#DeutschlandNoFilter: The Germany Magazine of the Goethe-Institut

Foto (Detail): © picture alliance / Geisler-Fotopress | Christoph Hardt/Geisler-Fotopress

Five German fairy tales And they lived happily ever after

Once upon a time – there was an ancient text form that can be found in all cultures. These fantastic stories were so important that they were even recognised as intangible cultural heritage in Germany in 2016. About five German fairy tales that still live on our bookshelves today.

Cherrypicker | Literature Is the truth worth five million?

In Ursula Poznanski's new thriller, 100 people fight against a lie detector and for five million euros in prize money. The condition: Always tell the truth.

Bodo Wartke and Marti Fischer with their iconic dance move from their viral internet hit ‘Barbaras Rhabarberbar’

Sound Bites | Music Viral Tongue Twister

Tongue twisters and viral hits - not really a match. But then "Barbaras Rhabarberbar" came along. What did it take? The singer-songwriter Bodo Wartke, a few lucky coincidences and, of course, the internet.

Illustration: red speech bubble with the content “kochem schmusen”

Word! The Language Column Once a poor people’s dialect, now a cultural heritage

In the early 1990s, budding and established linguists flocked to the corner pubs and slums of some cities. There they interviewed the last surviving speakers of the Rotwelsche dialects. Today, everything is well documented - to the delight of UNESCO.

Illustration mehrerer Zeichen: Windrad, Fahrrad, Müll, Erde und Thermometer — Nachhaltig erklärt

In unserem Klima- und Nachhaltigkeitsformat findet ihr Informationen rund um die Klimakrise und ihre Verbindungen zu Sprache, Kultur und Deutschland.

Language

The picture shows an illustration. In the middle of the picture you can see a river with ducks and swans. On one side of the river you can see the city and cyclists, on the other side nature, trees, butterflies etc.

Environment & Language How we Talk About Our "Environment"

We own pets, slaughter meat breeds, pull weeds, and associate warmth with something pleasant. Lena Maurer discusses how language can change our perception of nature.

Illustration: A person, from his eyes leads a winding line towards a sign (jagged line – a “Zinken”) on a wall

Word! The Language Column The linguistic world of the outcast

What does Rotwelsch actually mean? How long has this particular vocabulary existed? Who speaks it and why? Klaus Siewert enlightens us. He looks back to the time of Martin Luther and draws a line to contemporary literature.

Illustration: Two people (the face of one person is attached with a rod below the roborter-like head); speech bubble with the content “mxchfrk”

Word! The Language Column On the Trail of Secret Languages

Not everyone needs to know everything. And just to be on the safe side, secret languages are invented. They existed in ancient times and they still exist today. Klaus Siewert, a Germanist, linguist and cultural scientist, has been documenting and researching secret and special languages since the 1990s. As a new columnist, he tells us the story of secret language communication.

Culture

Sasa Stanisic reads from ‘If the widow wants to be addressed, she places the watering can on the grave with the spout facing forwards’ at lit.Cologne 2024, 11 June 2024

Cherrypicker | Literature Log in to life

A hot summer day. Four young people are sitting in the vineyards, somewhat bored. Suddenly, one of them has a life-changing idea. Saša Stanišić turned it into an entire collection of stories.

Cherrypicker | Literature Invitation to take a deep breath

Taking a break from life and exploring it anew - Stephan Schäfer's novel does just that. He tells the story of two strangers who become friends. In doing so, he speaks not only to himself, but to us all.

A stork's nest on a Trabi, Neuruppin, Brandenburg, 2004

Cherrypicker | Literature The ossification of the East

After German reunification, many people believed that East German society would soon become more like West German society. For Steffen Mau, one thing is clear: that was an illusion - East Germany will remain different.

Germany

Five inventions from Germany Milestones

Germany, the land of poets and thinkers – and inventors. Many groundbreaking ideas that still shape our everyday lives today come from Germany. Here are five pioneering inventions made in Germany.

The iconic red twin pithead winding tower is also dubbed the “Eifel Tower of the Ruhr”.

Detours | Zollverein Coal Mine The Eifel Tower of Industrial Culture

Can a disused coal mine be beautiful? Zollverein coal mine in Essen can! The Zollverein industrial complex combines architecture and nature, culture and leisure activities, the past and the future. Anyone into ice skating or swimming will definitely have a great time here.

A scene from the game ‘Atlas Fallen’ with a figure in the foreground and a passing caravan in the background.

Video Games from Germany Typical German?

Germans like to play games. 53 percent of people over the age of 16 regularly play video games. And with a turnover of almost six billion euros, the gaming industry is now a significant economic factor. But which games come from Germany? And what makes them “typically German”?

EIne Graphik mit verschiedenen Gebäuden und Richtungspfeilen, dazwischen der Schriftzug "Umwege" bzw. "Detours" — Detours

Once a month, we take you to a place in Germany that you absolutely must discover!