The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12.4 million inhabitants, forms the southernmost state of Germany. Its capital is Munich.

Statistics

Capital: Munich (München)

Area: 70,553 km²

Inhabitants: 12.444 Million (2004-12-31)

pop. density: 176 inh./km²

Culture

Bavaria has a culture very 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: Particulary in Southern Bavaria the predominant faith is Roman Catholic, contrasting with the more Lutheran-Protestantism in the Northern parts of Bavaria. This is expressed by the typical Bavarian and Austrian greeting: "Grüss Gott!" (God greet you). The current pope, Benedict XVI, (Joseph Alois Ratzinger) was born in Marktl am Inn in Upper Bavaria.

-Appearance: Bavarians resemble the inhabitants of Latin countries and tend to give great attention to their personal appearance, while folks in some other parts of Germany dress more casually. Also, in a business context, wearing traditional-style clothing is very appropriate at least in the South of the Free State. Bavarian cities and towns, whether rich or poor, are among the best looked-after locations in Germany.

-Food and Drink: Bavarians tend to place a greater value on food and drink than do other Germans. Bavarians also consume many items of food and drink which are unusual elsewhere in Germany.

-Language: Bavarians are very proud of their marked dialects and most of them speak with their Bavarian, Franconian or Swabian accent.

-Politics: The Christian Social Union, which has ruled in Bavaria uninterruptedly since 1957, does not seek election in any other state of Germany. The CSU, arguably the most inward looking of the major German political parties, combines socially conservative positions with advocacy for extensive involvement of the state in the economy.

-Social behaviour: In comparison to the elaborate formality in the rest of Germany, Bavarians can be extremely egalitarian and folksy.

Geography

The Bavarian AlpsBavaria shares international borders with Austria and the Czech Republic. Neighbouring states within Germany are Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Thuringia and Saxony. Two major rivers flow through the state, the Danube (Donau) and the Main. The Bavarian Alps define the border with Austria, and within the range is the highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze.

The major cities in Bavaria are Munich (München), Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Augsburg, Regensburg, Würzburg, Ingolstadt, Fürth and Erlangen.

Politics

Bavaria has a unicameral Landtag, or state parliament, elected by universal suffrage. Until December 1999, there was also a Senat, or 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.

Bavaria has long been a bastion of conservative politics in Germany, with the Christian Social Union having almost a stranglehold on power since its inception in 1946. Every Minister-president since 1957 has been a member of this party.

 

In 1995 the Bavarians decided to introduce direct democracy on the local level in a referendum. This was initiated bottom-up by an association called Mehr Demokratie (More Democracy). This is a grass-roots organisation 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 lead to a spirited citizens’ participation in communal and municipal affairs - 835 referendums took place from 1995 until 2005.

In the 2003 elections the CSU won more than two thirds of the seats in Landtag. No party in post-war West German history had achieved this before (not counting the rigged wins of the SED in East Germany). On the other hand the bigger and more liberal cities, especially Munich, have been governed for decades by the SPD (Social Democrats). From the historical point of view older Bavaria was one of the most liberal states until the rather rural areas of Swabia and Franconia were added in 1814/15 at the Congress of Vienna. The Kingdom of Bavaria and the Duchy of Baden were the first German States to have a constitution in the early 19th Century.

Administrative Divisions:

Regierungsbezirke (administrative regions):

Bavaria is divided into 7 administrative regions called Regierungsbezirke (singular Regierungsbezirk):Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) ;Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) ;

Unterfranken (Lower Franconia) ;Schwaben (Swabia) ;Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) ;

Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) ;Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria) .

