Local patriotism: How Germans replaced nationalism with regional pride

Many foreigners have noticed that Germans are not the greatest patriots when it comes to their country. But when it comes to their city or region? Oh boy.

It was only a few years ago that it became semi-acceptable to publicly wave the national flag in Germany — and even that required a major football event.

Most Germans, as I have come to realize in my six years here, are not keen on openly expressing love for their country.

However, this is not at all the case when it comes to local patriotism, or "Lokalpatriotismus" in German, which — contrary to nationalism — describes the affection, or preference, to one's own city or region.

In Germany's case, it seems to be a much bigger source of pride than anything national. Here's what I've learned about it.

1. Local feuds go a long way back

Do not be fooled into thinking that local patriotism boils down to rivalry between football clubs. Indeed, this is a major part of the deal, but some regional disputes are as old as the earliest documented versions of football — which date back to the second and third centuries BC.

For example, the renowned rivalry between the two large cities of the Rhineland region, Cologne and Dusseldorf, is perhaps celebrated folklorically on a sporting and cultural level, but it is, in fact, based on historical and economic events.

While Cologne, merely 40 kilometers away from Dusseldorf, has developed from a Roman colony to become the biggest city in the state of North RhineWestphalia, the modern residential city of Dusseldorf, which emerged from a small medieval settlement, is now the state's capital.

The event commonly cited as the root of the enmity between the two cities is the Battle of Worringen on June 5, 1288, but it remains unclear whether this