Bavaria

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'; IPA

International Phonetic Alphabet

The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic....
: ), with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 and is the largest state

States of Germany

Germany is a federation consisting of sixteen states, known in German language as L?nder . Since Land is the literal German word for "country", the term Bundesl?nder is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law....
 (Bundesland) of Germany by area. Its capital is Munich

Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
 in Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the south of Bavaria, around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and S?dostoberbayern ....
. About 6.4 million of its population are Bavarian, 4.1 million Franconian and 1.8 million Swabian.

History

The Bavarians emerged in a region north of the Alps

Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
, originally inhabited by the Celts, which had been part of the Roman provinces of Raethia and Noricum. The Bavarians spoke Old High German

Old High German

The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of Old High German proper to 750 for this reason...
 but, unlike other Germanic groups, did not migrate from elsewhere. Rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century AD. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii

Boii

Boii is the Ancient Rome name of an ancient Celtic tribes, attested at various times in Transalpine Gaul and Cisalpine Gaul , as well as in Pannonia , Bohemia, Moravia and western Slovakia....
, some remaining Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
, Marcomanni

Marcomanni

The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri , Suebi or Suevi....
, Allemanni, Thuringians, Goths

Goths

The Goths were East Germanic tribes who, in the 3rd and 4th centuries, invasion the Roman Empire and later adopted Arian Christianity. In the 5th and 6th centuries, divided as the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they established powerful successor-states of the Roman Empire in the Iberian peninsula and Italy....
, Rugians

Rugians

The Rugii were an East Germanic tribe whose ultimate origins have been traced to Rogaland in Norway, whose population probably was the Rugii that Jordanes mentioned as a tribe that still remained in Scandza....
, Heruli

Heruli

The Heruli were a nomadic Germanic people, who were subjugated by the Ostrogoths, Huns, and Byzantine Empires in the 3rd to 5th centuries. The name is related to earl and was probably an honorific military title....
. The name "Bavarian" ("Baiuvarii") means "Men of Baia" which may indicate Bohemia

Bohemia

History...
, the homeland of the Celtic Boii

Boii

Boii is the Ancient Rome name of an ancient Celtic tribes, attested at various times in Transalpine Gaul and Cisalpine Gaul , as well as in Pannonia , Bohemia, Moravia and western Slovakia....
 and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources circa 520. Saint Boniface

Saint Boniface

Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid or Wynfrith at Crediton in the kingdom of Wessex , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century....
 completed the people's conversion to Christianity in the early-8th century. Bavaria was, for the most part, unaffected by the Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
, and even today, most of it is strongly Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
.

From about 550 to 788 (up to at least 100 years ago), the house of Agilolfing ruled the Duchy of Bavaria, ending with Tassilo III who was deposed by Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
.

Three early dukes are named in Frankish sources: Garibald I may have been appointed to the office by the Merovingian kings and married the Lombard

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region....
 princess Walderada when the church forbade her to King Chlothar I in 555. Their daughter, Theodelinde, became Queen of the Lombards in northern Italy and Garibald was forced to flee to her when he fell out with his Frankish overlords. Garibald's successor, Tassilo I, tried unsuccessfully to hold the eastern frontier against the expansion of Slavs

Slavic peoples

The Slavic Peoples are a linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans....
 and Avars

Eurasian Avars

The 'Avars' were a highly organized and powerful Turkic confederation. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit retinue of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turkic peoples groups....
 around 600. Tassilo's son Garibald II

Garibald II of Bavaria

Garibald II was List of rulers of Bavaria from 610 until his death. He was the son of Tassilo I of Bavaria.He married Geila, daughter of Gisulf II of Friuli and Romilda....
 seems to have achieved a balance of power between 610 and 616.

After Garibald II little is known of the Bavarians until Duke Theodo I

Theodo of Bavaria

Theodo also known as Theodo V and Theodo II, was the Duke of Bavaria from 670 or, more probably, 680 to his death.It is with Theodo that the well-sourced history of Bavaria begins....
, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onwards he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and strengthen Christianity in his duchy (it is unclear what Bavarian religious life consisted of before this time). His son, Theudebert

Theodbert of Bavaria

Theodbert was the duke of Bavaria in some capacity or other from 702 to his death. He was the eldest son of Duke Theodo of Bavaria and Folchaid....
, led a decisive Bavarian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Lombard Kingdom

Lombards

The Lombards were a Germanic peoples originally from Northern Europe who settled in the valley of the Danube and from there invaded Byzantine Italian peninsula in 568 under the leadership of Alboin....
 in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Theodo's death the duchy was divided among his sons, but reunited under his grandson Hucbert.

At Hucbert's death (735 AD) the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo

Odilo of Bavaria

Odilo , a son of Gotfrid of the house of Agilolfing, ruled Bavaria from 736 until his death in 748, succeeding Duke Hugbert of Bavaria. Odilo presided over the establishment of bishoprics in Bavaria in 739, when the dioceses of diocese of Regensburg, diocese of Freising, diocese of Passau, and diocese of Salzburg were established by St....
, from neighbouring Alemannia (modern southwest Germany and northern Switzerland). Odilo issued a law code for Bavaria, completed the process of church organisation in partnership with St. Boniface (739), and tried to intervene in Frankish succession disputes by fighting for the claims of the Carolingian Grifo

Grifo

Grifo was the son of the Frankish major domo Charles Martel and his second wife Swanachild.After the death of Charles Martel power may well have been intended to be divided among Grifo and his half-brothers Pepin the Younger and Carloman, son of Charles Martel....
. He was defeated near Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is an Independent City city in the south-west of Bavaria. The College town is home of the Regierungsbezirk Swabia and also of the Swabia and the Augsburg ....
 in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748.

Tassilo III

Tassilo III of Bavaria

Tassilo III was duke of Bavaria from 748 to 787, the last of the house of the Agilolfings.Tassilo, then still an infant, began his rule as a Frankish ward under the tutelage of the Merovingian Mayor of the Palace Pepin the Short after Tassilo's father, Duke Odilo of Bavaria, had died in 747 and Pepin?s half-brother Grifo had tried to seiz...
 (b. 741 - d. after 794) succeeded his father at the age of eight after an unsuccessful attempt by Grifo to rule Bavaria. He initially ruled under Frankish oversight but began to function independently from 763 onwards. He was particularly noted for founding new monasteries and for expanding eastwards, fighting Slavs in the eastern Alps and along the River Danube and colonising these lands. After 781, however, his cousin Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
 began to pressure Tassilo to submit and finally deposed him in 788. The deposition was not entirely legitimate; Dissenters attempted a coup against Charlemagne at Tassilo's old capital of Regensburg

Regensburg

Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen River rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube....
 in 792, led by his own son Pippin the Hunchback

Pepin the Hunchback

Pepin the Hunchback, was the eldest son of Charlemagne by Himiltrude.Accounts describe Pepin as normally proportioned with attractive features....
, and the king had to drag Tassilo out of imprisonment to formally renounce his rights and titles at the Assembly of Frankfurt in 794. This is the last appearance of Tassilo in the sources and he probably died a monk. As all of his family were also forced into monasteries, this was the end of the Agilolfing dynasty.

For the next 400 years numerous families held the duchy, rarely for more than three generations. With the revolt of duke Henry the Quarrelsome

Henry II, Duke of Bavaria

Henry II , called the Wrangler or the Quarrelsome, in German Heinrich der Z?nker, was the son of Henry I, Duke of Bavaria and Judith of Bavaria and a seventh generation descendant of Charlemagne....
 in 976, Bavaria lost large territories in the south and south east. The last, and one of the most important, of these dukes was Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Rulers of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and List of rulers of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
 of the house of Welf

Welf

The House of Welf is a European dynasty that has included many Germany and United Kingdom monarchs from the 11th to 20th century.The House of Welf is the older branch of the House of Este, a dynasty whose oldest known members lived in Lombardy in the 9th century....
, founder of Munich

Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
. When Henry the Lion was deposed as Duke of Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a States of Germany of Germany. Located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states....
 and Bavaria by his cousin, Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt am Main on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1154, and finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155....
, in 1180, Bavaria was awarded as fief to the Wittelsbach

Wittelsbach

The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a Germany dynasty from Bavaria. Their major principal roles were as List of rulers of Bavaria , Electoral Palatinate , List of rulers of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, County of Hainaut and Zeeland , List of bishops and archbishops of Cologne , Duchy of J?lich and Berg , Kings of Sweden...
 family, which ruled from 1180 to 1918. The Electoral Palatinate was also acquired by the House of Wittelsbach in 1214.

