Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I might make a little extra spending money, at no extra cost to you. As always, all opinions are my own and these products/services have been found useful during our travels and come highly recommended to you from yours truly!
While on our recent trip to the Harz Region in Saxony-Anhalt, we saw Germany’s smallest house in Wernigerode, the oldest house in Quedlinburg and read about the country’s oldest surviving industrial structure in Goslar, and it got me thinking about all the superlatives of Germany we have visited and heard about. So I made a listicle of all (ok not alllll) of Germany’s oldest, biggest, smallest, tallest, longest things!
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Perhaps you’re looking to visit Germany soon and are looking for some unique things to do in Germany. Here I’ve got you covered for many of Germany’s superlative sights to visit, from the world’s biggest robot and cuckoo clock to the oldest university in Germany and beyond! Hopefully you can find enough Germany travel inspiration to make you book a ticket and head out on a road trip through this beautiful country!
The smallest house is in Wernigerode on Kochstraße 43 and is 2,95 m wide. The front door is 1,70 m high.
The tallest church tower is the Ulm Minster 161.5 m (530 ft).
The tallest twin spired cathedral is the Cologne Cathedral at 157 m (515 ft) tall.
The tallest building building is the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt at 259 m high.
The smallest state in Germany is Bremen.
The largest state in Germany is Bavaria.
The longest castle is Burghausen stretching for 1,100 m (3,608 ft) in Bavaria.
The most iconic castle is the Neuschwanstein Castle built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
The oldest castle in Germany is the Meersburg Castle at Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg.
The oldest cafe is the Cafe Prinzess in Regensburg, opened in 1686.
The oldest restaurant is the Wurstkuchl, also in Regensburg which has been serving sausages since the 17th century, but building remains date back to 1135 AD.
The oldest bridge that has never been destroyed is the Stone Bridge in Regensburg dating back to the 12th century and was the only bridge for 800 years to cross the river. Trier’s Römerbrücke’s pillars date back to the 2nd century A.D. but was destroyed by French troops in 1686 and was rebuilt.
The deepest & the longest cave in Germany is in Untersberg, Bavaria and was discovered in 1996!
The oldest surviving industrial structure in the world is the Rammelsberg in Goslar dating back to the 10th century.
The oldest instrument is a medieval hurdy-gurdy can also be found in Goslar at the Musikinstrumente- und Puppen-Museum.
The most unintentional leaning tower in the world is now Suurhusen Tower in northwestern Germany, beating the Leaning Tower of Pisa by 1.22°.
The largest robot in the world is Tradinno, a massive dragon in Furth im Wald. It weighs 11-ton, cost over 2 million euros to build by 20 different companies, including Hollywood. It is 16 meters long and 5 meters high.
The strongest economy in Europe is Germany.
The first female doctor was Dorothea Christiane Erxleben (1715–1762) from Quedlinburg.
The longest word in German is Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft (79 letters) which translates to something like “Danube steamboat shipping electricity main engine facility building sub clerk association”.
The oldest university in Germany is the University Heidelberg which was established in 1386.
The largest spa town is Wiesbaden with 23 spas and is also one of the oldest spa towns in Germany!
The biggest heavy metal festival in the world takes places in the small town of Wacken, Germany with over 85,000 attendees.
The largest cuckoo clock can be found in the Black Forest in Triberg-Schonach and its rival in Schonach!
The most zoos in Europe can be found in Germany.
The first national park in Germany is the Bavarian Forest National Park, established in 1970.
The tallest mountain in Germany is the Zugspitze at 2,962 m (9,718 ft.) tall near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
The most expensive city to live in is Munich, Bavaria!
The oldest city in Germany is Trier dating back to 16 BC as Augusta Treverorum.
The largest population in Europe is Germany with 82.67 million people.
The largest beer festival is Oktoberfest in Munich with between 5 – 7 million visitors per year.
The oldest beer festival is Regensburg‘s Dult which dates back to the 10th century.
The 2nd biggest beer drinkers in Europe are the Germans, consuming 104.7 liters of beer per capita. The Czech Republic comes in first at 142.6 liters!
