German customs, state by state

Every one of Germany's 16 states has its own food, festivals and habits. Here are 37 of them, explained in plain English with the German words you will hear.

Schleswig-Holstein

Bonfires to say goodbye to winter Biikebrennen

On the evening of 21 February, people in North Frisia light huge bonfires (Biiken) on the coast and the islands. Long ago the fires said goodbye to the sailors and whale hunters leaving for the sea. Afterwards everyone eats kale (Grünkohl). The custom is on Germany's national list of intangible cultural heritage since 2014.

Source: Schleswig-Holstein state portal: Biikebrennen

Kiel Week, a giant sailing festival Kieler Woche

Every June, the city of Kiel hosts one of the biggest sailing events in the world: thousands of boats race on the Baltic Sea, and for nine days the city is full of concerts and food stalls.

Schleswig-Holstein on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Hamburg

The fish market at sunrise Fischmarkt

Every Sunday, very early in the morning, the fish market in Altona opens by the river Elbe. It has existed since 1703. Market criers (Marktschreier) shout their prices for fish, fruit and plants, and people coming home from a party meet people who got up early.

Source: hamburg.de: Altonaer Fischmarkt

"Moin" at any time of day Moin

In Hamburg and the whole north, people say „Moin!“ for hello: in the morning, at lunch and at midnight. „Moin moin“ is already a lot of words for a northerner.

Hamburg on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Niedersachsen

East Frisian tea, with a "cloud" Ostfriesische Teekultur

In East Frisia, tea is a ritual. A lump of rock sugar (Kluntje) goes into the cup, then strong black tea, which makes the sugar crackle. Then a spoon of cream is added gently, so it rises like a little cloud (Wulkje). You do not stir. Three cups is the polite minimum; put your spoon in the cup when you want no more. It is on Germany's national heritage list since 2016.

Source: Ostfriesland Tourismus: facts about East Frisian tea culture

The marksmen's festival Schützenfest

In summer, many towns in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia hold a Schützenfest: the local marksmen's club marches through town in uniform, there is a fair, and a shooting contest decides who becomes "king" (Schützenkönig) for a year. Hannover's Schützenfest calls itself the biggest in the world.

The kale walk Kohlfahrt

In winter, groups of friends or colleagues go on a Kohlfahrt: a long walk with a handcart full of drinks and games, ending in a restaurant with kale and sausage (Grünkohl mit Pinkel). The one who eats the most becomes the "kale king". It is popular around Oldenburg and Bremen.

Niedersachsen on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Bremen

One of Germany's oldest fairs Freimarkt

Every October, Bremen celebrates its Freimarkt with rides, food and music. It was first held in 1035, which makes it one of the oldest fairs in Germany. People in Bremen greet it with „Ischa Freimaak!“, Low German for "It's Freimarkt!"

Sweeping the cathedral steps at 30 Domtreppenfegen

A man who is still unmarried on his 30th birthday has to sweep the steps of Bremen Cathedral, while his friends keep throwing rubbish on them. Only a kiss sets him free. Unmarried women polish door handles instead (Klinkenputzen). The custom started in Bremen and is now done in many parts of Germany. It is a joke among friends, not an insult.

Bremen on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The wicker beach chair Strandkorb

On Baltic Sea beaches you rent a Strandkorb, a hooded wicker chair for two that protects you from wind and sun. The first one was put up in 1882 in Warnemünde near Rostock, made by the basket maker Wilhelm Bartelmann for a woman with rheumatism.

Source: DPMA (German patent office): the Strandkorb

A fish roll at the harbour Fischbrötchen

The typical snack on the coast is a Fischbrötchen: a bread roll with pickled herring (Bismarckhering), smoked mackerel or fried fish, onions and pickles, bought straight from a kiosk at the harbour.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Brandenburg

Punts and pickles in the Spreewald Spreewald

The Spreewald is a forest full of small canals, a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Instead of roads, many places are reached by flat wooden boats (Kähne) pushed with a long pole. The area is also famous for its pickled gherkins (Spreewälder Gurken), a name protected by the EU.