The first of several divisions of the duchy of Bavaria occurred in 1255. With the extinction of the Hohenstaufen in 1268 also Swabia

Swabia

Swabia, Suabia, or Svebia is both a historic and linguistics region in Germany. Swabia consists of much of the present-day state of Baden-W?rttemberg , as well as the Bavarian Swabia ....
n territories were acquired by the Wittelsbach dukes. Emperor Louis the Bavarian

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the Duke of Bavaria from 1294/1301 together with his brother Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria, Electoral Palatinate until 1329, King of Germany from 1314, and Holy Roman Empire from 1328....
 acquired Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
, Tirol

German Tyrol

German Tyrol is a historical region in the Alps now divided between Austria and Italy. It includes largely ethnic German areas of historical County of Tyrol: the States of Austria of Tyrol and the Regions of Italy known as the Alto Adige/S?dtirol but not the largely Italian language-speaking Autonomous Province of Trento ....
, Holland

Holland

Holland is a name in common usage given to two regions in the western part of Netherlands. The name 'Holland' is also often mistakenly used to refer to the whole of The Netherlands....
 and Hainaut

County of Hainaut

The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of what is now the Belgium province of Hainaut and the southern part of the French d?partement Nord ....
 for his House but released the Upper Palatinate

Upper Palatinate

The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria. It is subdivided into two regions - Oberpfalz-Nord and Regensburg....
 for the Palatinate branch of the Wittelsbach in 1329. In 1506 with the Landshut War of Succession

Landshut War of Succession

The Landshut war of succession resulted from an agreement between the duchies of Bavaria-Munich and Bavaria-Landshut , both being lines of the House of Wittelsbach about succession when one of the lines should have no male heir....
 the other parts of Bavaria were reunited and Munich became the sole capital.

In 1623 the Bavarian duke replaced his relative, the Count Palatine of the Rhine in the early days of the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe....
 and acquired the powerful prince-elector

Prince-elector

The Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of Imperial election the Holy Roman Emperors....
al dignity in the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
, determining its Emperor thence forward, as well as special legal status under the empire's laws. Also the Upper Palatinate was reunited with Bavaria. The ambitions of the Bavarian prince electors led to several wars with Austria during the early-18th century. From 1777 onwards Bavaria and the Electoral Palatinate were governed in personal union again.

When Napoleon abolished the Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria became a kingdom

Kingdom of Bavaria

The Kingdom of Bavaria was a Germany state that existed from 1806–1918. Elector Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806....
 in 1806, and its area reduplicated. Tirol

Tyrol (state)

Tyrol is a States of Austria or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol....
 and Salzburg

Salzburg (state)

Salzburg is a Bundesland or Land of Austria with an area of 7,154 km?, located adjacent to the Germany border. With 529,085 inhabitants it is one of the country's smaller states in terms of population....
 were temporarily reunited with Bavaria but finally ceded to Austria. In return the Rhenish Palatinate and Franconia

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria and a much smaller region in northeastern Baden-W?rttemberg called Heilbronn-Franken....
 were annexed to Bavaria in 1815. Between 1799 and 1817 the leading minister count Montgelas followed a strict policy of modernisation and laid the foundations of administrative structures that survived even the monarchy and are (in their core) valid until today. In 1818 a modern constitution (by the standards of the time) was passed, that established a bicameral Parliament with a House of Lords (Kammer der Reichsräte) and a House of Commons (Kammer der Abgeordneten). The constitution was valid until the collapse of the monarchy at the end of World War I

World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
.

After the rise of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a Germany monarchy from 1701 to 1918 and, from 1871, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire....
 to prominence Bavaria managed to preserve its independence by playing off the rivalries of Prussia and Austria

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a periodization successor state empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867....
, but defeat in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War

Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Kingdom of Italy on the other, that resulted in Prussian dominance over the German states....
 compelled Bavaria to accept incorporation into the Prussian

Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a Germany monarchy from 1701 to 1918 and, from 1871, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire....
-dominated German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of William I, German Emperor as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became Weimar republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of William II, German Emperor ....
 in 1871. In the early-20th century Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was a Russian Painting, printmaker and art theorist. One of the most famous 20th-century artists, he is credited with painting the first modern abstract art works....
, Paul Klee

Paul Klee

Paul Klee was a Switzerland Painting of Germany nationality. His highly individual style was influenced by many different art trends, including expressionism, cubism, and surrealism....
, Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Johan Ibsen was a major Nineteenth-century theatre Norway playwright of realism drama and poet. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama" and is one of the founders of modernism in the theatre....
, and other notable artists were drawn to Bavaria, notably to the Schwabing

Schwabing

Schwabing is a borough in the northern part of Munich, the Capital of the Germany state of Bavaria. It is divided into the city borough 4 and the city borough 12 ....
 district of Munich, later devastated by World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

On November 12 1918 Ludwig III

Ludwig III of Bavaria

Ludwig III , was the last King of Kingdom of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918....
 signed a document, the Anif declaration

Anif declaration

The Anif declaration , issued by the Kingdom of Bavaria Ludwig III on 12 November 1918 at Anif Palace, Austria, ended the 738-year rule of the House of Wittelsbach in Bavaria....
, releasing both civil and military officers from their oaths; the newly-formed republican government of Socialist premier Kurt Eisner

Kurt Eisner

Kurt Eisner was a Bavarian politician and journalist. As a German socialist journalist and statesman, he organized the German Revolution that achieved the overthrow of the monarchy in Bavaria in 1918....
 interpreted this as an abdication. Eisner

Eisner

The surname Eisner could mean any of the following people:* Breck Eisner - son of Michael and film director.* Clara Eissner, see Clara Zetkin...
  was assassinated in 1919 leading to a violently suppressed Communist revolt. Extremist activity by the National Socialists also increased, notably the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch

Beer Hall Putsch

The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of Thursday, November 8 and the early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923, when the National Socialist German Workers Party's leader Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders of the Kampfbund, unsuccessfully...
, and Munich and Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city in the Germany State of Bavaria, in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz River river and the Rhine?Main?Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city....
 became Nazi

Nazism

Nazism, officially National Socialism , refers to the ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Workers? Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945....
 strongholds under the Third Reich. As a manufacturing center, Munich was heavily bombed during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 and occupied by U.S. troops

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
. The Rhenish Palatinate was detached from Bavaria in 1946 and made part of the new state Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 States of Germany of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz....
.

Since World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, Bavaria has been rehabilitated into a prosperous industrial hub. A massive reconstruction effort restored much of Munich's historic core, and the city hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, in what was then West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
. More recently, former state minister-president Edmund Stoiber

Edmund Stoiber

Edmund R?diger Stoiber is a Germany politics, former minister-president of the States of Germany of Bavaria and former chairman of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria....
 was the CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor in the 2002 federal election

German federal election, 2002

The 15th German federal election, 2002 was conducted on 22 September 2002, to elect members to the Bundestag of Germany....
 which he lost, and native son Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI is the List of popes and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, monarch of the Vatican City....
 in 2005.

Geography

Bavaria shares international borders with Austria and the Czech Republic as well as with Switzerland (across Lake Constance

Lake Constance

Under the designation Lake Constance one summarizes the three independent Body of water Obersee , Untersee and Seerhein , lying in the northern Alps foreland....
). Neighbouring states within Germany are Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-W?rttemberg is one of the 16 States of Germany of the Federal Republic of Germany. Baden-W?rttemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine?but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River ....
, Hesse

Hesse

Hesse is a States of Germany of Germany with an area of 21,110 km? and just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is nearby Frankfurt am Main....
, Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen States of Germany ....
 and Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a States of Germany of Germany. Located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states....
. Two major rivers flow through the state, the Danube

Danube

The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
 (Donau) and the Main

Main

The Main is a river in Germany, 524 km long , and it is one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine. The Main flows through the States of Germany of Bavaria, Baden-W?rttemberg and Hesse....
, and the upper Rhine

Rhine

File:Swiss Grand Canyon.jpgThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
 forms part of the southwest border of the state. The Bavarian Alps define the border with Austria, and within the range is the highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze

Zugspitze

The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany. It is located at the Austrian border in the town of Grainau of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen , Bavaria....
.

The major cities in Bavaria are Munich

Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
 (München), Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city in the Germany State of Bavaria, in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz River river and the Rhine?Main?Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city....
 (Nürnberg), Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is an Independent City city in the south-west of Bavaria. The College town is home of the Regierungsbezirk Swabia and also of the Swabia and the Augsburg ....
, Würzburg

Würzburg

W?rzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located on the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken....
, Regensburg

Regensburg

Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen River rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube....
, Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As of December 31, 2005, Ingolstadt had 121,801 residents, making it the second-largest city in Upper Bavaria, after Munich....
, Fürth

Fürth

The city of F?rth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the district of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
 and Erlangen

Erlangen

Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach....
.