The most efficient recycler in Europe is Germany, recycling some 65% of all trash!
The largest cathedral pipe organ in the world is at the Passau Cathedral with 17,000 pipes.
The largest city is Berlin with 3.47 million people (2015).
The smallest town is Arnis in Schleswig-Holstein has only 279 people (2015).
The oldest row of half-timbered houses is in Esslingen on Hafenmarkt 4 – 10, dating back to 1328 – 1331.
The oldest house in Germany is now the Fachwerkmuseum in Quedlinburg on Wordgasse 3, dating back to 1310.
The oldest hotel is Zum Roten Bären in Freiburg dating back to 1120.
The world’s first Riesling winery has been Schloss Johannisberg since 1720!
The narrowest street in the world is Spreuerhofstraße in Reutlingen. It ranges from 31 centimeters (12.2 in) at its narrowest to 50 centimeters (19.7 in) at its widest
The deepest lake is Lake Constance (Bodensee) at 251 meters (823 ft) deep.
The cleanest/clearest lake & the 3rd deepest is Königssee in Bavaria.
The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Germany is the “Titan-RT” in the Harz Region at 458 m (1,502 ft) long and opened on May 7, 2017! (However, as of August 2, 2017 the new world’s longest is now in Switzerland!)
The longest river in Germany is the Danube.
The narrowest point of the Danube is the 80 m (262 ft) wide heading towards Weltenburg Abbey.
The world’s oldest monastery brewery is the Weltenburg Abbey dating back to 1050.
The highest (unlimited) speed limit is on the Autobahn in Germany!
The state with the most wind turbines is Saxony-Anhalt.
The poorest state in Germany is Saxony-Anhalt.
The richest state in Germany is Bavaria.
The world’s largest ceiling fresco is at the Würzburg Residenz.
The oldest biergarten is the Augustiner Keller in Munich in 1812.
The oldest social housing in Europe was founded by Jacob Fugger in 1516 in Augsburg.
The largest pumpkin festival in the world is the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival with over 400,000 pumpkins!
The largest pumpkin in the world weighed in at 1,190.49 kg (2,624.6 lb) in Ludwigsburg.
The largest model train set can be found in Hamburg at the Miniatur Wunderland.
The world’s oldest mechanically printed book was the Gutenberg Bible, printed in Mainz, Germany c.1455 by Johann Henne zum Gensfleisch zur Laden.
The largest hamburger weighs 1,164.2 kg (2,566 lb 9 oz) in Pilsting, on July 9, 2017!
The most beer steins carried over 40 m is 25 and was achieved by Oliver Struempfel (not pictured) on September 21, 2014.
The largest indoor water park is Tropical Islands Resort located in the former Brand-Briesen Airfield in the Krausnick.
The biggest amusement park in Germany is Europa-Park.
The longest schnitzel measured 96.7 m (317 ft 3 in) and was made by Landgasthof Jossgrund in Sinntal-Jossa.
The highest waterfall in Germany is located in Triberg in the Black Forest with a decent of 163 m which is a collection of seven falls in one.
The oldest mustard mill can be found in Cochem in the Mosel Valley using recipes that date to the 15th century!
The largest nutcracker is 10.10 m (33 ft 1 in) high and is fully functional. It was made in Neuhausen, Germany, on August 9, 2008.
The oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe is in Worms.
The largest half-timbered town in Germany is Goslar, with between 1,500-1,800 houses, often rivaled by Quedlinburg with 1,300.
The largest university town in Germany s Giessen with over 45% of the population as students.
The most bicycle friendly city in Germany is Münster with over 500,000 bicycles!
The most famous Christmas Market in Germany is the Nuremberg Christkindlmarkt with more than 2 million visitors per year.
The oldest Christmas Market in Germany is the Dresden Striezelmarkt daring back to 1434.
The tallest Christmas pyramid in Germany s 14.62 meters at the Dresden Christmas Market.
The oldest opera house is The Hamburg State Opera and was founded in 1678.
The latest roadside attraction is the upside down house the A3 autobahn in Wertheim called Cafe über Kopf.