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

Landkreise/kreisfreie Städte (administrative districs/independent cities)

Administrative districts:Aichach-Friedberg ;Altötting ;Amberg-Sulzbach ;Ansbach ;

Aschaffenburg ;Augsburg Bad Kissingen ;Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen ;Bamberg ;Bayreuth ;

Berchtesgadener Land ;Cham ;Coburg ;Dachau ;Deggendorf ;Dillingen ;Dingolfing-Landau ;

Donau-Ries ;Ebersberg ;Eichstätt ;Erding ;Erlangen-Höchstadt ;Forchheim ;Freising ; Freyung-Grafenau ;Fürstenfeldbruck ;Fürth ;Garmisch-Partenkirchen ;Günzburg ;

Haßberge ;Hof ;Kelheim ;Kitzingen; Kronach ;Kulmbach ;Landsberg ;Landshut ;

Lichtenfels ;Lindau ;Main-Spessart ;Miesbach ;Miltenberg ;Mühldorf ;Munich (München) ;

Neuburg-Schrobenhausen ;Neumarkt ;Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim ;Neustadt (Waldnaab) ; Neu-Ulm ;Nürnberger Land ;Oberallgäu ;Ostallgäu ;Passau ;Pfaffenhofen ;

Regen ;Regensburg ;Rhön-Grabfeld ;Rosenheim ;Roth ;Rottal-Inn ;Schwandorf ;Schweinfurt ;Starnberg ;Straubing-Bogen ;Tirschenreuth ;Traunstein ;Unterallgäu ;Weilheim-Schongau ;

Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen ;Wunsiedel ;Würzburg .

Independent cities:Amberg ;Ansbach ;Aschaffenburg ;Augsburg ;Bamberg ;Bayreuth ;

Coburg ;Erlangen ;Fürth ; Hof ;Ingolstadt ;Kaufbeuren ;Kempten ;Landshut ;Memmingen ;

Munich (München); Nuremberg (Nürnberg) ;Passau ; Regensburg ;Rosenheim ;Schwabach ;

Schweinfurt ;Straubing ;Weiden ;Würzburg .

Gemeinden (municipalities)

The 71 administrative districts are on the lowest level divided into 2031 municipalities (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 areas (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 -without islands, Starnberger See -without island Roseninsel, Ammersee, which are the three largest lakes of Bavaria, and Waginger See).

Dialects

A village chapel in Franconia.Several German dialects are spoken in Bavaria. In the administrative regions to the north the Franconian dialect is prevalent, in Swabia the local dialect is Swabian, a thread of the Alemannic dialect family. In the Upper Palatinate people speak the Northern Bavarian dialect that can vary regionally. In Upper and Lower Bavaria (Middle) Austro-Bavarian is the predominant dialect.

History

A precursor to the name Bayern, was the name Bayuwaren given by the Romans to the province. A later mention was made by the Franks ca. 520. Saint Boniface completed the people's conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria resisted the Protestant Reformation, and remains strongly Roman Catholic.

From about 550 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the duchy of Bavaria, ending with Tassilo III who was deposed by Charlemagne. For the next 400 years numerous families held the duchy, rarely for more than three generations. The last, and one of the most important, of these dukes was Henry the Lion of the house of Welf, founder of Munich.

When Henry the Lion was deposed as duke of Saxony and Bavaria by his cousin, Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1180, Bavaria was awarded as fief to the Wittelsbach family, which ruled from 1180 to 1918. The first of several divisions of the duchy occurred in 1255 but in 1506 Bavaria was reunited and Munich became the sole capital. In 1623 the dukes acquired the electoral dignity.

Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806, and in 1815 the Rhenish Palatinate was annexed to it. In between 1799 and 1817 the leading minister count Montgelas followed a strict policy of modernisation and lay the foundations of administrative structres that survived even the monarchy and are (in their core) vaild until today. In 1818 a modern constitution (with 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 the First World War.

Bavaria managed to preserve its independence by playing off the rivalries of Prussia and Austria, but defeat in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War led to its incorporation into the German Empire in 1871. In the early 20th century Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Henrik Ibsen, and other notable artists were drawn to Bavaria, notably to the Schwabing district of Munich, but the region was devastated by World War I.

Socialist premier Kurt Eisner, who deposed King Ludwig III, was assassinated in 1919 leading to a violently suppressed communist revolt. Extremist activity on the right also increased, notably the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, and Munich and Nuremberg became Nazi strongholds under the Third Reich. As a manufacturing center, Munich was heavily bombed during World War II and occupied by U.S. troops.

Since World War II, Bavaria has been rehabilitated into a prosperous industrial hub. A massive reconstruction effort restored much of Munich's historic core, and the city played host to the 1972 Summer Olympics. More recently, state minister-president Edmund Stoiber was the CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor in the 2002 federal election, and native son Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.