Bavaria

With an area of 70,553 km² and 11.6 million inhabitants, Bavaria (German Bayern or Freistaat Bayern) forms the southernmost of the 16 Bundesländer of Germany. Its capital is Munich.

Geography

Bavaria 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 major cities in Bavaria are Munich, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Würzburg, Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Fürth and Erlangen.

See also: List of places in Bavaria.

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 Ministerpräsident or prime minister.

Administration

Bavaria is divided into 71 districts (called Kreise, see below) and 25 independent towns:

 
Map: Bavaria

The districts are grouped into seven administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke), namely:

• Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) (Würzburg)
• Upper Franconia (Oberfranken) (Bayreuth)
• Middle Franconia (Mittelfranken) (Ansbach)
• Swabia (Schwaben) (Augsburg)
• Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) (Regensburg)
• Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern) (Munich)
• Lower Bavaria (Niederbayern) (Landshut).

Culture and language accents differ slightly from region to region.

Furthermore, Bavaria includes 25 independent towns, which don't belong to any district:

History

Main article: History of Bavaria

The Wittelsbach family ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918. Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806. In 1815 the Rhenish Palatinate became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845 - 1886) reigned as King of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886.

See also: List of rulers of Bavaria, List of Premiers of Bavaria

Miscellaneous

The many famous Bavarians include:

• Painters such as Hans Holbein the Elder, Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach and Franz Marc
• Musicians such as Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss
• Modern musicians like Klaus Doldinger and Barbara Dennerlein
• Widely-read Bavarian writers like Bertolt Brecht
• Well-known scientists such as the Nobel prize winners Konrad Lorenz and Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
• Well-known inventors such as Werner von Siemens and Levi Strauss who invented the jeans and cofounded Levis with its famous brand Levis's.
• Neurologist Alois Alzheimer, who described the disease bearing his name.

The motorcycle and automobile makers BMW (the name stands for Bayerische Motoren-Werke, or "Bavarian Motor Works") and Audi have a Bavarian industrial base.

A famous annual festival is called Oktoberfest or October Festival. It is the largest public beer festival in the world, celebrated since 1811 during the last two weeks of September.

External links

• State website
• Official Oktoberfest homepage
• bayern.by portal site

Bavaria is also a Dutch beer brand.

Bavaria is also the name of the statue standing at the Theresienwiese in Munich.