's Republic of Poland. It was signed by Chancellor Willy Brandt and Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz at the Presidential Palace on 7 December 1970, and it was ratified by the German Bundestag on 17 May 1972.In the treaty, both...
, implying that parts of Poland were still "eastern Germany" was associated only with far-right and revanchist viewpoints.
Post-reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, however, activists (e.g. Aktion Mitteldeutschland e.V.) claimed that the larger Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
-Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
area would benefit from asserting an economic identity, separate from the other more rural new states of former East Germany. The use of the term "Central Germany" was meant to underline its location in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and to recall the industrial glory of the area in former times. Mainly it is used in business and the media
Media (communication)
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...
.
Since 1991, ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
has used the term for the public regional broadcaster in Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt...
(Central German Broadcasting). The term is often used by private companies that are located around Leipzig, Halle and Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
as well as by the Evangelical Church in Central Germany
Evangelical Church in Central Germany
The Evangelical Church in Central Germany is a United church body covering most of the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia and some adjacent areas in Brandenburg and Saxony .- History :...
. The term is also used in sports competitions, such as the Mitteldeutsche Meisterschaften (Central German Championships).
The Central German Metropolitan Region is a regional development zone in the European METREX network. It now includes major cities in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, as well as the "Saxon triangle" of cities that set up the organization in 1994 (Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
-Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
-Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
).
Although most methods for determing the geographical center of Germany
Central Germany (geography)
In geography, central Germany describes the areas surrounding the central point of modern-day Germany.The town of Niederdorla, in the state of Thuringia, claims to be the most central town in Germany...
result in a point in "Central Germany" (for example Niederdorla
Niederdorla
Niederdorla is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich district of Thuringia, Germany. It is the geographical center of Germany. Its nearest main city is Erfurt, which is also t the capital city of Thuringia.- People from Niederdorla :...
in western Thuringia), the three-state area also comprises Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
, the easternmost town in Germany on the border with Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Examples of use
- Central German Metropolitan Region (11 cities in Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt)
- Mitteldeutscher RundfunkMitteldeutscher RundfunkMitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt...
(Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt) - Mitteldeutsche ZeitungMitteldeutsche ZeitungThe Mitteldeutsche Zeitung is a regional daily newspaper for southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Published in Halle with several local versions, the paper is owned by M. DuMont Schauberg, Cologne....
, Central German Newspaper (Halle/southern Saxony-Anhalt only) - Central German football championshipCentral German football championshipThe Central German football championship was the highest association football competition in Central Germany, in what is now the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, established in 1902...
(1902-1933: modern-day Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt with exception of the northern parts; plus DuderstadtDuderstadtDuderstadt is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen. It is the center and capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld...
, Neustadt bei CoburgNeustadt bei CoburgNeustadt bei Coburg is a town in the district of Coburg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km northeast of Coburg, as its name indicates.-Local sudivisions:...
and others) - Mitteldeutscher Basketball ClubMitteldeutscher BCMitteldeutscher Basketball Club is a German basketball club based in Weißenfels, Saxony-Anhalt. In 2004, the club won the FIBA Europe Cup against JDA Dijon...
(WeißenfelsWeißenfelsWeißenfels is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle.-History:...
in Saxony-Anhalt) - Mitteldeutsches Chemiedreieck (HalleHalle, Saxony-AnhaltHalle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
and BitterfeldBitterfeldBitterfeld is a town in the district Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approx. 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle...
in S.-Anhalt; LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and SchkeuditzSchkeuditzSchkeuditz is a town in the district of Nordsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, 12 km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz...
in Saxony) - Evangelical Church in Central GermanyEvangelical Church in Central GermanyThe Evangelical Church in Central Germany is a United church body covering most of the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia and some adjacent areas in Brandenburg and Saxony .- History :...
(Thuringia, most of Saxony-Anhalt, some of Saxony, some of BrandenburgBrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
– see all German Evangelical churches)
See also
- East Germany (GDR)
- New states of Germany (post-reunification)
- East Central German dialectsEast Central GermanEast Central German is the non-Franconian sub-group of Central German dialects, themselves part of High German. It comprises:*Standard German*Thuringian*Upper Saxon German*Lausitzisch-Neumärkisch, whose best-known form is the Berlinerisch dialect...