Germany Cities and Environment

Germany Cities and Environment

Cities

The largest city, apart from Berlin, is Leipzig, dynamic and populous even before the war, the site of commercial (its fair is still prestigious) and industrial activities. Leipzig is located in a favorable point of convergence of the communication routes that connect the foothills of the Ore Mountains with the rest of Germany; further to the S, on the edge of the reliefs, on the banks of the Elbe, is Dresden, a city of art, ennobled by the Saxon kings, but also rich in industries and today in a hierarchical position vis-à-vis a vast industrialized region which includes, more in W, Chemnitz, headquarters of textile industries, Zwickau etc. In the plains of Brandenburg crossed by the Elbe, a major center is Magdeburg, a river port which was also active in the past and the Baltic port of Rostock. Finally, Berlin is at the center of the Brandenburg Rialto Lagoso. Valued by the Prussian kings, it had its greatest developments starting from the nineteenth century for its trade but also as a seat of industries. At the beginning of the twentieth century it was one of the most populous cities in the world: in 1939 it had approx. 4 million residents. The raising of the Wall broke the unitary urban fabric of the past and two distinct cities developed, also due to the different urban developments imposed by the regimes they administered. Following the reunification, it was decided to bring back the capital of the Republic, so that Berlin alone constituted the sixteenth Land of the new state. The transfer from Bonn of Parliament, government, offices and departments took several years. The anxiety of putting forty years of political laceration behind us has materialized in a feverish reconstruction activity. The new urban planning has tried to sew up the tears and renew the face of the eastern part of the city by exorcising the signs of past history. Ambitious projects accompanied the reconstruction of the main institutional offices, the major German companies moved their offices to the new capital, entrusting the construction to the most famous architects of the moment.

Environment

The original coat of Germany is the wild one of which the sagas of Germanic mythology narrate. The rainy climate of the westernmost regions has favored the development of a rich mantle of broad – leaved trees, among which the beechdominates; in the central and southern regions, where the continental characteristics are accentuated, there are mainly conifers (pines, firs). Towards the E, at the edge of the Polish plain, the lower rainfall determines the presence of grasslands. Finally in the coastal strip on the sandy soils Geest predominate moors to ericaceae. Even if the original mantle has been largely destroyed or altered, Germany is among the European countries that have managed to preserve large forest strips (approx. 31.8% of the territory). The first laws for the protection of the national forest heritage date back to the nineteenth century and currently the legal text of reference is a federal law of 1975. The wildlife that still populates the forests is made up of wolves, foxes, hares, weasels and badgers. In the mountainous regions live deer and wild boar. There are many species of birds. The white stork is very common among migratory birds. Herring and cod live in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The environmental conditions of Germany have their roots in the situation prior to reunification. The biggest problems were recorded in the eastern territories, where, until 1990, numerous highly polluting coal-fired industrial centers were active. Despite the recovery programs launched immediately after the reunification, the carbon dioxide produced in the eastern areas is still much more than that produced in the west and the huge quantities of sulfur released into the atmosphere contribute to fuel the phenomenon of acid rain. Furthermore, urban and industrial discharges have caused the pollution of waterways which has been partially remedied by enhancing the recycling of waste. In June 2000, the German government also established a program that provides for the suspension of the construction of new nuclear power plants and the closure of all plants currently in operation (which are numerous and supply a third of the Länder. The surface occupied by national parks, reserves and protected areas is very extensive and equal to 49% of the national territory. The parks extend mainly in two areas, that of the northern lowland between Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, including the coastal stretches of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea; and the essentially mountainous one of southern Germany. In the northern area there are the largest parks, which also include the coasts on which almost all the species of aquatic birds of Northern Europe nest; the vegetation here is mainly composed of grasslands, marshes and beech and oak woods. The beech woods, of very ancient origin, have become UNESCO World Heritage Sites (2007).  Visit plus-size-tips.com for beach holiday in Europe.

Germany Cities and Environment

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