lake_outflow schulensee
Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states . With a population of approximately 3 . 5 million people , Berlin is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union . Located in northeastern Germany on the banks of rivers ___MASK30___ and Havel , it is the centre of the Berlin - Brandenburg Metropolitan Region , which has about 6 million residents from more than 180 nations . Due to its location in the European Plain , Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate . Around one - third of the city ' s area is composed of forests , parks , gardens , rivers and lakes . Stuttgart ( Swabian : " Schduagert "), often nicknamed the "" Schwabenmetropole "" in reference to its location in the center of Swabia and the local dialect spoken by some natives , is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden - Württemberg . It is located on the ___MASK77___ river in a fertile valley locally known as the " Stuttgarter Kessel " an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest . Stuttgart ' s name comes from the Old High German word "" Stuogarten "," or " stud farm "  a reference to the city ' s founding in 950 AD as a stud farm . Stuttgart  s urban area has a population of 623 , 738 , and a further making it the sixth largest city in Germany , 2 . 7 million people live in the city  s administrative region , and another 5 . 3 million people in its metropolitan area , making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany . Frankfurt am Main is a metropolis and the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth - largest city in Germany , with a 2015 population of 731 , 095 within its administrative boundaries , and 2 . 3 million in its urban area . The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt ___MASK95___ - Main Metropolitan Region , which has a population of 5 . 8 million and is Germany ' s second - largest metropolitan region after ___MASK95___ - Ruhr . Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013 , the geographic centre of the EU is about to the east of Frankfurt ' s CBD , the Bankenviertel . Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse , with around half of the population , and a majority of young people , having a migration background . A quarter of the population are foreign nationals , including many expatriates . Schulensee is a lake in Schleswig - Holstein , Germany . At an elevation of 11 m , its surface area is 0 . 13 km² . Lübeck is a city in Schleswig - Holstein , northern Germany , and one of the major ports of Germany . On the river ___MASK15___ , it was the leading city of the Hanseatic League , and because of its extensive Brick Gothic architecture is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . In 2015 , it had a population of 218 , 523 . Düsseldorf ( Low Franconian , Ripuarian : " Düsseldörp " ) is the capital city of the German state of North ___MASK95___ - Westphalia and the seventh most populous city in Germany . Düsseldorf is an international business and financial centre , renowned for its fashion and trade fairs . The city is headquarters to one Fortune Global 500 and two DAX companies . Messe Düsseldorf organises nearly one fifth of premier trade shows . Schleswig - Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany , comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig . Its capital city is Kiel ; other notable cities are Lübeck and Flensburg . Holstein ( Northern Low Saxon : " Holsteen ", , Latin and historical ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and ___MASK67___ . It is the southern half of Schleswig - Holstein , the northernmost state of Germany . Cologne is the largest city in the German federal State of North ___MASK95___ - Westphalia and the fourth - largest city in Germany ( after Berlin , Hamburg , and Munich ). It is located within the ___MASK95___ - Ruhr metropolitan region , one of the major European metropolitan regions and the largest in Germany , with more than ten million inhabitants . Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in central - western Europe . It includes 16 constituent states , covers an area of , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With about 82 million inhabitants , Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union . After the United States , it is the second most popular immigration destination in the world . Germany ' s capital and largest metropolis is Berlin . Other major cities include Hamburg , Munich , Cologne , Frankfurt , Stuttgart and Düsseldorf .