Sorbian Easter eggs Sorbische Ostereier

In Lusatia (Lausitz), in Brandenburg and Saxony, lives the Sorbian (Wendish) people, a small Slavic minority with its own language. Road signs there are in German and Sorbian. At Easter, Sorbian families decorate eggs with very fine patterns using hot wax, a skill passed on for generations.

Brandenburg on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Berlin

Currywurst, Berlin's own fast food Currywurst

Sliced sausage with tomato sauce and curry powder, served with fries or a bread roll. Berlin says it was invented here in 1949 by Herta Heuwer, who sold it at her snack stand. For many Indians it is a surprise: "curry" in Germany usually means this mild powder.

The late-night corner shop Späti

A Späti (short for Spätkauf) is a small shop that stays open late at night, when supermarkets are closed. People buy snacks and drinks there and often sit on the bench outside with friends. It is part of Berlin's evening life.

The famous Berlin bluntness Berliner Schnauze

Berliners are known for a quick, rough humour, the Berliner Schnauze ("Berlin snout"). A bus driver or shop assistant may sound rude, but it is often just their style. Answer with a smile.

Berlin on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Sachsen-Anhalt

Witches' night in the Harz Walpurgisnacht

On the night of 30 April, legend says witches fly to the Brocken, the highest mountain of the Harz. Towns like Thale and Schierke celebrate with costumes, fires and music. The legend is also a famous scene in Goethe's play "Faust".

Chocolate balls from Halle Halloren Kugeln

The Halloren chocolate factory in Halle goes back to 1804 and calls itself the oldest chocolate factory in Germany still producing. Its small round chocolates, the Halloren Kugeln, were a famous sweet in East Germany and are still loved today.

Source: DPMA (German patent office): the Halloren brand

Sachsen-Anhalt on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Nordrhein-Westfalen

Carnival in Cologne Kölner Karneval

The carnival season starts on 11 November at 11:11. It explodes in February: on Weiberfastnacht women cut off men's ties, and on Rosenmontag a huge parade throws sweets into the crowd. People shout „Kölle Alaaf!“ (in Düsseldorf: „Helau!“). Rhineland carnival in Cologne is on Germany's national heritage list since 2014.

Two cities, two beers Kölsch und Altbier

Cologne drinks Kölsch from small, thin 0.2-litre glasses. The waiter (Köbes) brings a new one as soon as yours is empty, until you put your beer mat on top of the glass. Düsseldorf, 40 km away, drinks dark Altbier, and the two cities love to tease each other. Non-alcoholic drinks are always fine to order.

Nordrhein-Westfalen on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Hessen

Apple wine in a stone jug Apfelwein

In Frankfurt, the local drink is apple wine (Apfelwein, in dialect Ebbelwoi): sour, served from a grey-blue stoneware jug (Bembel) into a glass with a diamond pattern (Geripptes). The old taverns in Sachsenhausen have long wooden tables where strangers sit together.

Green sauce with seven herbs Grüne Soße

Frankfurt's Grüne Soße is a cold sauce of seven herbs (borage, chervil, cress, parsley, burnet, sorrel and chives), eaten with boiled potatoes and eggs. Since 2016 the name "Frankfurter Grüne Soße" is protected by the EU.

Source: EU Regulation 2016/326 (protected name)

Hessen on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Thüringen

The Thuringian sausage Thüringer Rostbratwurst

Thuringia's pride is its Rostbratwurst, grilled over charcoal and eaten in a bread roll with mustard (locals say: never ketchup). A bill from a monastery in Arnstadt from 1404 is often called the oldest written mention of a bratwurst in Germany. There is even a bratwurst museum.

Source: ZDFheute: the history of the bratwurst

Sunday potato dumplings Thüringer Klöße

A Sunday lunch in Thuringia often means Klöße: big round dumplings made of raw and cooked potato, served with roast meat, gravy and red cabbage. Families argue about who makes the best ones.

