pop (2000e) 11 677 000; area 70 553 km²/27 233 sq mi. Province in SE Germany; bounded (E) by Czech Republic and (S) by Austria; largest province in former West Germany, and Europe's oldest existing political entity; capital, Munich; chief towns, Augsburg, Passau, Nuremberg, Würzburg, Regensburg; chief rivers, the Danube, Isar, Lech, Main; surrounded by the Bavarian Forest (E), Fichtelgebirge (NE), Bavarian Alps (S); a third of the area is forested; agriculture, electrical and mechanical engineering, clothing, timber, tourism; many spas and climatic health resorts.
| Flags | |
|---|---|
| "lozengy" variant | striped variant |
| Coat of arms | |
| Statistics | |
| Capital: | Munich (München) |
| Area: | 70,549 km² |
| Inhabitants: | 12.465 Million (2005-09-30) |
| Pop. density: | 177 inh./km² |
| Website: | bayern.de |
| ISO 3166-2: | DE-BY |
| Politics | |
| Minister-president: | Edmund Stoiber (CSU) |
| Ruling party: | CSU |
| Map | |
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 today's Germany.
History
Main article: History of Bavaria
The region north of the Alps was inhabited by Celts and was part of the Roman Empire until (probably Slavonic) tribes from the East, the so-called 'Bayuvaren' started to settle in the region in the 6th century AD.
| Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage (change) | Total Seats (change) | Seat percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Social Union (CSU) | 6,217,864 | 60.7% | +7.8% | 124 | +1 | 68.9% |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 2,012,065 | 19.6% | -9.1% | 41 | -26 | 22.8% |
| Alliance '90/The Greens | 793,050 | 7.7% | +2.0% | 15 | +1 | 8.3% |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 263,731 | 2.6% | +0.9% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| The Republicans | 229,464 | 2.2% | -1.4% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| Free Voters of Bavaria | 411,306 | 4.0% | +0.3% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) | 200,103 | 2.0% | +0.2% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| All Others | 120,952 | 1.2% | -0.7% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| Totals | 10,248,735 | 100.0% | 180 | -24 | 100.0% | |
Culture
Due to their long independence (until 1871), Bavarians have always maintained a strong national identity. Noteworthy differences (especially in rural areas, less significant in the major cities) can be found with respect to:
Religion
Particularly in Older Bavaria and Lower Franconia the predominant faith is Roman Catholicism, contrasting with the more Lutheran in large parts of Franconia.
Politics
The Christian Social Union, which has ruled in Bavaria uninterruptedly since 1957, does not seek election in any other state of Germany.
Administrative divisions
Regierungsbezirke (administrative regions)
Bavaria is divided into 7 administrative regions called Regierungsbezirke (singular Regierungsbezirk).
Upper Franconia (German: Oberfranken) Middle Franconia (Mittelfranken) Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) Swabia (Schwaben) Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern) Lower Bavaria (Niederbayern)These administrative regions consist of 71 administrative districts (called Landkreise, singular Landkreis) and 25 independent cities (kreisfreie Städte, singular kreisfreie Stadt).
Landkreise/kreisfreie Städte (rural districts/urban districts)
Rural 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 |
Urban districts:
| 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).
Historical Buildings
|
Johannisburg Castle in Aschaffenburg |
Residenz in Würzburg |
Cathedral in Bamberg |
Vierzehnheiligen |
|
Festspielhaus of Richard Wagner in Bayreuth |
Imperial Castle in Nürnberg |
Kastell Biriciana, Limes |
Cathedral of Regensburg |
|
Walhalla in Donaustauf near Regensburg |
Befreiungshalle in Kelheim |
Cathedral and Oberhaus fortification in Passau |
Trausnitz castle, Landshut |
|
Townhall in Augsburg |
Frauenkirche in Munich |
Herrenchiemsee Palace |
Linderhof Palace |
|
Hohenschwangau Castle |
Neuschwanstein Castle |
Wieskirche, Steingaden |
Burghausen Castle |
Miscellaneous
There are many famous people who were born or lived in present-day Bavaria:
Pope Benedict XVI -- as of April 2005 he is the current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.Arms of the Bavarian electorate 1753: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bayern1753.jpg
Arms of the Kingdom of Bavaria 1807: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bayern1807.jpg
Arms of the Kingdom of Bavaria 1835: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bayern1835.jpg
Bavarian "citizenship"
The fact that, different to the constitutions of all other German Länder, the Bavarian constitution provides for a Bavarian citizenship, is often mentioned as an indicator for Bavarian distinctiveness. Some Bavarians are keen to emphasize that - in accordance with the generous indication of the constitution - they regard everyone
born in Bavaria, born to a Bavarian parent, adopted by a Bavarian as a child, married to a Bavarian, or naturalized in Bavaria,as a fellow-Bavarian;
German-Bavarian relations
It is a common joke in Germany that Bavaria is not part of Germany.
Population and area
| Administrative Region | Population (2004) | Area (km²) | No. municipalities | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Bavaria | 1,196,178 | 9.6% | 10,330 | 14.6% | 258 | 12.5% |
| Lower Franconia | 1,344,629 | 10.8% | 8,531 | 12.1% | 308 | 15.0% |
| Upper Franconia | 1,106,541 | 8.9% | 7,231 | 10.2% | 214 | 10.4% |
| Middle Franconia | 1,708,972 | 13.7% | 7,245 | 10.3% | 210 | 10.2% |
| Upper Palatinate | 1,090,289 | 8.8% | 9,691 | 13.7% | 226 | 11.0% |
| Swabia | 1,786,166 | 14.4% | 9,992 | 14.2% | 340 | 16.5% |
| Upper Bavaria | 4,211,118 | 33.8% | 17,530 | 24.8% | 500 | 24.3% |
| Total | 12,443,893 | 100.0% | 70,550 | 100.0% | 2,056 | 100.0% |
Bavarian Culture Overseas
The Bavarians take great pride in their culture.
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