Population and area

Administrative region	Population (2008)		Area (km²)		No. municipalities
Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. It is subdivided into three regions ?Landshut, Passau and Donau-Wald....	1,193,444	9.5%	10,330	14.6%	258	12.5%
Lower Franconia Lower Franconia Lower Franconia is one of the three Regierungsbezirks of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany .The district was formed in 1817 under the name of Untermainkreis and renamed in 1837 as Unterfranken und Aschaffenburg ....	1,331,500	10.6%	8,531	12.1%	308	15.0%
Upper Franconia Upper Franconia Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the States of Germany of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia ...	1,085,770	8.7%	7,231	10.2%	214	10.4%
Middle Franconia Middle Franconia Middle Franconia is one of the three Regierungsbezirks of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.Landkreise # Ansbach # Erlangen-H?chstadt...	1,714,453	13.7%	7,245	10.3%	210	10.2%
Upper Palatinate Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria. It is subdivided into two regions - Oberpfalz-Nord and Regensburg....	1,085,216	8.7%	9,691	13.7%	226	11.0%
Swabia Swabia (administrative region) Swabia is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in southwest Bavaria. It was formed out of the part of the historic region of Swabia which was annexed by Bavaria in 1803....	1,787,995	14.3%	9,992	14.2%	340	16.5%
Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the south of Bavaria, around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and S?dostoberbayern ....	4,320,934	34.5%	17,530	24.8%	500	24.3%
Total	12,519,312	100.0%	70,549	100.0%	2,056	100.0%

Major cities

City	Inhabitants 31 December 2000	Inhabitants 31 December 2005	Inhabitants 31 March 2007
Munich Munich Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....	1,210,223	1,259,677	1,298,354
Nuremberg Nuremberg Nuremberg is a city in the Germany State of Bavaria, in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz River river and the Rhine?Main?Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city....	488,400	499,237	500,591
Augsburg Augsburg Augsburg is an Independent City city in the south-west of Bavaria. The College town is home of the Regierungsbezirk Swabia and also of the Swabia and the Augsburg ....	254,982	262,676	262,371
Würzburg Würzburg W?rzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located on the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken....	127,966	133,906	134,225
Regensburg Regensburg Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen River rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube....	125,676	129,859	131,489
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As of December 31, 2005, Ingolstadt had 121,801 residents, making it the second-largest city in Upper Bavaria, after Munich....	115,722	121,314	122,213
Fürth Fürth The city of F?rth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the district of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....	110,477	113,422	113,848
Erlangen Erlangen Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach....	100,778	103,197	103,859
Bayreuth Bayreuth Bayreuth is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. It is the capital of Oberfranken and has a population of 73,048 citizens ....	74,153	73,997	73,252
Bamberg Bamberg Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg....	69,036	70,081	69,558
Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg is a large town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg , but is the administrative seat....	67,592	68,642	68,672
Landshut Landshut Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the Isar, Landshut acts is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state of Bavaria....	58,746	61,368	62,074
Kempten (Allgäu)	61,389	61,360	61,454
Rosenheim Rosenheim Rosenheim is a town in Bavaria at the confluence of the rivers Inn River and Mangfall.It is seat of administration of the Rosenheim , but is not a part of it....	58,908	60,226	60,438
Schweinfurt Schweinfurt Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of W?rzburg....	54,325	54,273	53,917
Neu-Ulm Neu-Ulm Neu-Ulm is a town in Bavaria, capital of the Neu-Ulm . Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim bei Neu-Ulm, Nersingen and Elchingen....	50,188	51,410	51,755
Passau Passau Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany, known also as the Dreifl?ssestadt , because the Danube is joined there by the Inn River from the South, and the Ilz coming out of the Bavarian Forest to the North....	50,536	50,651	50,464
Hof	50,741	48,723	48,040
Freising Freising Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the Freising . Total population 48,500.The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport....	44,167	45,827	46,110
Straubing Straubing Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the Districts of Germany Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the G?ubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held....	44,014	44,633	44,762

Administrative divisions

Regierungsbezirke (administrative regions)

Bavaria is divided into 7 administrative regions called Regierungsbezirke (singular Regierungsbezirk).

1. Upper Franconia
   Upper Franconia
   
   Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the States of Germany of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia ...
    
2. Middle Franconia
   Middle Franconia
   
   Middle Franconia is one of the three Regierungsbezirks of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.Landkreise # Ansbach # Erlangen-H?chstadt...
    
3. Lower Franconia
   Lower Franconia
   
   Lower Franconia is one of the three Regierungsbezirks of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany .The district was formed in 1817 under the name of Untermainkreis and renamed in 1837 as Unterfranken und Aschaffenburg ....
    
4. Swabia
   Swabia (administrative region)
   
   Swabia is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in southwest Bavaria. It was formed out of the part of the historic region of Swabia which was annexed by Bavaria in 1803....
    
5. Upper Palatinate
   Upper Palatinate
   
   The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria. It is subdivided into two regions - Oberpfalz-Nord and Regensburg....
    
6. Upper Bavaria
   Upper Bavaria
   
   Upper Bavaria is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the south of Bavaria, around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and S?dostoberbayern ....
    
7. Lower Bavaria
   Lower Bavaria
   
   Lower Bavaria is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. It is subdivided into three regions ?Landshut, Passau and Donau-Wald....
    

These administrative regions consist of 71 administrative districts (called Landkreise, singular Landkreis) and 25 independent cities (kreisfreie Städte, singular kreisfreie Stadt).

Bezirke

Bezirke (districts) are the third communal layer in Bavaria; the others are the Landkreise and the Gemeinden or Städte. In the larger Länder of Germany (including Bavaria) there are Regierungsbezirke which are only administrative divisions and not self-governing entities as the Bezirke in Bavaria. The Bezirke in Bavaria are territorially identical with the Regierungsbezirke (e.g. Regierung von Oberbayern), but are a different form of administration (having their own parliaments etc.).

Landkreise/kreisfreie Cities 

Landkreise:

Aichach-Friedberg Aichach-Friedberg Aichach-Friedberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Augsburg , Donau-Ries, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen , Dachau , F?rstenfeldbruck and Landsberg , as well as by the city of Augsburg.... Altötting Altötting (district) Alt?tting is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by Austria and the Bavarian districts of Traunstein , M?hldorf and Rottal-Inn.... Amberg-Sulzbach Amberg-Sulzbach Amberg-Sulzbach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is surrounding, but not including the city of Amberg. It is bounded by the districts of Neustadt , Schwandorf , Neumarkt , Nuernberger Land and Bayreuth .... Ansbach Ansbach (district) Ansbach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is surrounding, but not including the city of Ansbach; nonetheless the administrative seat of the district is Ansbach.... Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (district) Aschaffenburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Offenbach , Main-Kinzig , the districts Main-Spessart and Miltenberg , and the town of Aschaffenburg.... Augsburg Augsburg (district) Augsburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Augsburg and the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Landsberg , Ostallg?u, Unterallg?u, G?nzburg , Dillingen and Donau-Ries.... Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen (district) Bad Kissingen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district Main-Kinzig and Fulda in Hesse, and the districts of Rh?n-Grabfeld, Schweinfurt and Main-Spessart.... Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by Austria and the districts of Garmisch-Partenkirchen , Weilheim-Schongau, Starnberg , Munich and Miesbach .... Bamberg Bamberg (district) Bamberg Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds but does not include the town of Bamberg. The district is bounded by the districts of Lichtenfels , Bayreuth , Forchheim , Erlangen-H?chstadt, Neustadt -Bad Windsheim, Kitzingen , Schweinfurt and Ha?berge.... Bayreuth Bayreuth (district) Bayreuth is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds, but does not include the city of Bayreuth. The district is bounded by the districts of Kulmbach , Hof , Wunsiedel , Tirschenreuth , Neustadt , Amberg-Sulzbach, N?rnberger Land, Forchheim and Bamberg .... Berchtesgadener Land Berchtesgadener Land Berchtesgadener Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria.... Cham Cham (district) Cham is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Regen , Straubing-Bogen, Regensburg and Schwandorf and by the Czech Republic Plzen Region.... Coburg Coburg (district) Coburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kronach , Lichtenfels , Bamberg and Ha?berge, and by the state of Thuringia .... Dachau Dachau (district) Dachau is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of F?rstenfeldbruck , Aichach-Friedberg, Pfaffenhofen , Freising and Munich , and by the city of Munich.... Deggendorf Deggendorf (district) Deggendorf is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bordered by the districts of Regen , Freyung-Grafenau, Passau , Rottal-Inn, Dingolfing-Landau and Straubing-Bogen.... Dillingen Dillingen (district) Dillingen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Donau-Ries, Augsburg and G?nzburg , and by the state of Baden-W?rttemberg .... Dingolfing-Landau Dingolfing-Landau Dingolfing-Landau is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Straubing-Bogen, Deggendorf , Rottal-Inn and Landshut .... Donau-Ries Donau-Ries Donau-Ries is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Ansbach , Wei?enburg-Gunzenhausen, Eichst?tt , Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Aichach-Friedberg, Augsburg and Dillingen , and by the state of Baden-W?rttemberg .... Ebersberg Ebersberg (district) Ebersberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Erding , M?hldorf , Rosenheim and Munich .... Eichstätt Eichstätt (district) Eichst?tt is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Donau-Ries, Wei?enburg-Gunzenhausen, Roth , Neumarkt , Kelheim and Pfaffenhofen , and by the city of Ingolstadt.... Erding Erding (district) Erding is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Landshut , M?hldorf , Ebersberg , Munich and Freising .... Erlangen-Höchstadt Erlangen-Höchstadt Erlangen-H?chstadt is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of F?rth , Neustadt -Bad Windsheim, Bamberg , Forchheim and N?rnberger Land, and by the cities of Nuremberg and Erlangen.... Forchheim Forchheim (district) Forchheim is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bamberg , Bayreuth , N?rnberger Land and Erlangen-H?chstadt.... Freising Freising (district) Freising is a district in Bavaria, Germany. Following a recent ranking of the German magazine FOCUS MONEY comparing all German districts it is number one concerning economic growth abilities....

