German Reading Comprehensions from the Süddeutsche Zeitung

This is a list of our reading comprehension exercises based on articles from the Süddeutsche Zeitung (which translates into South German newspaper). Most of these drills focus on travel in the South of Germany where the newspaper is published. Because German is so widely spoken, not only have we tried to include vacation tips for the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Würtenberg, but also the neighboring counties of Austria and Switzerland. The Schwarzwald (the Black Forest), as an example, lies in Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany.

How does it work? At the beginning you will be shown a short extract from the full text and a link. The link will open the complete article in a new browser window. Once you have read and understood the article, click "Show Questions" and attempt to answer questions, all of which are related specifically to the article you have just read.

Please choose one of the articles below:

Unser Berg Historische Zugfahrt in der Schweiz Sehnsuchtsort mit Sorgen Berlin is over Frankfurt, ernsthaft? Nur gucken, nie anfassen Unesco vs. Rodler Gufferthütte im Rofangebirge Buxtehude ist Hansestadt

The Süddeutsche Zeitung is one of the largest newspapers in Germany with around one million daily readers. Printed circulation is around half a million, and the remainder comprises online readers. It is a liberal, center-left newspaper which is printed in Munich. It began in 1945, a few months after the end of WWII, after receiving a license from the US military administration which then governed the region. Content is written by some of the most respected professional journalists in Germany and by covering two very important and large Bundesländer (states), it has a national influence and its printed version can also be bought in neighboring countries. The travel section's articles that we will be using reach from the Rhine river and the Schwarzwald, to the Bavarian, Austrian and Swiss alps. Where international tourism is concerned, these areas are extremely popular and the number of annual visitors is very high.