· Germany is the most populous of the EU member states, with 82 million inhabitants. It also has the largest economy in Europe.

· Modern-day Germany was at the centre of the Holy Roman Empire, which at its height included Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Belgium, the Netherlands and bits of France, Italy and Poland. This era is sometimes termed the First Reich.

· The Second Reich began with the unification of Germany in 1871, and ended in either 1918 or 1943, depending on whether or not you were Hitler. East and West Germany were formally reunited in October 1990, less than a year after the wall that divided them fell in November 1989.

· It is common when you move house in Germany to take your kitchen cabinets with you.

· More than 14% of Germany's electricity is generated from renewable sources.

· Angela Merkel is the chancellor of Germany, but can you name the president? He's called Horst Kohler, and he has just announced he's running for re-election.

· Germany is the largest exporter of goods in the world, in terms of monetary value.

· The German alphabet has the standard 26 letters, plus three vowels that take an umlaut (ä, ö and ü), plus that squiggly B (ß), which is actually a "sharp s" or eszett.

· Sixty-seven per cent of Germans claim to speak at least one foreign language, and 27% claim two or more.

· Germany is the world's leading producer of wind turbines.

· The British monarchy took a Hanoverian turn with the Act of Settlement of 1701, which prevented Catholics from succeeding to the throne. The closest Protestant relative to the childless Queen Anne was Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and when she died, aged 83, just weeks before Anne, the crown of Great Britain passed to her son George in 1714. George I was widely ridiculed in Britain for being unable to speak English, but on the continent he was seen as progressive and pro-Enlightenment.

· The German town of Schonach im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, claims to have the world's two biggest cuckoo clocks. One of the cuckoos in one of the clocks is 5m long and weighs 150kg.

· Annual German beer consumption in 2006 was 116 litres per capita per annum, down from 126 in 2000. The British, by contrast, drink only 99 litres a year.

· The Weihenstephaner brewery in Bavaria, said to be the world's oldest in continuous production, has been running since 1040.

· Germany is the ninth largest wine-producer in the world, despite having only about a tenth of the total vineyard acreage of either Spain, Italy or France. German vineyards traditionally - and predominantly - produce white wine. But red wine production has surged in recent years and now accounts for about a third of all cultivation. Spätburgunder, the local name for pinot noir, is the most popular variety.

· It was on October 31 1517, that Martin Luther nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, touching off the Reformation.

· Both Berlin and Hamburg have gay mayors. Berlin's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, proclaimed his sexuality in 2001, before being elected, with the words, "Ich bin schwul, und das ist auch gut so" ("I'm gay and that's OK").

· Germany has 414 registered zoos, more than America. The Zoologischer Garten in Berlin is the largest zoo in the world in terms of animal population (14,000) and the number of species (1,500).

· Ulm cathedral, begun in 1377 and finally completed in 1890, is 162m high, and was the tallest building in the world from 1890 to 1901.

· "Das soll wohl ein Witz sein!" is "You're joking!" in German. Always best to check.