Freyung-Grafenau Freyung-Grafenau Freyung-Grafenau is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Passau , Deggendorf and Regen , and by the Czech Republic.... Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck (district) F?rstenfeldbruck is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Munich and the districts of Munich , Starnberg , Landsberg , Aichach-Friedberg and Dachau .... Fürth Fürth (district) F?rth is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the cities of F?rth and Nuremberg, and by the districts of Roth , Ansbach , Neustadt -Bad Windsheim and Erlangen-H?chstadt.... Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district) Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Ostallg?u, Weilheim-Schongau and Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen, and by the Austrian state of Tyrol .... Günzburg Günzburg (district) G?nzburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Dillingen , Augsburg , Unterallg?u and Neu-Ulm , and by the state of Baden-W?rttemberg .... Haßberge Haßberge Ha?berge is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Coburg , Bamberg , Schweinfurt and Rh?n-Grabfeld, and by the state of Thuringia .... Hof Hof (district) Hof is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Wunsiedel , Bayreuth , Kulmbach and Kronach , the states of Thuringia and Free State of Saxony , and the Czech Republic.... Kelheim Kelheim (district) Kelheim is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Regensburg , Landshut , Freising , Pfaffenhofen , Eichst?tt and Neumarkt .... Kitzingen Kitzingen (district) Kitzingen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Schweinfurt , Bamberg , Neustadt -Bad Windsheim and W?rzburg .... Kronach Kronach (district) Kronach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hof , Kulmbach , Lichtenfels and Coburg , and the state of Thuringia .... Kulmbach Kulmbach (district) Kulmbach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kronach , Hof , Bayreuth and Lichtenfels .... Landsberg Landsberg (district) Landsberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, F?rstenfeldbruck , Starnberg , Weilheim-Schongau, Ostallg?u and Augsburg .... Landshut Landshut (district) Landshut is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kelheim , Straubing-Bogen, Dingolfing-Landau, Rottal-Inn, M?hldorf , Erding and Freising .... Lichtenfels Lichtenfels (district) Lichtenfels is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Coburg , Kronach , Kulmbach and Bamberg .... Lindau Lindau (district) Lindau is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Oberallg?u, Austria , Lake Constance and the state of Baden-W?rttemberg .... Main-Spessart Main-Spessart Main-Spessart is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bad Kissingen , Schweinfurt and W?rzburg , the state of Baden-W?rttemberg , the districts of Miltenberg and Aschaffenburg , and the state of Hesse .... Miesbach Miesbach (district) Miesbach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen, Munich and Rosenheim , and by the Austrian state of Tyrol .... Miltenberg Miltenberg (district) Miltenberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Aschaffenburg, the districts of Aschaffenburg and Main-Spessart, and the states of Baden-W?rttemberg and Hesse .... Mühldorf Mühldorf (district) M?hldorf is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Landshut , Rottal-Inn, Alt?tting , Traunstein , Rosenheim , Ebersberg and Erding .... Munich-County Munich (district) Munich is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It borders the districts of Dachau , Freising , Erding , Ebersberg , Rosenheim , Miesbach , Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen, Starnberg , F?rstenfeldbruck , and surrounds district-free city Munich itself, which is the district seat....  (Landkreis München) Neuburg-Schrobenhausen Neuburg-Schrobenhausen Neuburg-Schrobenhausen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Pfaffenhofen , Aichach-Friedberg, Donau-Ries and Eichst?tt , and by the city of Ingolstadt.... Neumarkt Neumarkt (district) Neumarkt is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of N?rnberger Land, Amberg-Sulzbach, Schwandorf , Regensburg , Kelheim , Eichst?tt and Roth .... Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim Neustadt -Bad Windsheim is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of W?rzburg , Kitzingen , Bamberg , Erlangen-H?chstadt, F?rth and Ansbach , and by the state of Baden-W?rttemberg .... Neustadt (Waldnaab) Neustadt (Waldnaab) (district) Neustadt is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Schwandorf , Amberg-Sulzbach, Bayreuth and Tirschenreuth , and by the Czech Republic ....

Neu-Ulm Neu-Ulm (district) Neu-Ulm is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of G?nzburg and Unterallg?u and the state of Baden-W?rttemberg .The district was established in 1972 by merging the former districts of Neu-Ulm and Illertissen with the previously district-free city of Neu-Ulm.... Nürnberger Land Nürnberger Land N?rnberger Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Forchheim , Bayreuth , Amberg-Sulzbach, Neumarkt , Roth and Erlangen-H?chstadt, and by the city of Nuremberg.... Oberallgäu Oberallgäu Oberallg?u is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Unterallg?u and Ostallg?u, the Austrian states Tyrol and Vorarlberg, the district of Lindau , and the state of Baden-W?rttemberg .... Ostallgäu Ostallgäu Ostallg?u is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Oberallg?u, Unterallg?u, Augsburg , Landsberg , Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen , and by the Austrian state of Tyrol.... Passau Passau (district) Passau is a district in the southeast of Bavaria. It encloses the city of Passau geographically from two sides. Neighboring districts are Rottal-Inn, Deggendorf , Freyung-Grafenau.... Pfaffenhofen Pfaffenhofen (district) Pfaffenhofen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Eichst?tt , Kelheim , Freising , Dachau and Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, and the city of Ingolstadt.... Regen Regen (district) Regen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Freyung-Grafenau, Deggendorf , Straubing-Bogen and Cham , and by the Czech Republic .... Regensburg Regensburg (district) Regensburg is an administrative district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Schwandorf , Cham , Straubing-Bogen, Kelheim and Neumarkt .... Rhön-Grabfeld Rhön-Grabfeld Rh?n-Grabfeld is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hassberge, Schweinfurt and Bad Kissingen , and the states of Hesse and Thuringia .... Rosenheim Rosenheim (district) Rosenheim is a Kreis in the south of Bavaria, Germany.Neighboring districts are, clockwise from the west, Miesbach , Munich , Ebersberg , M?hldorf , and Traunstein , with the Austrian province Tyrol across the southern border.... Roth Roth (district) Roth is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of N?rnberger Land, Neumarkt , Eichst?tt , Wei?enburg-Gunzenhausen, Ansbach and F?rth , and the cities of Schwabach and Nuremberg.... Rottal-Inn Rottal-Inn Rottal-Inn is a Kreis in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Alt?tting , M?hldorf , Landshut , Dingolfing-Landau and Passau .... Schwandorf Schwandorf (district) Schwandorf is a Kreis in the east part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Cham , Regensburg , Neumarkt , Amberg-Sulzbach, Neustadt , and the Czech Republic Plzen Region.... Schweinfurt Schweinfurt (district) Schweinfurt is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kissingen , Rh?n-Grabfeld, Ha?berge, Bamberg , Kitzingen , W?rzburg and Main-Spessart.... Starnberg Starnberg (district) Starnberg is a Kreis in the southern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are F?rstenfeldbruck , Munich , Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen, Weilheim-Schongau and Landsberg .... Straubing-Bogen Straubing-Bogen Straubing-Bogen is a Kreis in the eastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Cham , Regen , Deggendorf , Dingolfing-Landau, Landshut and Regensburg .... Tirschenreuth Tirschenreuth (district) Tirschenreuth is a Kreis in the northeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Neustadt , Bayreuth and Wunsiedel . To the east are the Czech Republic districts of Plzen and Karlovy Vary.... Traunstein Traunstein (district) Traunstein is a Kreis in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are M?hldorf , Alt?tting , the Austrian states Upper Austria and Salzburg , the district Berchtesgadener Land, the Austrian states of Salzburg and Tyrol , and the district Rosenheim .... Unterallgäu Unterallgäu Unterallg?u is a Kreis in the southwestern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Neu-Ulm , G?nzburg , Augsburg , Ostallg?u, Oberallg?u, and the districts Ravensburg und Biberach in Baden-W?rttemberg.... Weilheim-Schongau Weilheim-Schongau Weilheim-Schongau is a Kreis in the south of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Landsberg , Starnberg , Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Ostallg?u.... Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen Wei?enburg-Gunzenhausen is a Kreis in the west of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ansbach , Roth , Eichst?tt and Donau-Ries.... Wunsiedel Wunsiedel (district) Wunsiedel is a Kreis in the northeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are Tirschenreuth , Bayreuth , Hof , and to the west the Czech Republic Karlovy Vary Region.... Würzburg Würzburg (district) W?rzburg is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Bavaria, Germany.Neighboring districts are Main-Spessart, Schweinfurt , Kitzingen , Neustadt -Bad Windsheim, and the district Main-Tauber in Baden-W?rttemberg....

