What animals live in Germany?

Germany has some really interesting wildlife! Wild boars roam the forests, red foxes dart through fields and even city parks, and European red deer can be spotted in wooded areas. The country also has white storks — big, long-legged birds that nest on rooftops and chimneys, which many Germans have loved watching for centuries. In Germany's rivers and lakes, you can find otters, beavers, and many kinds of fish like pike and perch. The forests are home to wild lynx and, in some mountain regions, even European brown bears have been spotted passing through. Germany sits along major bird migration routes too, so birdwatchers there get to see hundreds of different species moving across the sky each season.

What do kids eat in Germany?

German kids enjoy some really hearty and tasty food! Bread is a big deal in Germany — there are hundreds of kinds, from dark rye loaves to soft pretzels sprinkled with salt. A popular school lunch might be an open-faced sandwich called a 'Butterbrot,' which is just buttered bread topped with cheese or cold cuts. For something warm, many German kids love 'Currywurst,' which is a grilled sausage sliced up and covered in a spiced ketchup sauce — it smells wonderful on a cool day. And for a sweet treat, 'Apfelstrudel' is a warm pastry filled with cinnamon apples that is hard to beat. Germany has a long tradition of bakers and sausage-makers who have passed their recipes down for generations, which means the food has real history behind every bite.

How do people say hello in Germany?

In Germany, the most common way to say hello is 'Hallo' — which actually sounds a lot like our English word! You might also hear 'Guten Tag,' which means 'Good day.' People in Germany tend to use formal greetings with strangers and adults, so manners matter a lot there. In the southern part of Germany, especially in a region called Bavaria, people often say 'Grüß Gott' instead — which actually means 'Greet God.' It is a very old greeting with Christian roots that has been used for hundreds of years. Pretty neat that a simple hello can carry history all the way back to people's faith.

What sports or games do kids play in Germany?

German kids are wild about Fußball — that's what they call soccer — and you'll find pickup games happening in parks, schoolyards, and streets all over the country. Club teams are a huge part of life there, and many kids join a local Verein (say it like 'fair-REEN'), which is a sports club, when they're still very young. Beyond soccer, German kids enjoy handball, which is a fast indoor sport where you throw a ball into a goal with your hands — it's much more popular in Germany than in most other countries. They also play a card game called Mau-Mau that's a bit like Uno, and a classic outdoor game called Brennball, which is similar to kickball. Wintertime brings sledding and ice skating, especially in the southern regions near the Alps where snow piles up high.

What's the weather like in Germany?

Germany has four real seasons — cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with rainy springs and colorful autumns in between. In the south, near the Alps, winters can get quite cold and snowy, while cities like Hamburg in the north tend to be milder but grey and rainy a lot of the year. If you visited in December, you might walk through an outdoor Christmas market bundled up in a scarf, drinking hot chocolate. In summer, the days stay light until almost ten o'clock at night, and people love to be outside in parks and along rivers. Germany is the kind of place where you really notice the seasons changing.

Tell me a fun fact about Germany.

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! Germany is home to over 1,500 different kinds of beer brewed in thousands of breweries — but here's the part we love even more: Germany also gave the world the Gutenberg printing press in the 1440s. Johannes Gutenberg's invention meant the Bible could be printed and spread to far more people than ever before. That printing press was a really big deal for missions. Before it existed, Bibles had to be copied out by hand, which took a very long time. Once books could be printed quickly, God's Word traveled across Europe and eventually the whole world. Martin Luther, who was also German, translated the Bible into German so ordinary people could read it themselves — and that changed history.

What is school like for kids in Germany?

German kids usually start school around age 6, and school days often end around lunchtime — so afternoons can be free for sports, music, or hobbies. After a few years, students are sorted into different types of schools depending on whether they're headed toward a university or learning a trade like carpentry or engineering. German students study subjects like math, German language, history, and foreign languages — many learn English starting in elementary school. Germany has a long history of Christian churches, and some schools there still teach Bible stories and Christian basics as part of the regular school day, which is pretty different from many countries around the world.

Who are the unreached people in Germany?

