Germany Archives - Page 6 of 334

The Ceiling Went Up Five Meters

The renovation of the State Opera Unter den Linden in Berlin was planned to take three years and cost 239 million euros. It took seven years and cost about 400 million euros. At the request of music director Daniel Barenboim, the ceiling of the hall was raised by five meters. A new gallery under the ceiling raised the reverberation time from 1.1 to 1.6 seconds. The house reopened on 3 October 2017.

Barenboim said: Ich bin erstaunt, wie hervorragend der Klang geworden ist. I am amazed at how excellent the sound has become. He also said: Natürlich wäre es besser gewesen, wie geplant nach drei Jahren wieder zu öffnen. Of course it would have been better to reopen after three years, as planned.

Seven Days Late on Average

German businesses pay their bills an average of 7.7 days after the due date. The credit agency Creditreform reported this figure for the first quarter of 2026. It was unchanged from a year earlier. The figure is the difference between the agreed payment date and the day the money arrived. It is based on about 16.3 million payment records a month.

Construction had by far the worst figure, with 15.0 days, up from 13.5. Chemicals and plastics had the best, with 4.9 days. Among the states, Rhineland-Palatinate paid fastest, with 6.1 days. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was slowest, with 10.9 days. A Creditreform spokesman said: Die Zahlungsmoral der Unternehmen bleibt stabil. The payment discipline of companies remains stable.

Words for Keeping Someone Informed

jemanden auf dem Laufenden halten
To keep someone on the running. Duden defines it as jemanden ständig informieren, to inform someone all the time.

auf dem Laufenden sein
To be on the running. Duden defines it as immer über das Neueste informiert sein, always informed about the latest news.

Bescheid wissen
To know the answer. Duden defines it as von etwas Kenntnis haben, unterrichtet sein, to have knowledge of something, to be informed.

Who Pays Decides

Wer zahlt, schafft an. Who pays gives the orders.

Duden lists the saying under the verb anschaffen. In standard German the verb means to buy something that lasts, such as a car or furniture. In southern Germany and Austria it also means to order or to command. Duden explains the saying: wer die Kosten zu tragen hat, darf auch bestimmen, the one who has to bear the costs may also decide.

The dictionary LEO gives the same idea in standard German. Wer bezahlt, darf auch bestimmen. Its English equivalent is: He who pays the piper calls the tune.

Sixty Days, Then Interest

Since 29 July 2014, German law limits how long a business may take to pay another business. Section 271a of the Civil Code deals with payment periods of more than 60 days after receipt of the goods or work. Such a period is valid only wenn sie ausdrücklich getroffen und im Hinblick auf die Belange des Gläubigers nicht grob unbillig ist, if it was expressly agreed and is not grossly unfair to the creditor. The same applies to a period of more than 30 days for inspection or acceptance. For public clients, a payment period of more than 60 days is void.

A business that pays late owes interest. Section 288 sets the rate at neun Prozentpunkte über dem Basiszinssatz, nine percentage points above the base rate. On 1 July 2026 the Bundesbank set the base rate at 1.52 percent. The creditor can also claim eine Pauschale in Höhe von 40 Euro, a flat fee of 40 euros. The law implements an EU directive from 2011 that aims at a Kultur der unverzüglichen Zahlung, a culture of prompt payment.

Security for the Builder

A German builder does not have to rely on trust to be paid. Section 650f of the Civil Code gives him the right to demand security from the client. It begins: Der Unternehmer kann vom Besteller Sicherheit für die auch in Zusatzaufträgen vereinbarte und noch nicht gezahlte Vergütung … verlangen. The contractor can demand security from the client for the agreed fee not yet paid, including the fee for additional orders. Another 10 percent is added for related claims. The security is usually a guarantee from a bank or a credit insurer.

A craftsmen’s magazine explains that the builder can demand it at any time after the contract is signed. If the client does not provide it within a reasonable deadline, the builder may stop work or end the contract. Eine von den Absätzen 1 bis 5 abweichende Vereinbarung ist unwirksam. An agreement that departs from these rules is void. The rule does not apply to public bodies that cannot go bankrupt. It also does not apply to a consumer under a consumer construction contract.

Twice the Cost of the Repair

A German customer does not have to pay the full price for defective work. Section 641 of the Civil Code lets him refuse part of the payment as long as he can demand that the defect be fixed. The law also says how much he may keep. angemessen ist in der Regel das Doppelte der für die Beseitigung des Mangels erforderlichen Kosten. As a rule, the appropriate amount is twice the cost needed to remove the defect. If a repair costs 1,000 euros, the customer may hold back 2,000 euros.

Lawyers call this the Druckzuschlag, the pressure surcharge. A building trade publisher explains its purpose. It is meant to make sure that the contractor fixes the defect quickly and properly. Until 2009 the law set the amount at three times the cost.

Five Years for a Building

A German customer who orders a building has five years to claim for defects. Section 634a of the Civil Code says that these claims expire in fünf Jahren bei einem Bauwerk, in five years for a building. For work on a thing, such as making, servicing or changing it, the period is two years. Die Verjährung beginnt in den Fällen des Absatzes 1 Nr. 1 und 2 mit der Abnahme. In both cases the period starts with the formal acceptance of the work.

If the contractor hid a defect on purpose, the regular limitation period applies instead. For a building, the claim still does not expire before five years. Many construction contracts use the standard terms VOB/B. They set four years for buildings, and the parties can agree on a longer period.

Four in Ten Volunteer

Since 1999 the German government has measured volunteering every five years in the Freiwilligensurvey. The fifth survey asked 27,762 people aged 14 and over. In 2019, 39.7 percent of them did voluntary work. That is about 28.8 million people. In 1999 the share had been 30.9 percent. People aged 30 to 49 are the most active, at 44.7 percent. Sport and exercise is the largest field, at 13.5 percent.

The federal family ministry presented the results on 18 March 2021. Its press release says: Der Anteil der freiwillig Engagierten in Deutschland ist weiterhin hoch. The share of volunteers in Germany remains high.

From Service Point to DB Information

In December 1994 Deutsche Bahn opened information desks called Service Point at 28 German stations. By 2008 there were more than 90 of them. Then the Bavarian CSU member of parliament Ernst Hinsken objected to the English sign Kiss & Ride for a short-stay parking zone at the station in Straubing.

DB’s chief executive Rüdiger Grube answered him in a letter. He promised to use fewer English terms. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on the letter on 16 February 2010. The railway would stop calling its leaflets Flyer and its customer phone line a Hotline. Brand names such as BahnCard would stay. In June 2011 DB began to rename the Service Points DB Information. The old English name stayed on the signs in small letters under the new one.