Kreis-free Cities:

Amberg Amberg Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate , roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,456 .... Ansbach Ansbach Ansbach, or Anspach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk of Mittelfranken.... Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg is a large town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg , but is the administrative seat.... Augsburg Augsburg Augsburg is an Independent City city in the south-west of Bavaria. The College town is home of the Regierungsbezirk Swabia and also of the Swabia and the Augsburg .... Bamberg Bamberg Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg.... Bayreuth Bayreuth Bayreuth is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. It is the capital of Oberfranken and has a population of 73,048 citizens .... Coburg Erlangen Erlangen Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.... Fürth Fürth The city of F?rth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the district of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....

Hof Hof, Germany Hof is a city located on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the Germany state of Bavaria, in the Franconia region, at the Czech Republic border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions.... Ingolstadt Ingolstadt Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As of December 31, 2005, Ingolstadt had 121,801 residents, making it the second-largest city in Upper Bavaria, after Munich.... Kaufbeuren Kaufbeuren Kaufbeuren is an independent city in the Regierungsbezirk of Schwaben, southern Bavaria. The city is completely enclaved within the Districts of Germany of Ostallg?u.... Kempten Kempten im Allgäu Kempten im Allg?u is the largest city in Allg?u, a region in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. Population was c. 61,000 in 2006. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later overtaken by the Ancient Rome, who called the town Cambodunum.... Landshut Landshut Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the Isar, Landshut acts is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state of Bavaria.... Memmingen Memmingen Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian Regierungsbezirk Swabia in Germany. The district-free town is located at the border to Baden-W?rttemberg, at the river Iller.... Munich Munich Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....  (München) Nuremberg Nuremberg Nuremberg is a city in the Germany State of Bavaria, in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz River river and the Rhine?Main?Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city....  (Nürnberg) Passau Passau Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany, known also as the Dreifl?ssestadt , because the Danube is joined there by the Inn River from the South, and the Ilz coming out of the Bavarian Forest to the North....

Regensburg Regensburg Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen River rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube.... Rosenheim Rosenheim Rosenheim is a town in Bavaria at the confluence of the rivers Inn River and Mangfall.It is seat of administration of the Rosenheim , but is not a part of it.... Schwabach Schwabach Schwabach is a Germany city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg, in the center of the region of Franconia in the North of Bavaria. The city is an autonomous administrative district .... Schweinfurt Schweinfurt Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of W?rzburg.... Straubing Straubing Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the Districts of Germany Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the G?ubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held.... Weiden Weiden in der Oberpfalz Weiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here. Weiden is also known as the Max Reger Stadt .... Würzburg Würzburg W?rzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located on the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken....

Gemeinden (municipalities)

The 71 administrative districts are on the lowest level divided into 2031 municipalities

Municipality

A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....
 (called Gemeinden, singular Gemeinde). Together with the 25 independent cities (which are in effect municipalities independent of Landkreis administrations), there are a total of 2056 municipalities in Bavaria.

In 44 of the 71 administrative districts, there are a total of 215 unincorporated area

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of Real property that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city or town with its own government....
s (as of January 1, 2005, called gemeindefreie Gebiete, singular gemeindefreies Gebiet), not belonging to any municipality, all uninhabited, mostly forested areas, but also four lakes (Chiemsee

Chiemsee

Chiemsee is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, between Rosenheim, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria. It is often called the Bavarian Sea. The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien am Chiemsee flow into the lake; the river Alz, out of it....
-without islands, Starnberger See-without island Roseninsel, Ammersee

Ammersee

Ammersee is a lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany located southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Die?en am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately , it is the sixth largest lake in Germany....
, which are the three largest lakes of Bavaria, and Waginger See

Waginger See

Waginger See is a lake in Alpenvorland, Bavaria, Germany. At an elevation of 441 m, its surface area is 9 km?....
).

Politics

Bavaria has a multi-party system where the biggest party is the conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria

Christian Social Union of Bavaria

The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian Democracy and conservatism political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany....
 (CSU), which has dominated politics since 1957, and won every election since then, and the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD reestablished itself as an ideological party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions....
 (SPD). The German green party, Alliance '90/The Greens

Alliance '90/The Greens

The Alliance '90/The Greens is a political party in Germany which originated from the merger of the party "The Greens" and Alliance 90....
 is represented in the parliament as well. Since 2008 Germany's liberal party, the Free Democratic Party

Free Democratic Party (Germany)

The Free Democratic Party is a centre-right Liberalism political party in Germany. The party's ideology combines beliefs in individual liberty, in a state or government "that is as limited as possible and as extensive as necessary" ....
 and the Free Voters

Free Voters

Free Voters is a Germany concept where an association of individuals participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party....
 are represented in Bavaria's parliament as well. CSU and FDP have agreed in October 2008 to build a coalition whereas SPD, Free Voters and the Greens form the opposition.

Bavaria has a unicameral Landtag

Landtag of Bavaria

The Landtag of Bavaria is the unicameral legislature of the states of Germany of Bavaria in Germany. Between 1946 and 1999 there was an upper house, the Bayerischer Senat....
, or state parliament, elected by universal suffrage. Until December 1999, there was also a Senat, or Senate

Senate

A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or Parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, the first of which was the Roman Senate....
, whose members were chosen by social and economic groups in Bavaria, but following a referendum in 1998, this institution was abolished. The head of government is the Minister-President

Minister-President

A minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, who presides over the council of ministers....
.

In 1995 Bavaria introduced direct democracy

Direct democracy

Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy, comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizenship who choose to participate....
 on the local level in a referendum

Referendum

A referendum , ballot question, or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire Constituency is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal....
. This was initiated bottom-up by an association called Mehr Demokratie (More Democracy). This is a grass-roots organization which campaigns for the right to citizen-initiated referendums. In 1997 the Bavarian Supreme Court aggravated the regulations considerably (e.g. by introducing a turn-out quorum). Nevertheless, Bavaria has the most advanced regulations on local direct democracy in Germany. This has led to a spirited citizens’ participation in communal and municipal affairs – 835 referenda took place from 1995 through 2005.

In the 2003 elections

Bavaria state election, 2003

The Bavaria state election, 2003, was conducted on September 21, 2003, to elect members to the Landtag of Bavaria....
 the CSU won more than two thirds of the seats in Landtag

Landtag

A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.The German word "Landtag" is composed of the words Land which names a political entity comparable to a federal state and the word Tag....
 - something no party had ever achieved in post-war German history. In the 2008 elections

Bavaria state election, 2008

The 2008 Bavarian state election was held on September 28, 2008. Voters of the German state of Bavaria elected members to the Bavarian Landtag ....
 the CSU lost its absolute majority in the Landtag for the first time in 46 years.

