Bavaria
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| Statistics | |
| Capital: | Munich (München) |
| Area: | 70,553 km² |
| Inhabitants: | 12.401.000 (08/2003) |
| pop. density: | 164 inh./km² |
| Homepage: | bayern.de |
| ISO 3166-2: | DE-BY |
| Politics | |
| Minister-President: | Edmund Stoiber (CSU) |
| Ruling party: | CSU |
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With an area of 70,553 km² and 11.6 million inhabitants, the Free State of Bavaria (German Bayern or Freistaat Bayern) forms the southernmost of the 16 Bundesländer of Germany. Its capital is Munich (München).
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Geography
Bavaria shares international borders with Austria and the Czech Republic. Neighbouring states within Germany are Baden-Württemberg, Hessen, 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 7 administrative regions called Regierungsbezirke
- Oberfranken (Upper Franconia)
- Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia)
- Unterfranken (Lower Franconia)
- Schwaben (Swabia)
- Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate)
- Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria)
- Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria)
These administrative regions are consist of 71 districts (called Kreise) and 25 independent towns:
Districts:
Independent towns:
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Dialects
Several German dialects are spoken in Bavaria. In the administrative regions to the north the Frankonian 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) Bavarian is the predominant dialect.
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, Richard Strauss and Theobald Boehm, the inventor of the modern flute.
- Modern musicians like Klaus Doldinger and Barbara Dennerlein
- Widely-read Bavarian writers like Bertolt Brecht
- Well-known scientists such as the Nobel prize winner Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
- Well-known inventors such as Levi Strauss and Rudolf Diesel.
- 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.
Tourism
Southern Bavaria is one of the most important tourist regions in Germany. Lakes for sailing and swimming, various health resorts, mountains for hiking and skiing, nature reserves, rich Baroque churches and the castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria attract guests from around the world.
External links
Bavaria is also a Dutch beer brand.
Bavaria is also the name of the statue standing at the Theresienwiese in Munich.
| States of Germany | |
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| Baden-Württemberg | Bavaria | Berlin | Brandenburg | Bremen | Hamburg | Hesse | Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Lower Saxony | North Rhine-Westphalia | Rhineland-Palatinate | Saarland | Saxony | Saxony-Anhalt | Schleswig-Holstein | Thuringia | |
cs:Bavorsko
da:Bayern
de:Bayern
et:Baieri
es:Baviera
eo:Bavario
fr:Bavière
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la:Bavaria
nl:Beieren
ja:バイエルン州
no:Bayern
nds:Bayern
pl:Bawaria
pt:Baviera
ro:Bavaria
simple:Bavaria
fi:Baijeri
sv:Bayern
