Today Albert Einstein is our very definition of genius. His work in theoretical physics is not only the founding principles of modern science, but he has also become a cultural icon in his own right. While most well-known for his mathematical equation 'E =MC²', Einstein also had a way with words, and many beautiful quotes have been attributed to him over the years. 

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." – Albert Einstein

From 13 August 1961, when East Berlin troops began building a wall separating the Soviet sector of occupied Berlin from the Allied sector, the city was divided into two unequal halves. The two were separated by a 'death strip' patrolled by armed East German border guards.

Currywurst is a fast food dish of German origin consisting of steamed, then fried pork sausage. It's estimated that 800 million currywursts are eaten every year in Germany, with 70 million in Berlin alone.

Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer. Dietrich is considered a Hollywood and style icon and is one of the few German-speaking artists of the 20th century who also achieved international fame.

As one of the founding artists of 'Die Brücke' group in 1905, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is essential to the history of German expressionism, a movement he virtually personifies. Trained in Munich and Dresden, he was attracted to neo-impressionism, van Gogh and tribal artefacts, combining influences from all three in his searingly emotional paintings, drawings and prints.

A gifted musician, Fanny Hensel (1805–1847) was the elder sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and granddaughter of the great Jewish philosopher and Enlightenment figure Moses Mendelssohn.

Johannes Gutenberg developed a system of movable metal type that could slot into a traditional screw press, making it possible to print multiple copies of a book at great speed. By the end of the 15th century, similar presses had spread across Western Europe, churning out as many as 20 million publications. Rather than being printed in the elite language of Latin, many of these presses operated in German, French or Dutch, with the explicit aim of speaking to the masses.

Hans Holbein the Younger was a German painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century.

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher of the Enlightenment and one of the most important representatives of Western philosophy. His work marked the beginning of modern philosophy.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German poet and naturalist. He is considered one of the most important creators of German-language poetry.

Kraftwerk is a German band from Düsseldorf, which was founded in 1970 and is best known for its pioneering work in the field of electropop. Kraftwerk's music influenced numerous styles of music such as synth pop, electro funk, Detroit techno and also had a decisive influence on the beginnings of hip-hop.

Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. She was described as beautiful and graceful, her informal manners appeared more bourgeois than aristocratic. Her life was closely linked to the dramatic events in the struggle between Prussia and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Paula Modersohn-Becker was a German painter and one of the most important artists of early Expressionism. In the almost 14 years in which she was active as an artist, she created 750 paintings, around 1000 drawings.

The museum was severely damaged in World War II but it was rebuilt and reopened in 2009, overseen by the English architect David Chipperfield. It houses objects of the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Museum of Prehistory and Early History), the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities) and the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung (Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection), including the famed bust of Queen Nefertiti.

The Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer festival and travelling funfair. Held annually in Munich, Bavaria, it is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or late September to the first Sunday in October, with more than six million people from around the world attending the event every year.

Pina Bausch was a German dancer, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director. In the 1970s she became an icon of the international dance scene and is considered one of the most important choreographers of her time.

Atop the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is a Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, sculpted by Johann Gottfried Schadow. The gate survived World War II but was badly damaged with holes in the columns from bullets and nearby explosions. One horse's head from the original quadriga survived, and is today kept in the collection of the Märkisches Museum.

Rügen with around 77,000 inhabitants is the most populous island in Germany. It lies off the Baltic coast of Western Pomerania.

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist, widley known for such dramas as Die Räuber (1781; The Robbers), the Wallenstein trilogy (1800–1801) and Wilhelm Tell (1804).

Paul Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-called Exilliteratur, German literature written in exile by those who opposed the Hitler regime.

The Berlin U-Bahn is the most extensive underground network in Germany with over 170 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of 151.7 kilometres (94.3 mi).

Rudolph Virchow was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. One of his greatest accomplishments was his observation that only certain cells or groups of cells get sick, not the whole organism.

Football is the most popular sport in Germany. The national football team has won four World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014), being the joint-second most successful nation in the tournament only surpassed by Brazil.

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was a German physicist. On November 8, 1895, he discovered the X-rays. For this he received the first Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901. His discovery revolutionized medical diagnostics, and led to other important findings of the 20th century, e.g. the discovery of radioactivity.

At 2962 m (9,718 ft) above sea level, the Zugspitze is the highest peak in the Wetterstein Mountains and at the same time Germany's highest mountain.