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About Germany

     Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (help·info), IPA: [ˈbundəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant]), is a country in West-central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

     Germany is a parliamentary federal republic of sixteen states (Bundesländer). The capital city and seat of government is Berlin. As a nation-state, the country was unified near the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. After World War II, Germany's government was re-formed, its territory was divided into two separate states along the lines of allied occupation in 1949 and then was reunified in 1990. Germany is a founding member of the European Union, and with over 82 million people it has the largest population among the EU member states.

     The Federal Republic of Germany is a modern great power, a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G4 nations and, as of 2006, ranked sixth in military expenditure. Germany is the world's third largest economy by nominal GDP, the world's largest exporter of goods, and the world's second largest importer of goods. In 2007 it held the rotating presidencies of both the European Council and the G8 summits.

About Stuttgart

      Stuttgart (IPA: [ˈʃtʊtgaʁt]) is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 593,639 (as of April 30, 2006), while the metropolitan Stuttgart Region has a population of 4.6 million.

     Stuttgart lies close to both the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura. The city center, situated in a lush valley, ringed with vineyards and forests, close to the River Neckar, covers an area of 207 square kilometres (80 sq mi). Stuttgart with its metropolitan area (the political entity "Stuttgart Region" enlarged by the nearby cities of Ludwigsburg, Böblingen, Esslingen, Waiblingen, Göppingen and their respective districts) is one of the most prominent and well-known German towns, especially due to its cultural, administrative and economic importance.

     The Stuttgart Region is the nation's fourth largest conurbation (behind Ruhr Area, Rhine/Main Area and Berlin). Neighbouring large cities are Frankfurt (210 km north of Stuttgart), Nuremberg (200 km northeast of Stuttgart) and Munich (220 km southeast of Stuttgart).

The city of Stuttgart is subdivided into 23 city districts, among the most well-known are:

• Bad Cannstatt (Western Europe's largest mineral spas / Zoo Wilhelma / "Cannstatter Wasen" and "Stuttgarter Frühlingsfest" on the Cannstatter Wasen / Home of VfB Stuttgart)
• Degerloch (Fernsehturm Stuttgart / Home of Stuttgarter Kickers)
• Möhringen (Musical Theaters)
• Stammheim (High-security court & jail, see RAF terrorists)
• Untertürkheim (DaimlerChrysler HQ and original Mercedes-Benz plant)
• Vaihingen (One of two campuses of Stuttgart's university, headquarters of US armed forces in Europe. Stuttgart-Vaihingen should not be confused with nearby Vaihingen (Enz))
• Zuffenhausen (Porsche HQ)
• Feuerbach (Home of the original Bosch plant)
• Botnang (Original home of Jürgen Klinsmann)

     Stuttgart is also the seat of a Protestant bishop (Protestant State Church of Württemberg) and one of the two co-seats of the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese Rottenburg-Stuttgart. The Stuttgart-based pentecostal Biblische Glaubens-Gemeinde is the largest evangelical megachurch in Germany.