The coolest tower is the Kuchlbauer Brewery’s Hundertwassserturm in Abensberg!
The largest wine barrel in the world can be found within the Heidelberg Castle. Built in 1751 and stands 7 meters high, is 8.5 meters wide, holds 220,000 liters (58,124 gallons) of wine, and has a dance floor built on top of it.
The warmest regions of Germany can be found in the south-west (German Wine Route and Palatinate). Summers can be hot with many days exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) and don’t drop below 20 °C (68 °F).
The sunniest city in Germany is Freiburg im Breisgau.
The oldest hospital in the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital (Holy Ghost Hospital) in Lübeck.
The narrowest house in Germany is only 2.05 meters wide in Eisenach, Thuringia!
The largest island in Germany is the island of Rügen, along the Baltic Sea in Mecklenberg-Western Pomerania.
The longest pier in Germany is the Heringsdorf Pier at a length of 508 meters, stretching out into the Baltic Sea, on the island of Usedom.
The largest craft beer festival in Germany takes place at Neupfarrplatz in Regensburg.
The crookedest houses in Germany are the “Schiefes Haus” in Idstein and Ulm.
The oldest social housing in Germany is the Fuggerei in Augsburg and rent hasn’t increased since 1520 and costs .88 cents to live in per year!
The first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Germany was the Aachen Cathedral in 1978 because it’s the oldest cathedral in northern Europe.
The largest brick building in the world is the Göltzsch Viaduct in Netzschkau near Zwickau.
The largest historical pageant in Europe is the Landshuter Hochzeit every 4 years in Landshut with music, jousting, feasting, pageantry, dating back to 1475!
The longest pedestrian street & shopping zone is the Hauptstrasse (Main Street) in Heidelberg.
The first & oldest porcelain factory in Europe is in Meissen, Saxony, founded in 1710 by August the Strong.
The first castle in Saxony was the Albrechtsburg Castle in Meissen, built in 1250!
So, if you know a superlative about Germany that I missed, please send it my way as I love collecting interesting facts about Germany such as these. Facts like these making visiting Germany more interesting and sightseeing more fun when you can search out little facts! If anything, they sometimes encourage me to visit because of those facts!
Nonetheless, I hope these tidbits encourage you to get out and explore more of Germany because there are so many wonderful things to see and do in Germany, and so little time to do them all!
If you’re interested in visiting Germany and are looking for more information, I highly recommend using the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide! Without these guides, I would be lost! This is my travel Bible!
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I might make a little extra spending money, at no extra cost to you. As always, all opinions are my own and these products/services have been found useful during our travels and come highly recommended to you from yours truly!
Liked this list? Check out these posts:
100 Interesting Facts About Germany
100 Things I’ve Learned About Germans (And Bavarians!)
100 Key Phrases to Know Before You Come to Germany!
Liked this post? PIN IT FOR LATER!!
very interesting to read!
That dragon is phenomenal!!! Also I’m pretty sure I’m over half the size of that tiny house.
It’s just the perfect size for me! Haha
Great read! I love finding out what is the tallest, longest, shortest, oldest etc in the places I visit. Great list!
What a fun idea for a post. It surprised me how many of these things I’ve seen even though I’ve only been to Germany a couple of times!
Love, love this post! There are so many interesting facts in here (I am a sucker for facts like this). Didn’t know the most expensive city is Munich. That was kind of shocker. I would like to live in the Frankfurt area (not that I know Germany thta well but that area appealed to me). #feetdotravel
We’ve also been talking about moving up to that region! Lots of little half-timbered towns there! 🙂
This is a fun post! Love facts and there are plenty of those including the robotic dragon! Thanks for sharing! #feetdotravel
This is a really interesting post and different from what I used to read about Germany. For me that tiny house is big but my boyfriend wouldn’t fit for sure. Thanks for sharing.
