Breakdown of Der Reiseführer erklärt, dass das alte Rathaus zu den wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten der Welt gehört.
alt
old
dass
that
wichtig
important
erklären
to explain
das Rathaus
the town hall
der Reiseführer
the guidebook
die Sehenswürdigkeit
the sight
gehören zu
to belong to
die Welt
the world
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Questions & Answers about Der Reiseführer erklärt, dass das alte Rathaus zu den wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten der Welt gehört.
Why is there a comma before dass?
In German, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions such as dass are always preceded by a comma. That comma marks the boundary between the main clause (“Der Reiseführer erklärt”) and the subordinate clause (“dass … gehört”).
Why does the verb gehört appear at the end of the clause?
Because in German subordinate clauses (Nebensätze) the finite verb moves to the very end. Here, dass introduces the Nebensatz, so gehört goes to the last position.
What does the phrase gehört zu mean?
gehören zu is a fixed verb–preposition combination meaning “to belong to,” or in this context “to be counted among.” So “gehört zu den wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten” = “is one of the most important sights.”
Why is it zu den wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten and not zu die wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten?
The preposition zu always takes the dative case. In the plural dative the definite article is den, so you get zu den. Also note that plural nouns often add an -n in the dative, but “Sehenswürdigkeiten” already ends in -en.
Why is wichtigsten in its superlative form?
The sentence says “one of the most important sights,” so German uses the superlative wichtigst- with the strong ending -en after the definite article den: den wichtigsten.
Why is it das alte Rathaus? Couldn’t you say der alte Rathaus?
No, Rathaus is a neuter noun (das Haus → neuter), so its article is das, not der. Hence das alte Rathaus.
What case is der Welt in, and why?
der Welt is genitive singular (“of the world”). It qualifies Sehenswürdigkeiten, saying “sights of the world.” In German you often express “of something” with the genitive.
Could you use auf der Welt instead of der Welt?
You could say auf der Welt (“in/around the world”), but that shifts the meaning slightly: eine der wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten auf der Welt means “one of the most important sights in the world” (emphasizing location), whereas Sehenswürdigkeiten der Welt (“sights of the world”) emphasizes belonging to a global list. Both are possible, but the original genitive is more idiomatic for “one of the world’s most important attractions.”