Germany as we know it today developed in the 1800s and its borders have changed significantly since. Prior to that it was a couple of kingdoms, each of which

Germany as we know it today developed in the 1800s and its borders have changed significantly since. Prior to that it was a couple of kingdoms, each of which changed allegiance between the various middle-European empires many times, every time there was a war or someone noble married. Parts of Germany were occupied over long stretches of time, e.g. by the Swedish, the French, more recently the British and Americans, every time leaving an impression in the culture. Culture in various parts of Germany in diverse, most striking is the difference between Prussia and Bavaria. Cultural development in Germany was regionally diverse and subject to huge outside influence all the time. If there was legal continuity then it was because the whole of Europe was governed by the same bunch of emperor families since the fall of Rome. But this was totally decoupled from culture.