This is a selection of useful German language resources available on the Internet. The following websites offer information or services relating to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Many are in German and provide an opportunity to practice your knowledge of the language.
Information on German-speaking countries
German Federal Government
[in German] - Official website of the German Federal Government. The English version of the website is available here.
http://www.bundesregierung.de/
Austrian Federal Government
[in German] - Official website of the Austrian Federal Chancellor and the Austrian Federal Government. An English version is available here.
http://www.austria.gv.at/
Swiss public administration
[in German] - Official website of the Swiss public administration. The English version of the website is available here.
http://www.gov.ch/
German embassy in Washington D.C.
- Website of the German embassy in Washington D.C. (in English). The German language homepage of the Foreign Ministry is available here.
http://www.germany.info/
Austrian embassy in Washington D.C.
- Austrian Press and Information Service from the Austrian embassy in Washington D.C. (in English).
http://www.austria.org/
Help Service Austria
- This is the 'help website' of the Austrian government agency for all foreign citizens. It offers information that is necessary for living and working in Austria (in English).
http://www.help.gv.at/
Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
- Website of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (in English).
http://www.eda.admin.ch/
German language broadcasters, newspapers, and news websites
Deutsche Welle
[in German] - Die Deutsche Welle is the German overseas broadcaster of radio and television programs via satellite, shortwave, and online. Broadcasts also available in many other languages, including English.
http://www.dw-world.de/
ORF
[in German] - Transregional radio and television station from Austria. News and details of programs available online.
http://www.orf.at/
ARTE
[in German] - The European TV cultural channel is the fruit of a French-German collaboration. This is the German version of their website.
http://www.arte.tv/
der Spiegel
[in German] - Der Spiegel is one of Europe's biggest and most influential weekly magazines. This is the German language homepage of the paper, which is published in Hamburg. An English version is also available online here.
http://www.spiegel.de/
die Welt
[in German] - Die Welt is a very popular German national daily newspaper. It also has regional editions appearing in Berlin and Hamburg and is available in more than 130 countries worldwide.
http://www.welt.de/
die Zeit
[in German] - Die Zeit is a German nationwide newspaper that is published weekly in Hamburg. It is probably the most widely read German language weekly newspaper thanks to its quality journalism.
http://www.diezeit.de/
der Standard
[in German] - This Austrian national daily newspaper is published in Vienna on distinctive pink paper. It is one of the biggest Austrian papers.
http://derstandard.at/
die Presse
[in German] - Die Presse is based in Vienna and it is one of the most popular Austrian newspapers.
http://www.diepresse.at/
die Neue Zürcher Zeitung
[in German] - This Swiss daily newspaper has a reputation as a world-class paper thanks to the quality of its information. It is based in Zürich and it is one of the oldest newspapers still being printed.
http://www.nzz.ch/
Tages-Anzeiger
[in German] - Tages-Anzeiger is a Swiss national daily newspaper. The paper is based in Zürich and it has one of the largest circulations in Switzerland.
http://www.tages-anzeiger.ch/
20 Minuten
[in German] - This free daily newspaper is distributed to commuters at train stations across Switzerland. It has specific editions for Zurich, Berne, Lucerne, Basel, and St. Gallen. Its German language edition in tabloid format has become the most widely read daily paper in the country.
http://www.20min.ch/
Financial Times Deutschland
[in German] - This is a German language edition of the Financial Times. There are international news, but the main focus is on Germany.
http://www.ftd.de/
Wirtschafts Blatt
[in German] - Wirtschafts Blatt is based in Austria. Its online edition offers news and articles about everything concerning finance and business.
http://www.wirtschaftsblatt.at/
Expatica Magazine
- The German-related version of this 'expats' website. German news are presented in English for English-speaking expatriates and internationals across Europe.
http://www.expatica.com/
Austria Today
- This online paper deals with current affairs in Austria and it is published in English. It presents daily coverage of Austrian news about politics, business, culture, and sports.
http://www.austria-today.at/
SoWieSo
[in German] - A great resource for learners of German. Some features on SoWieSo are aimed at teenagers, but many articles are very useful for German language students of all ages. News cover politics, sports, and culture; they are written in a way that is easy to understand and are updated weekly.
http://www.sowieso.de/
German language online resources
Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst - DAAD
[in German] - DAAD stands for 'German Academic Exchange Service'. It is one of the most important organizations promoting study and research in all areas relating to science, language, and teaching. An English version of their website is available here.
http://www.daad.de/
Deutsch im Netz
- An extensive resource for those interested in learning German: many useful links and information about Germany, German, and the Germans.
http://www.webgerman.com/germlinks/index.html
German Resources
- A comprehensive website with links to many useful resources for all those interested in learning about German-speaking countries and the German language.
http://www.serve.com/shea/work.htm
About German
- This is the German Language Guide of the About.com website. There are articles about almost anything related to German, be it the language or the culture.
http://german.about.com/
wissen.de
[in German] - A 'knowledge portal' from the famous German publishing group Bertelsmann. You can search the 'Lexikon' and browse through many categories. If you register (free of charge) you can access even more articles and interesting material.
http://www.wissen.de/
Web.de
[in German] - One of the most popular German language search engines. It has news, shopping, and a wide variety of categories to browse through.
http://web.de/
Alles klar
[in German] - A German language 'Webkatalog' or wide-ranging directory that you can use to search the Internet directly in German.
http://www.allesklar.de/
German language reference websites
Duden
[in German] - This German dictionary, composed of various volumes that deal with different aspects of the language, has become the official reference for spelling and grammar. Any doubt or curiosity you may have about the German language is answered here.
http://www.duden.de
Wikipedia
[in German] - This is the German language version of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. German is the second language of Wikipedia for number of articles and you can use it to practice your German as well as to search for articles.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauptseite
Meyers Lexikon
[in German] - Free online encyclopedia based on the content of 'Meyers Großes Taschenlexikon in 24 Bänden'.
http://lexikon.meyers.de/
das Goethe-Institut
[in German] - Homepage of the Goethe institute, which is the official cultural institution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The English version of the website is here.
http://www.goethe.de/
Deutsche Sprache
[in German] - FAQs about the German language and language in general, e.g. semantics, spelling, gender, and much, much more.
http://faql.de/
German language online dictionaries
Beo Lingus dictionary
- An excellent, easy-to-use and very comprehensive dictionary from the Technische Universität of Chemnitz. You can search for words, synonyms, sayings, and aphorisms as well as listen to their pronunciation spoken by native German speakers.
http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/
German - English dictionary
[in German] - This online dictionary is part of 'www.student-online.net', a service portal for students of German. The English language homepage of the dictionary is here.
http://www.student-online.net/woerterbuch.shtml
Canoo dictionary
[in German] - This is a German monolingual dictionary, where German words are explained in German. There are also grammatical tools that are written in English and they are available here.
http://www.canoo.net/index.html
Word Mirror
- A very easy-to-use online German to English and English to German dictionary based on open source word lists and user contributions.
http://www.wordmirror.com/