At the end of 2023, Germany’s net external assets totalled €2,964 billion, thus amounting to just over 70% of Germany’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Overall, both assets and liabilities vis-à-vis non-residents rose further in 2023.

The Byzantine Empire was one of the most significant and powerful states in the Middle Ages. It emerged from the eastern part of the Roman Empire, which was split into two in AD 395. The modern name "Byzantine Empire" is derived from the ancient Greek city of Byzantium. The Byzantines, however, considered themselves Roman. Constantinople, now Istanbul, was the capital of their empire. Its namesake, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (306-337), refounded the city on the site of Byzantium.

When Parisians stormed the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the face of Europe was changed forever. At this time, France was ruled by Louis XVI, king by divine right. He reigned in the tradition of the Sun King Louis XIV and exercised almost absolute power. The country was in turmoil. Large swaths of the population were impoverished while the nobility enjoyed a life of excess. It was on that fateful day that tensions erupted.

Introducing our newcomers: Marie-Therese Gold, head of the Bundesbank’s representative office in Brussels, Nikola Marcinko, the Bundesbank’s first representative in Riga, Ezgi Delikanli, representative in London, Andreas Gauf and Philipp Täufer on the Frankfurt team. 

Spain's colonial empire spanned vast parts of Central and South America. These lands, rich in gold and silver, were an important resource for the kings of Spain. The Spanish established mints in their American colonies to produce coins from the precious metals extracted in the New World. The oldest mint on the American continent is the Mexican Mint, which was set up in 1535. Twice a year, the famous silver fleet sailed from the New World back to Spain fully laden with treasures.

The Macedonian king Alexander the Great is considered to this day to be a great general and conqueror. At the head of his army, he invaded the Persian Empire, the largest and most powerful of its time, which stretched from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent.

In the Middle Ages, the Republic of Venice was a significant trading and naval power. Venice was the capital of a far-flung territory. The areas under the control of the lagoon city included a thin strip on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, parts of modern Greece, Crete and other islands in the Aegean.