“The most beer steins carried” cracked me up. I’m always blown away by the lack of spillage and what an excellent bicep exercise stein carrying is. 🙂
Great article, love your use of superlatives on Germany. I learned so much history ? Thanks for sharing! #Feetdotravel
This is SUCH a cool post – it can pretty much be used as an alternative Germany bucket list! I want to visit so many of these places – Suurhusen Tower sounds incredible and how about Dult for an alternative to Oktoberfest?! Definitely saving this for later! Thanks for sharing
If you come to Regensburg for Dult, hit me up! I live here and will gladly show ya around!
This is so fun! I would love to visit the oldest cafe and restaurant. I love iconic, historical things like that. And I’d also love to see the largest cuckoo clock in the Black Forest!
You won’t believe it but I just read that a new World’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge was opened in Switzerland. One little update, otherwise I love the overview about Germany. Thank you!
Me too just saw that yesterday!
There are some interesting facts about Germany. The carrying of 40 steins is impressive, I struggle with 3. I didn’t know there was another leaning tower in the world, I must visit Suurhusen Tower.
This is awesome! We will be in Germany next year and look forward to checking some of these out. Definitely going to hit the oldest biergarten in Munich 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
What a great idea for a blog post! I especially loved the oldest house. It’s tiny! I wonder if you have to duck while you’re inside. #WanderfulWednesday
Can you believe that out of all the buildings you mention, I’ve only been to the cathedral in Cologne?! Seriously so much left to explore in Germany and this is making me kinda homesick right now 😉
I’m sorry! Sounds like you need to come back for a visit! 🙂
Oh, I love this idea for a post! It must have been so much fun to put together!
It’s so much fun to see how great a place is at so so many things 😀 I’d love to do one of these for Chile in the future, if you wouldn’t mind, that is? 😉
Ya sure go ahead! Please just write a link though “Inspired by California Globetrotter” with a link to my post please! 🙂
As a lover of all things Germany, I adored this post!! Definitely gave me lots of travel ideas :))
Interesting read! I’ve always wanted to visit Germany and this post solidifies that. I want to visit the smallest house and Neuschwanstein Castle!
stunning photography
i would love to visit Neuschwannstein
#farawayfiles
Interesting list – I love the ridiculously long German words! #FarawayFiles
This post is genius. The longest word is too funny!!
Ha, yes the Germans and their superlatives. Though by the title of your post I was expecting a blogpost about the erh… interesting German language 😉
#WanderfulWednesday
I went on school trips to Regensburg and Goslar and totally failed to learn any of those facts, we also visited Weltenberg Abbey and I do remember that it was the narrowest point but the teachers omitted the beer bit, we did however see the University at Heidelberg. Lots of fantastic facts #FarawayFiles
I love the idea behind this post – and that robot looks AMAMZING!! How cool! #Farawayfiles
Love it Lori – what a great idea for a post. How many nuts does that nutcracker crack I wonder? Now I would like you to say the longest word 5 times very quickly! Thanks for linking up to #FarawayFiles
Haha I can’t even say it all at once without looking at the word!
Omg, so many superlatives of Germany, lol! I’m always amazed at the number of beer mugs that the waiters can carry at the Oktoberfest. Btw, that is one angry looking pumpkin, haha! #FarawayFiles
Yes it’s always impressive how many the waiters can carry especially when each glass without beer is already incredibly heavy! With beer, I have no idea how they do it!
wow, what a fun and fascinating list! I visited Germany when I was a teenager, but definitely need to go back as there are many things on this list that I would love to see! #farawayfiles
This is such a fun post! I seriously cannot believe the oldest hotel dates back to 1120. I mean that is centuries before a certain someone sailed across the ocean blue! And I love Lake Konigssee! It’s so pretty there!
It’s sometimes hard to imagine buildings being so old. Imagine all the history and lives the building has witnessed!
Haha! Super fun superlative list! What a great idea! As a girl who grew up on the west coast of the United States (you may be able to relate!) things that are so old are still amazing to me. My adopted home Copenhagen is celebrating it’s 850th birthday this year – that is crazy to me! Love this list and hope to get to explore some of these superlative German things! Thanks for sharing with #FarawayFiles, Erin
Oh I can completely relate! I think that’s why I love Europe! Cali is such a baby in comparison when it comes to history!