Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik Postfach 1603, 85740 Garching, Germany
We discuss ISO spectroscopic observations of the Galactic centre and the surrounding molecular ring, emphasizing the template role of the Galactic centre region for extragalactic studies. An ageing starburst population is indicated by the low excitation fine structure line spectrum, consistent with results from the near-infrared stellar census. We discuss the absoprtion features due to the foreground cold ISM, and their implications on observations of emission features in similarly obscured sources. Because of its well-known and fairly homogeneous foreground extinction, the Galactic centre is uniquely suited for studies of the mid-infrared extinction law. Our results indicate significantly higher extinction in the 3-8 micron region than usually assumed.