Economy

Bavaria has long had one of the largest and healthiest economies of any region in Germany, or Europe for that matter. Its GDP in 2007 exceeded 434 billion Euros (about 600 bn US$) This makes Bavaria itself one of the largest economies in Europe and the 18th largest in the world. Some large companies headquarted in Bavaria include BMW

BMW

, is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
, Siemens

Siemens AG

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft is Europe's largest engineering Conglomerate . Siemens' international headquarters are located in Berlin and Munich, Germany....
, Audi

Audi

AUDI AG, is a Germany car manufacturer which produces cars under the Audi brand, . The name Audi is based on a latin translation of the last name of the founder August "Horch", itself the German word for ?hear." Another explanation for the origin of the name is as an acronym for ?Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt."...
, Munich Re

Munich Re

Munich Re Aktiengesellschaft, in German language M?nchener R?ck Aktiengesellschaft , is the world's largest reinsurance company with over 5,000 customers in 160 countries and has its headquarters in Munich, Germany....
, Allianz

Allianz

European Company Statute is the largest financial services provider in the world, headquartered in Munich, Germany.Its core business and focus is insurance....
, Infineon, MAN

Man

A man is a male human. The term man is used for an adult human male, while the term boy being the usual term for a human male child or adolescent human male....
, Wacker Chemie

Wacker Chemie

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business. The product ranges vary from silicones, polymer products like dispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon to wafers for semiconductor industry....
, Puma AG

PUMA AG

Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport is a large German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes and other clothing.The company is perhaps best known for its association football shoes and has sponsored footballers, including Pel?, Eus?bio, Johan Cruijff, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, Lothar Matth?us, Kenny Dalglish, Didier...
 and Adidas

Adidas

Adidas Aktiengesellschaft is a Germany sports apparel manufacturer and part of the Adidas Group, which consists of Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-adidas golf company, and Rockport ....
 AG.

Culture

Some features of the Bavarian culture and mentality are remarkably distinct from the rest of Germany. Noteworthy differences (especially in rural areas, less significant in the major cities) can be found with respect to:

Religion

The predominant faith is Catholicism

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, particularly in the southern parts of Bavaria and Lower Franconia. As per the most recent available Kirchliche Statistik Eckdaten from the Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, Bavaria is one of two Bundesländer with a population that is in majority Catholic (in several additional Bundesländer, a relative majority of the population is Catholic). As per this source, in 2007 56.4% of the Bavarian population was Catholic.

Meanwhile, Lutheranism

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century Germans Reformer Martin Luther....
 has a significant presence in large parts of Franconia. Religion remains important to many in the region, as expressed by the typical Bavarian, Austrian and Swabian greeting: "Grüß Gott

Grüß Gott

Gr?? Gott is a greeting, less often a farewell, in the Upper German Sprachraum especially in Swabia, Bavaria and Austria particularly in Catholic states....
!" (Greet God!). The current pope, Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI is the List of popes and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, monarch of the Vatican City....
 (Joseph Alois Ratzinger), was born in Marktl am Inn

Marktl am Inn

Marktl, or often called Marktl am Inn , is a village and historic Market town in the state of Bavaria, Germany, near the Austrian border, in the Alt?tting of Upper Bavaria....
 in Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the south of Bavaria, around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and S?dostoberbayern ....
 and was Archbishop of Munich and Freising.

Attitude toward traditions

Bavarians commonly emphasize pride in their traditions. Traditional costumes collectively known as Tracht

Tracht

File:Austria folklore group dsc01330.jpgTracht is a traditional National costume in Germany. Although the word is most often associated with Austria and Bavaria costumes, many other peoples of Germany have them....
 are worn on special occasions and include in Altbayern

Altbayern

Altbayern is a term used to describe the three oldest parts of the Free State of Bavaria, which were earlier known as Kurbayern. It also describes the people who live in the area ....
 Lederhosen

Lederhosen

Lederhosen are knee-breeches made of leather.The word Lederhosen is frequently misspelled Leiderhosen , or Liederhosen . The proper German pronunciation is ....
 for males and Dirndl

Dirndl

A dirndl is a type of traditional dress worn in southern Germany and Austria, based on the historical costume of Alps peasants. Dresses that are loosely based on the dirndl are known as Landhausmode....
 for females. Century-old folk music is practiced. The Maibaum, or Maypole (which in the Middle Ages served as the community's yellow pages, as figurettes on the pole represent the trades of the village), and the bagpipes in the Upper Palatinate region bear witness to the ancient Celtic and Germanic

Paganism in the Eastern Alps

The central and eastern Alps of Europe are rich in folklore traditions dating back to pre-Christian times, with surviving elements amalgamated from Germanic paganism, Celtic paganism Windisch and Raetians culture....
 remnants of cultural heritage of the region.

Food and drink

Bavarians tend to place a great value on food and drink. Bavarians also consume many items of food and drink which are unusual elsewhere in Germany; for example (“white sausage”). At folk festivals, beer is traditionally served by the litre (the so-called ). Bavarians are particularly proud of the traditional , or purity law, initially established by the Duke of Bavaria in 1516. According to this law, only three ingredients were allowed in beer: water, barley, and hops. In 1906 the made its way to German law, and remained a law in Germany until the EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
 struck it down recently as incompatible with the European common market. Bavarians are also known as some of the world's most beer-loving people with an average annual consumption of 170 liters per person.

Bavaria is also home to the Franconia wine region

Franconia (wine region)

Franconia is a region for quality German wine situated in the north west of Bavaria in the district of Franconia, and is the only wine region in the federal state of Bavaria....
 which is situated along the Main River

Main river

Main rivers are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also include some smaller watercourses....
 in the northwest part of Bavaria in the Franconia

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria and a much smaller region in northeastern Baden-W?rttemberg called Heilbronn-Franken....
 (Franken) region. The region has produced wine for over 1000 years and is famous for its use of the Bocksbeutel

Bocksbeutel

The Bocksbeutel is a type of wine bottle with the form of a flattened ellipsoid. It is commonly used for wines from Franconia in Germany, but is also used for some Portuguese wines, in particular ros?s, where the bottle is called cantil, and in rare cases for Italian wine and Greek wine....
 wine bottle. Wine production has sharply influenced the region over the years. Many of the villages and cities within the region host their own wine festivals (Weinfests) throughout the year.

Language and dialects

Three German dialects

High German languages

The High German languages are any of the variety of German language, Luxembourgish language and Yiddish language, as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France , Italy, and Poland....
 are spoken in Bavaria: Austro-Bavarian

Austro-Bavarian

Austro-Bavarian or Bavarian is a major group of Upper German variety . Like standard German, Austro-Bavarian is a High German languages, but they are not the same language....
 in Old Bavaria (South East and East), Swabian German

Swabian German

Swabian is one of the Alemannic German dialects of High German languages, spoken in the region of Swabia. Swabia covers much of Germany's southwestern Bundesland of Baden-W?rttemberg and the southwest of the Bundesland Bavaria....
 (an Alemannic German

Alemannic German

Alemannic German is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy....
 dialect) in the Bavarian part of Swabia

Swabia

Swabia, Suabia, or Svebia is both a historic and linguistics region in Germany. Swabia consists of much of the present-day state of Baden-W?rttemberg , as well as the Bavarian Swabia ....
 (South West) and East Franconian German

East Franconian German

East Franconian is a dialect which is spoken in Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Bamberg, Coburg, W?rzburg, Hof and Bayreuth. East Franconian has elements of central German and Upper German....
 in Franconia

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria and a much smaller region in northeastern Baden-W?rttemberg called Heilbronn-Franken....
 (North). Bavarians are very proud of their marked dialect

Dialect

A dialect is a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class....
s, and most of them speak with their Bavarian, Franconian

Franconian languages

Image:Frankischetalen.pngFranconian is a linguistic marker for a number of West Germanic Germanic languages languages and dialects spoken in part of the former core of the Frankish Empire: the Low Countries and western Germany ....
 or Swabian

Swabian German

Swabian is one of the Alemannic German dialects of High German languages, spoken in the region of Swabia. Swabia covers much of Germany's southwestern Bundesland of Baden-W?rttemberg and the southwest of the Bundesland Bavaria....
 accent. As with traditions in general, cultivation of dialect and regional accent is considered a strengthening of regional identity.

Ethnography

Bavarians consider themselves as egalitarian and folksy. Their sociability can be experienced at the annual Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a fifteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September . It is one of the most famous events in the Salzburg/Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an enjoyable event with an important part of Bavarian culture....
, the world's largest beer festival welcoming around 6 million visitors every year, or in the famous beer gardens. Genuine traditional Bavarian beer garden

Beer garden

Beer garden is an open-air area where beverages, , and prepared food are served. It is usually attached to a drinking establishment such as a public house or a German beer hall, which in places such as Munich may serve large numbers of customers....
s work on a BYO basis, i.e. patrons bring their own food and only buy beer from the brewery that runs the beer garden.

