Was Heimat bedeutet — © Nikada/iStock

The meaning of home

Schriftstellerin Juli Zeh

Getting out of the filter bubble

The writer Juli Zeh lives in a village in Brandenburg, far from Berlin's cultural scene. And it’ a good thing, too, she says.

Kunstaktion „Offenbacher Seefestpiele“

Re-urbanization – small towns are back again

They don’t have the glamour of metropolises, but they do have quite a few good ideas: three little-known cities and their appeal.

Der Marktplatz in Böblingen

Böblingen instead of Berlin

Almost every third German lives in a medium-sized city - and the trend is rising. What makes small places attractive?

Deutschland: Land und Leute

Country and People in Germany

So what are the Germans like: friendly or reserved, talkative or taciturn? Form your own picture - the links in this section will help you.

Andreas Teichmann: Deutschland zu Fuß

Understanding people and where they come from

A keen eye: Andreas Teichmann is a photographer who has hiked across Germany from west to east. He observed surprising things on his walk.

Frankfurter Skyline

Urban versus rural living

Big cities are thriving and villages are dying out? The situation is not quite that simple. Here are some facts and trends about urban and rural living in Germany.

Wo junge Deutsche am liebsten leben

Where young Germans would most like to live

Young people want to live in cities – don’t they? We asked young Germans and received some surprising replies.

Walter J. Lindner ist deutscher Botschafter in Indien.

Home as a gut feeling

Ali Faramarzi kam aus Iran nach Deutschland

“Home is where I feel at ease”

Soziologin Jutta Allmendinger

The value of home

The sociologist Jutta Allmendinger explains which values are shared by people in Germany, and what “home” means to them.

Heimat ist Natur und Kultur, Bindung und Beziehung

Why we need to talk about home

What does home mean in an age of globalization? A philosophical approach.

Walter J. Lindner, deutscher Botschafter in Indien

Overland towards the rising sun

How Walter J. Lindner, German Ambassador to India, discovered the subcontinent for himself in the 1970s.

Yehuda Swed hat in Berlin eine Fotoagentur gegründet.

Berlin awakens feelings of home

Many Israelis find their second home in Berlin – as photographers, journalists, musicians or bakers. Discover what it is about Germany’s capital that inspires them.

Laut einer aktuellen Studie liegen Klein- und Mittelstädte im Trend.

Where do we want to live?

According to a recent study, small and medium-sized towns are in vogue.

Wohnzimmer

Housing in Germany

What is German Gemütlichkeit? Find out what a typical living room looks like and which piece of furniture is a must.

“Arrival City” Offenbach

Offenbach is presented as an arrival city at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

The home of  Edgar Reitz

A film director made the Hunsrück region famous. A voyage of discovery.

Angekommen: Nour hat in Deutschland eine neue Heimat gefunden.

Living together with new arrivals

Integrating refugees: This is how German towns and cities are succeeding.

100 gute Bücher - Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt von Olga Grjasnowa

Olga Grjasnowa: ‘All Russians Love Birch Trees’

Mascha is planning a career as a UN interpreter. But the sudden death of her boyfriend throws her completely off track. Olga Grjasnowa tells the story of a generation that knows no borders, but has no home either.

What does home mean?

Young Germans and Israelis reflect on their experience of homeland and home – in short films. The project was organised in collaboration with the German Film Institute.