[davidw]

Relative stability, and good written records are probably a reasonable part of the answer.

[twobyfour]

Switzerland and Japan, maybe. What is now Germany was not particularly stable during the Middle Ages. Or the Early Modern era. Or the 20th Century for that matter.

[davidw]

Yeah; it's a relatively large place though, so maybe some of the companies were in areas that didn't get quite so beat up in various wars?

[twobyfour]

Maybe. But then why would there be more in Germany than, say, the U.K.? Or Italy?

[philipwhiuk]

The UK has never seen pubs as being worthy of preservation until more recently. If you look at the list that's what survives centuries.

We'd do quite well if the list was 'stately homes'.