In the United States, particularly among German American

German American

German Americans are citizens of the United States of Germans ancestry, with traditions and self-identity based on German language and culture....
s, Bavarian culture is viewed somewhat nostalgically, with several "Bavarian villages", most notably Frankenmuth, Michigan

Frankenmuth, Michigan

Frankenmuth is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,838 at the United States Census, 2000. The city is located within Frankenmuth Township, Michigan, but is politically independent....
 and Leavenworth, Washington

Leavenworth, Washington

Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee, Washington–East Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee-East Wenatchee metropolitan area....
. Since 1962, the latter has been styled with a Bavarian theme; it is also home to "one of the world's largest collections of nutcracker

Nutcracker

A nutcracker is a mechanical device for cracking nut . Usually they work on the principle of moment s as described in Archimedes' analysis of the lever....
s" and an Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a fifteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September . It is one of the most famous events in the Salzburg/Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an enjoyable event with an important part of Bavarian culture....
 celebration it claims is among the most attended in the world outside of Munich

Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
.

Historical buildings

Famous people

There are many famous people who were born or lived in present-day Bavaria:

• Popes Pope Benedict XVI
  Pope Benedict XVI
  
  Pope Benedict XVI is the List of popes and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, monarch of the Vatican City....
   -- he is the current Pope
  Pope
  
  The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
   of the Roman Catholic Church
  Roman Catholic Church
  
  The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
   (his baptismal name is Joseph Ratzinger); Pope Damasus II
  Pope Damasus II
  
  Damasus II , born Poppo, Pope from July 17,1048 to August 9, 1048, was the second of the German pontiffs nominated by Emperor Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor ....
   and Pope Victor II
  Pope Victor II
  
  Victor II , born Gebhard, Count of Calw, Tollenstein, and Hirschberg, was Pope from 1055 to 1057. He was one of a series of German Gregorian Reform Popes....
  .
• Painters such as Hans Holbein the Elder
  Hans Holbein the Elder
  
  Hans Holbein was a Germany Painting.He was born in Augsburg, Bavaria and died in Isenheim, Alsace. He and his brother Sigismund Holbein painted religious works in the late Gothic art style....
  , Albrecht Dürer
  Albrecht Dürer
  
  'Albrecht D?rer' was a Germans Painting, printmaker and theorist from Nuremberg. His still-famous works include the Apocalypse woodcuts, commons:Image:Duerer - Ritter, Tod und Teufel .jpg , St....
  , Albrecht Altdorfer
  Albrecht Altdorfer
  
  Albrecht Altdorfer was a German Painting, printmaker and architect of the Renaissance era, the leader of the Danube School in southern Germany, and a near-contemporary of Albrecht D?rer....
  , Lucas Cranach
  Lucas Cranach
  
  Lucas Cranach may refer to:*Lucas Cranach the Elder *Lucas Cranach the Younger ...
  , Carl Spitzweg
  Carl Spitzweg
  
  File:Carl Spitzweg.jpgCarl Spitzweg was a Germany German Romanticism Painting and poet. He is considered to be one of the most important representatives of the Biedermeier era....
  , Franz von Lenbach
  Franz von Lenbach
  
  Franz von Lenbach was a Germany Painting....
  , Franz von Stuck
  Franz Stuck
  
  Franz Stuck was a Germany Symbolism /Art Nouveau Painting, sculptor, engraving, and architect....
  , Franz Marc
  Franz Marc
  
  Franz Marc was one of the principal Paintings and printmaking of the German Expressionist movement. He was a founding member of "Der Blaue Reiter" , an almanac the name of which later became synonymous with the circle of artists collaborating in it....
  , Paul Klee
  Paul Klee
  
  Paul Klee was a Switzerland Painting of Germany nationality. His highly individual style was influenced by many different art trends, including expressionism, cubism, and surrealism....
  , Erwin Eisch, Gabriele Munter.
• Musicians such as Orlando di Lasso
  Orlande de Lassus
  
  Orlande de Lassus was a France-Flanders composer of late Renaissance music. Along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina , he is today considered to be the chief representative of the mature polyphony style of the Franco-Flemish School, and he was the most famous and influential musician in Europe at the end of the 16th century....
  , Christoph Willibald Gluck
  Christoph Willibald Gluck
  
  Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years....
  , Richard Wagner
  Richard Wagner
  
  Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
   (originally from Saxony
  Saxony
  
  The Free State of Saxony is a States of Germany of Germany. Located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states....
  ), Richard Strauss
  Richard Strauss
  
  Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
  , Carl Orff
  Carl Orff
  
  Carl Orff was a 20th-century Germany composer, most famous for his composition Carmina Burana . He has also become very influential in the field of music education for his pedagogy methods, which survive through Orff Schulwerk....
  , Johann Pachelbel
  Johann Pachelbel
  
  Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque music composer, organist and teacher, who brought the German organ schools to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque era....
   and Theobald Boehm
  Theobald Boehm
  
  Theobald B?hm was a Bavarian inventor and musician, who perfected the modern Western concert flute and its improved Boehm System. In addition, he was a virtuoso flautist and was a Bavarian Court Musician as well as a celebrated composer for the flute....
  , the inventor of the modern flute
  Flute
  
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
  , and countertenor
  Countertenor
  
  A countertenor is a male voice type whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or more rarely the normal or modal voice....
   Klaus Nomi
  Klaus Nomi
  
  Klaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German people countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly, elf stage persona....
  .
• Modern musicians like Klaus Doldinger
  Klaus Doldinger
  
  Klaus Doldinger is a Germany saxophonist, especially well-known for jazz and as a composer of film music....
   and Barbara Dennerlein
  Barbara Dennerlein
  
  Barbara Dennerlein , is a hard bop and post-bop Hammond B3 organist whose 1980s recordings helped to revive interest in the Hammond organ....
  .
• Opera singers like Diana Damrau
  Diana Damrau
  
  Kammers?nger Diana Damrau is a dramatic coloratura soprano of the operatic stage....
  .
• Writers, poets and playwrights like Hans Sachs
  Hans Sachs
  
  Hans Sachs was a Germany meistersinger , poetry, playwright and shoemaker....
  , Jean Paul
  Jean Paul
  
  Jean Paul , born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a Germany Romanticism writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories....
  , Frank Wedekind
  Frank Wedekind
  
  Benjamin Franklin Wedekind , usually known as Frank Wedekind, was a Germany playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes , is considered to anticipate expressionism, and he was a major influence on the development of Epic theater....
  , Christian Morgenstern
  Christian Morgenstern
  
  Christian Morgenstern was a Germany author and poet from Munich.Morgenstern's poetry, much of which was inspired by English literary nonsense, is immensely popular, even though he enjoyed very little success during his lifetime....
  , Oskar Maria Graf
  Oskar Maria Graf
  
  Oskar Maria Graf was a Germany author.He wrote several socialist-anarchist novels and narratives about life in Bavaria, mostly Autobiography....
  , Bertolt Brecht
  Bertolt Brecht
  
  was a Germany poet, playwright, and theatre director. An influential theatre practitioner of the Twentieth-century theatre, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and Theatre, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble?the post-war theatre company operated by Brec...
  , Lion Feuchtwanger
  Lion Feuchtwanger
  
  Lion Feuchtwanger was a Germany-Jewish novelist and playwright....
  , Thomas Mann
  Thomas Mann
  
  Paul Thomas Mann was a German literature, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize for Literature, known for his series of highly symbolic and irony epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual....
   and his sons Klaus
  Klaus Mann
  
  Klaus Mann was a Germany writer....
   and Golo Mann
  Golo Mann
  
  File:Golo-mann-1978.jpgGolo Mann , born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann, was a popular Germany historian, essayist and writer. He was the third child of the novelist Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann....
  , Karl Marx
  Karl Marx
  
  Karl Heinrich Marx was a Germanphilosophy, political economy, historian, sociologist, humanism, political theorist and revolutionary credited as the founder of communism....
   lived in Munich for a few years.
• Scientists such as Max Planck
  Max Planck
  
  Karl Ernst Ludwig Marx Planck, better known as Max Planck was a Germany physicist. He is considered to be the founder of the Quantum mechanics, and one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century....
  , Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
  Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
  
  Wilhelm Conrad R?ntgen was a Germany physics, who, on 8 November 1895, produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as x-rays or R?ntgen rays, an achievement that earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901....
  , and Werner Heisenberg
  Werner Heisenberg
  
