Which are the European countries where German is spoken or understood?
Deutsch is still relatively common in Europe. Owing to historical reasons, most of Germany’s neighbors had a lot of exposure to the language. A. Official language in: 1. Germany 2. Austria 3. Switzerland 4. Liechtenstein 5. Luxembourg (if Lëtzebuergesch can be considered as a dialect of German) B. Official language on a sub-national level: 1. Italy (province of Bolzano-Bozen) – used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 2. Hungary – in some border towns (like Sopron/Ödenburg) 3. Belgium – in the Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens, around the eastern parts. 5. Vatican – if you work in the Swiss Guard. C. No official status, but spoken 1. France (Alsace & Lorraine) – had a long history of being in a tug-of-war between France & Germany. Consequently, most Alsatians and Lorranians are bilingual, trilingual even. 2. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania – They used to be part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Up to WW2, there were a lot of Germans living there. 3. Poland – Half the country was Germa
