Germany

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in 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. Within its borders are a portion of the Alps mountains, the famous Rhine river, and the Black Forest.

Germany is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, made up of 16 states, which in certain spheres act independently of the federation. Historically consisting of several sovereign nations with their own history, language (distinct dialects), culture and religion, Germany was unified as a nation state during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/1871.

The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8 and the G4 nations, and is a founding member of the European Union. It is the European Union's most populous and most economically powerful member state. Germany's current leader and also its first woman to become chancellor (the head of government, and German equivalent of a president) is Angela Merkel, who was elected in 2005.

The German language is one of the world's major languages. It is spoken by more than 120 million people in 38 countries of the world. It is — like English, Spanish and French — a pluricentric language with Germany, Austria and Switzerland as the three main centres of usage. Therefore, the following Muppet productions were equally seen in all three countries:


 * Sesamstrasse is the German-language, and first international co-production of Sesame Street.
 * Die Muppet Show is the German-language co-production of The Muppet Show, which featured two German guest stars: Elke Sommer and Mary Roos.
 * Die Fraggles is the German-language co-production of Fraggle Rock, featuring its own Doc.
 * Uncle Travelling Matt toured German TV-shows to promote the opening of Die Muppets Erobern Manhattan.