  Werner Heisenberg was a German Theoretical physics who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory....
  , as well as Adam Ries
  Adam Ries
  
  Adam Ries was a Germany mathematician. He is sometimes better known by the name of Adam Riese; scientists and historians, however, point out that the correct spelling of his name is Ries....
  , Joseph von Fraunhofer
  Joseph von Fraunhofer
  
  Joseph von Fraunhofer was a Germany optician. He is known for the discovery of the dark absorption lines known as Fraunhofer lines in the Sun's spectrum, and for making excellent optical glass and achromatic telescope objectives....
  , Georg Ohm
  Georg Ohm
  
  Georg Simon Ohm was a German physicist. As a high school teacher, Ohm began his research with the recently invented electrochemical cell, invented by Italian Count Alessandro Volta....
  , Johannes Stark
  Johannes Stark
  
  Johannes Stark was a German physics, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate who was closely involved with the Deutsche Physik movement under the Nazi regime....
  , Carl von Linde
  Carl von Linde
  
  Professor Doctor Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde was a Germany engineer who developed refrigeration and gas separation technologies. Linde was a member of scientific and engineering associations, including being on the board of trustees of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities....
  , Rudolf Moessbauer, Helmut Hirt and Robert Huber
  Robert Huber
  
  Robert Huber is a Germany biochemist and Nobel laureate.He was born 20 February 1937 in Munich where his father, Sebastian, was a bank cashier....
  .
• Well-known inventors such as Martin Behaim
  Martin Behaim
  
  Martin Behaim , was a German navigator and geographer to the King of Portugal.Behaim was born in Nuremberg, according to one tradition, about 1436; according to Ghillany, as late as 1459 and was supposedly of Bohemian origin....
  , Levi Strauss
  Levi Strauss
  
  Levi Strauss, born L?b Strau? was a Germany-Jewish immigrant to the United States who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans....
   and Rudolf Diesel
  Rudolf Diesel
  
  Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel was a French_People/German_people inventor and mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine....
  .
• Physicians like Max Joseph von Pettenkofer
  Max Joseph von Pettenkofer
  
  Max Joseph von Pettenkofer , Bavarian chemist and hygienist, was born at Lichtenheim, near Neuburg. He was a nephew of Franz Xaver Pettenkofer , who from 1823 was surgery and apothecary to the Bavarian court and was the author of some chemical investigations on the vegetable alkaloids....
  , Sebastian Kneipp
  Sebastian Kneipp
  
  Sebastian Kneipp was a Bavarian priest and one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement. He is most commonly associated with the "Kneipp Cure" form of hydrotherapy, a system of healing involving the application of water through various methods, temperatures and pressures....
   and the neurologist
  Neurology
  
  Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the Central nervous system, Peripheral nervous system, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and...
   Alois Alzheimer
  Alois Alzheimer
  
  Aloysius "Alois" Alzheimer, was a Germany psychiatrist and neuropathologist and a colleague of Emil Kraepelin. Alzheimer is credited with the first published case of "presenile dementia", which Kraepelin would later identify as Alzheimer's disease....
  , who first described Alzheimer's Disease
  Alzheimer's disease
  
  Alzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia....
  .
• Footballers like Max Morlock
  Max Morlock
  
  Maximilian Morlock was one of the most popular Germany football players in the 1950s and early 1960s. In his time with the Germany national football team, he earned 26 cap and scored 21 goals....
  , Karl Mai
  Karl Mai
  
  Karl Mai was a Germany football . He was born in F?rth.He was part of the Germany national football team team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup....
  , Franz Beckenbauer
  Franz Beckenbauer
  
  Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a Germany Football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership qualities, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch....
  , Sepp Maier
  Sepp Maier
  
  Josef Dieter "Sepp" Maier is a Germany former professional football goalkeeper.Born in Metten, Bavaria, he spent the entirety of his professional playing career at Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga Championship four times and the UEFA Champions League three times in succession....
  , Gerd Müller
  Gerd Müller
  
  Gerhard "Gerd" M?ller is a former Germany football player and one of the world's most prolific goalscorers of all time.With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was by far the most successful striker of his d...
  , Paul Breitner
  Paul Breitner
  
  Paul Breitner is a former Germany Football player. One of Germany national football team's most controversial players, he was capped 48 times for his country....
  , Bernd Schuster
  Bernd Schuster
  
  Bernhard Schuster is a Germany association football coach and former player.Schuster was an important part of the FC Barcelona team during the 1980s, leading the game from midfield and scoring many goals....
  , Klaus Augenthaler
  Klaus Augenthaler
  
  Klaus Augenthaler is a former football player and now manager....
  , Lothar Matthäus
  Lothar Matthäus
  
  Lothar Herbert Matth?us , is a Germany former association football player and now manager, currently managing Israeli club Maccabi Netanya F.C.....
  , Dietmar Hamann
  Dietmar Hamann
  
  Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German national football team midfielder who plays for Manchester City F.C.. He is a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder and previously played for FC Bayern Munich, Newcastle United F.C....
   and Stefan Reuter
  Stefan Reuter
  
  Stefan Reuter is a Germany football Coach and former player....
  
• Actors like Werner Stocker.
• Film directors Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  
  Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a Germany film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A premier representative of the New German Cinema. He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making, in a professional career that lasted less than fifteen years Fassbinder completed 35 Feature film films; two television series shot on film; three Short sub...
  , Joseph Vilsmaier
  Joseph Vilsmaier
  
  Joseph Vilsmaier is a German film director....
   and Werner Herzog
  Werner Herzog
  
  Werner Herzog is an Academy Award-nominated German film director, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often associated with the German New Wave movement , along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schl?ndorff, Hans-J?rgen Syberberg, Wim Wenders and others....
  .
• Mysterious people: Kaspar Hauser
  Kaspar Hauser
  
  Kaspar Hauser was a mysterious Child abandonment in 19th century Germany famous for his claim to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell....
   (the famous foundling), The Smith of Kochel
  The Smith of Kochel
  
  The Smith of Kochel is a figure from Bavaria myth. According to this myth, he was a soldier in the Great Turkish War . Armed with nothing but a bar, he supposedly stove in the gates of Belgrade....
   (legend).
• Sportsman like Bernhard Langer
  Bernhard Langer
  
  Bernhard Langer is a Germany professional golfer....
   (golf)
• Legendary outlaws such as Matthias Klostermayr, better known as Bavarian Hiasl (German: Bayerische Hiasl, bavarian: Boarische Hiasl), Bavaria's Robin Hood (1736 - 1771).
• Dictator: Adolf Hitler
  Adolf Hitler
  
  Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born Germany politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party....
   lived in Munich
  Munich
  
  Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
   for a while in the 1920s before his uprise in the 1930s.

Company names

The meaning of the coat of arms

• The Golden Lion: At the dexter chief, sable, a lion rampant Or, armed and langued gules. This represents the administrative region of Upper Palatinate.
• The "Franconian Rake": At the sinister chief, per fess dancetty, gules and argent. This represents the administrative regions of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia.
• The Blue Panther: At the dexter base, argent, a panther rampant azure, armed Or and langued gules. This represents the regions of Lower and Upper Bavaria.
• The Three Lions: At the sinister base, Or, three lions passant guardant sable, armed and langued gules. This represents Swabia.
• The White-And-Blue Heart-Shaped Shield: The heart-shaped shield of white and blue fusils askance was originally the coat of arms of the Counts of Bogen, adopted in 1247 by the Wittelsbachs House. The white-and-blue fusils are indisputably the emblem of Bavaria and the heart-shaped shield today symbolizes Bavaria as a whole. Along with the People's Crown, it is officially used as the Minor Coat of Arms.
• The People's Crown: The four coat fields with the heart-shaped shield in the centre are crowned with a golden band with precious stones decorated with five ornamental leaves. This crown appeared for the first time in the coat of arms in 1923 to symbolize sovereignty of the people after the dropping out of the royal crown.

Bavarian citizenship

• born in Bavaria,
• born to a Bavarian parent,
• adopted by a Bavarian as a child,
• married to a Bavarian, or
• naturalized in Bavaria,

German-Bavarian relations

Bavarian culture overseas

See also

• List of rulers of Bavaria
  List of rulers of Bavaria
  
  The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasty....
  
• List of Premiers of Bavaria
• Former countries in Europe after 1815
  Former countries in Europe after 1815
  
  This article gives an overview of countries that existed in Europe after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. For each country, information is given about the period of existence and what has happened to the territory since....
  
• Extensive pictures of Bavaria in addition to those shown below are linked from in :Category:Bavaria, where they are organized (predominantly) by locale.

External links