Northern Germany

Northern Germany generally refers to the Sprachraum area north of the Uerdingen and Benrath line isoglosses, where Low German dialects are spoken.

However, since World War II and the immigration of expellees from the former eastern territories of Germany, its prevalence has steadily reduced.

Besides which, Frisian is spoken in East and North Frisia, as well as Danish (Standard and South Jutlandic) in parts of Schleswig.

The two northern provinces of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony have the highest proportion of self-reported Lutherans in Germany.

Traditional society in the western part of Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and some parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt) until the early 20th century was based on well-off, literate and landowning yeoman farmers owning relatively large pieces of land, making a living growing grain crops and raising dairy cattle and pigs, and a large and educated middle class in the towns and cities working in the civil service, or as businessmen, artisans, blue-collar workers and skilled workers.

Additionally, Northern cities like Hamburg, Bremen and Rostock have always been economic powerhouses of trade and commerce and have had a long tradition of innovation and creativity in business and industry.

The traditional northern German daily diet is centered around boiled potatoes, rye bread, dairy products, cabbages, cucumbers, berries, jams, fish, and pork and beef.

A breakfast specialty is the crispbread (Knäckebrot), eaten with a variety of toppings such as ham, soft cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, and liver paste.

Regional specialties in Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony include blood sausage (Blutwurst) and a variety of black puddings commonly eaten for brunch.

Another northern German regional specialty are meatloaves (Hackbraten), made from a mixture of ground pork and beef and served with mashed potatoes, brown sauce and lingonberry jam.

The drinking culture in the north is more or less similar to that of the rest of the country, heavily based on beer with pale lagers and pilsners being favourites.

Other notable men's football clubs include Hertha Berlin, VfL Wolfsburg, Hannover 96, Eintracht Braunschweig, F.C.

Notable Eishockey-Bundesliga teams include Eisbären Berlin, Grizzlys Wolfsburg, Hamburg Freezers, Hannover Scorpions and Fischtown Pinguins.

The Olympiastadion in Berlin has hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and Internationales Stadionfest.