Great question! Germany might seem like a country full of churches, and it is true that many Germans have heard the name of Jesus. But a large and growing number of people living in Germany today have little or no real connection to the gospel. Two of the biggest unreached groups are Turkish Muslims and Kurdish Muslims, many of whom came to Germany decades ago to work and stayed. Most have never had a close friend explain who Jesus truly is. There are also many Arab and Afghan Muslims living in Germany, along with people from North Africa and other parts of the Middle East. On top of that, millions of native Germans have drifted away from the faith their grandparents held, leaving them without any real knowledge of who Jesus is or why He came. Rusty likes to say it this way: a country can be full of church buildings and still be full of people who need to hear the good news for the very first time.

How can I pray for the people of Germany?

Germany is a country with a long Christian history — it's where a man named Martin Luther helped people rediscover that we are saved by faith in Jesus alone, not by our own efforts. But today, many people in Germany have drifted far from that faith. Many churches are nearly empty, and a lot of Germans aren't sure God is even real. That means there is real and important work for prayer to do. You can pray that German people who have never truly trusted Jesus would hear the gospel and believe it. Pray for the smaller, faithful churches in Germany — that they would grow strong and bold in sharing the good news with their neighbors. Pray for missionaries and local Christian leaders who are working to reach people, and ask God to raise up more German men and women who will lead their own churches and communities toward Jesus.

What is a holiday or celebration in Germany?

One of the most well-known celebrations in Germany is Christmas, called Weihnachten. Germans take Christmas very seriously — markets called Christkindlmarkts fill the town squares with warm lights, the smell of roasted nuts, and stalls selling handmade wooden ornaments. The tradition goes back hundreds of years, and it all centers on celebrating the birth of Jesus. Another big celebration is Reformation Day on October 31st. This is a special day in Germany because a man named Martin Luther nailed his famous list of questions and ideas to a church door in Wittenberg back in 1517. He wanted people to know that we are saved by trusting in Jesus alone — not by doing good works to earn it. That message spread across the world and is still true today.

What language do people speak in Germany?

People in Germany speak German! It is one of the most widely spoken languages in Europe, and about 95 million people around the world use it as their first language. German has some wonderfully long words — like 'Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft,' which is a real word for a steamship company on the Danube River. The German language has been really important in Bible history too. A man named Martin Luther translated the Bible into German back in the 1500s, so everyday people could read God's Word for themselves. That was a huge deal — it helped spread the gospel across Europe and changed the world forever.

What's a famous place to visit in Germany?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! One of the most famous places in Germany is Neuschwanstein Castle, tucked into the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany. It looks like something straight out of a storybook — tall white towers rising above forested hills and a bright blue lake. King Ludwig II had it built in the 1800s, and it inspired the castle design you might recognize from certain fairy tales. Germany is full of history like this — cathedrals, medieval towns, and old city walls. And here is something worth knowing: Germany also has a long history of Christian faith, including Martin Luther, who lived here and helped put the Bible into the hands of everyday people so they could read God's Word for themselves.

Germany — Kids Missions Explorer

Red Fox

Red foxes are so common in Germany that they have learned to live in cities, often spotted trotting through parks and quiet streets at dusk.

White Stork

White storks build enormous nests on rooftops and chimneys across German villages, and many towns celebrate when the same pair returns each spring.

European Roe Deer

Roe deer are found in forests all across Germany and are so agile they can leap nearly two meters straight into the air when startled.

Pretzel

A soft, chewy pretzel dusted with coarse salt is a beloved everyday snack in Germany, especially in the southern region of Bavaria where bakers have perfected them for centuries.

Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten is a pot roast that has been marinated for several days in vinegar and spices before slow-cooking, giving it a tangy, deeply savory flavor unlike ordinary roast beef.

Black Forest Cake

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte layers chocolate sponge cake with cherries and whipped cream, and it comes from the Black Forest region in southwestern Germany.

Germany

Things you should know about Germany

Wildlife you might meet

What’s on the table

Did you know?

Life in Germany

Missions in Germany

Pray for Germany