Culture Germany
As Germany suffered under the separation of East and West for a long time, it seemed difficult for the German population to for a patriotic and cultural union. In the late 19th century the nation was already accused of being big-headed and this was only reinforced even more during the National Socialism and the Second World War. National patriotism was therefore difficult to develop. After the war ended the German nation felt the need to retreat from the patriotic show-off status and left the German culture to develop in each of its federal states. This turned out to be a very good decision as this lead to a multitude of cultural hotspots in Germany, which is also known as the "land of the poets and thinkers". Germany brings along famous musicians and composers, such as Bach, Beethoven and Strauss, but also authors like Goethe and Schiller. The current German culture however has even more to offer: 6,200 museums, of which alone 630 are solely dedicated to art, 8,800 libraries, 820 theatres and opera houses and many music and film festivals - all this is shows just how much diversity Germany has to offer. Further there are 36 UNESCO heritage buildings, including the most famous, the Cologne and Aachen cathedrals and the Roman monuments in Trier, which attract many tourist year after year. A newly accomplished honour for Germany was the gathering of 30 medals during the winter Olympics in 2010 and therefore being one of the most successful nations. The females, for example, achieved gold medals in the alpine slalom and the giant slalom.