Thüringen on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Sachsen

Christmas wood art from the Ore Mountains Erzgebirgische Volkskunst

From the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) come Germany's best-known Christmas decorations: candle arches in the windows (Schwibbogen), nutcrackers, little smoking men (Räuchermännchen) and turning Christmas pyramids. The tradition began with the miners of the region.

Stollen and one of the oldest Christmas markets Stollen und Striezelmarkt

Dresden's Striezelmarkt was first held in 1434 and is one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany. It is named after the Striezel, the old word for Stollen: a heavy fruit bread covered in powdered sugar, eaten during Advent.

Easter riders Osterreiten

On Easter Sunday in Sorbian villages of Upper Lusatia, men in black tailcoats and top hats ride decorated horses from village to village, singing Easter hymns. Hundreds of riders take part, and many visitors come to watch.

Sachsen on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Rheinland-Pfalz

Wine festivals in every village Weinfeste

Rhineland-Palatinate grows more wine than any other German state: six of Germany's 13 wine regions lie fully or partly here, such as the Mosel, Rheinhessen and the Pfalz. From late summer, almost every village holds a wine festival. The Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim every September is one of the biggest.

Carnival in Mainz Mainzer Fastnacht

Mainz is Germany's other big carnival city. Its shout is „Helau!“, and its carnival speeches poke fun at politicians. The big TV show „Mainz bleibt Mainz, wie es singt und lacht“ is watched all over Germany.

Rheinland-Pfalz on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Saarland

The swinging grill Schwenker

In Saarland, a barbecue is a Schwenker: a round grill hanging from a tripod, swinging over a wood fire. The word means the grill, the marinated pork steak on it, and the person grilling. "Schwenken" is almost a national sport here.

Half French: "Salü!" Salü

Saarland borders France and Luxembourg, and after the Second World War it was under French control; it only rejoined Germany in 1957. People say „Salü!“ (from French "salut") for hello and goodbye, many cross the border to shop or work, and French is taught in many schools from an early age.

Saarland on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Baden-Württemberg

Carnival with wooden masks Schwäbisch-alemannische Fastnacht

In the southwest, carnival is older and wilder than in Cologne. People wear hand-carved wooden masks and costumes of witches and fools (Narren), and towns like Rottweil hold huge processions. The call is „Narri! Narro!“. It is on Germany's national heritage list since 2014.

Spätzle, Maultaschen and the Kehrwoche Spätzle und Maultaschen

Swabia's favourite foods are Spätzle, soft egg noodles, and Maultaschen, big pasta pockets filled with meat and spinach. A joke name for Maultaschen is Herrgottsbscheißerle, "little God-cheaters", because the pasta hid the meat during the fasting time before Easter. Swabia is also home of the Kehrwoche.

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The hat with red pompoms Bollenhut

The Black Forest's famous hat, the Bollenhut, has big red wool balls and is part of the traditional dress of three villages: Gutach, Kirnbach and Reichenbach. Unmarried women wear red pompoms, married women black ones. The region is also the home of the cuckoo clock.

Baden-Württemberg on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Bayern

Oktoberfest, the "Wiesn" Oktoberfest

Munich's Oktoberfest starts in late September and ends on the first Sunday in October. It began in 1810 with the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, which is why the festival field is called the Theresienwiese, and locals just say „die Wiesn“. Many visitors wear traditional dress: Dirndl and Lederhosen.

White sausage, before noon Weißwurst

Bavaria's Weißwurst is a white sausage, made mainly from veal, eaten with sweet mustard and a pretzel. By tradition, it should be eaten before the church bells ring at noon. Many locals do not eat the skin: they suck the meat out (zuzeln).

The maypole Maibaum

On 1 May, Bavarian villages put up a tall maypole (Maibaum), painted in white and blue and decorated with signs of local crafts. In the nights before, young people from the next village try to steal it, and a stolen maypole must be "bought back" with beer and food.

Bayern on the DeutschKatha map: easy German, audio and where to study

Learn German with stories about Germany

On DeutschKatha you read short German stories, tap any word for its meaning in English and Indian languages, and listen to every sentence.

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