8|9
AT A GLANCE
Federal Eagle
The Federal Eagle is the German state
symbol that is the richest in tradition. The
Federal President, the Bundesrat, the
Federal Constitutional Court, and the Bundestag
use differently styled eagles. The eagles that
appear on coins and the national strip of German
sports associations also differ in terms of design.
Flag
Basic Law
Passed in 1949 in Bonn, the Basic Law
was initially intended to be provisional. After
reunification in 1990 the version was then
adopted as the permanent constitution. The
146 Articles of the Basic Law supersede
all other German legal norms and define the
basic systems and values of the state.
National Holiday
3
October
The Basic Law states that the colours
of the federal flag shall be black, red, and gold.
In 1949, this followed on from the flag of
the first German republic of 1919. The Nazis
had abolished the latter and replaced
it with the swastika.
As the Day of German Unity, in the
Unification Treaty of 1990 3 October was
declared a national holiday in Germany.
The Day of German Unity is the only national
holiday to be determined by federal law.
Currency
Domain
€
The euro has been the legal tender in Germany
since 1 January 2002. It replaced the deutschmark,
which had been in use since 1948. The European
Central Bank (ECB) is headquartered in the German
financial centre Frankfurt am Main.
+49
.de
The domain “.de” is the most widespread country-specific domain in Germany, and the
most popular worldwide. Using the international
dialling code +49, 99.9 percent of households
can be reached via landline or mobile telephone.