Portal:Bavaria

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Bavaria

Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of 70,550.19 km2 (27,239.58 sq mi), it is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany. With over 13 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous German state behind North Rhine-Westphalia, but due to its large physical size its population density is below the German average. Major cities include Munich (its capital and largest city, which is also the third largest city in Germany), Nuremberg, and Augsburg.

The history of Bavaria includes its earliest settlement by Iron Age Celtic tribes, followed by the conquests of the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC, when the territory was incorporated into the provinces of Raetia and Noricum. It became the Duchy of Bavaria (a stem duchy) in the 6th century AD following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It was later incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire, became the independent Kingdom of Bavaria after 1806, joined the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871 while retaining its title of kingdom, and finally became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.

Bavaria has a distinct culture, largely because of its Catholic heritage and conservative traditions, which includes a language, cuisine, architecture, festivals and elements of Alpine symbolism. It also has the second-largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, giving it the status of a wealthy German region.

Contemporary Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia and Swabia, in addition to Altbayern. (Full article...)

Selected article

The Kingdom of Bavaria (German: Königreich Bayern; Bavarian: Kinereich Bayern; spelled Baiern until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingdom became a federated state of the new empire and was second in size, power, and wealth only to the leading state, the Kingdom of Prussia.

The polity's foundation dates back to the ascension of Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach as King of Bavaria in 1806. The crown continued to be held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom came to an end in 1918. Most of the border of modern Germany's Free State of Bavaria were established after 1814 with the Treaty of Paris, in which the Kingdom of Bavaria ceded Tyrol and Vorarlberg to the Austrian Empire while receiving Aschaffenburg and Würzburg. (Full article...)

Selected biography

Christian Morgenstern (May 6, 1871 in Munich– March 31, 1914 in Meran) was a German 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. He made fun of scholasticism, e.g. literary criticism in "Drei Hasen", grammar in "Der Werwolf", narrow-mindedness in "Der Gaul", and symbolism in "Der Wasseresel". In "Scholastikerprobleme" he discussed how many angels could sit on a needle. Still many Germans know some of his poems and quotations by heart, e.g. the following line from "The Impossible Fact" ("Die unmögliche Tatsache", 1910):

For, he reasons pointedly / That which must not, can not be. (German: "Weil, so schließt er messerscharf / Nicht sein kann, was nicht sein darf.")

Quotes

  • Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.

Christian Morgenstern (poet)

  • So certainly, if we can tell evil stories to make people sick, we can also tell good stories that make them well.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (film director)

  • Hopefully it won't be worse than it is already.

Karl Valentin

Selected image

Credit: Fanndian
The Königssee is a lake located in the extreme southeast of the German State of Bavaria (Bayern), near the German-Austrian Border. Lying near the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden in the municipality of Schönau am Königsee, just south of the Austrian city Salzburg in the German Alps, the Königssee is the deepest lake in Germany.

Did you know?

  • ...that there is a Bavarian citizenship (as opposed to a German citizenship)? Actually, the Bavarian constitution (Bavaria has a separate constitution that exists alongside the German constitution) explicitly provides for it in articles 6 and 7. Specifically, you become a Bavarian citizen by birth, by marriage or by being naturalized.

Subcategories

  • Bavaria
  • Geography of Bavaria
  • History of Bavaria
  • Heritage sites in Bavaria
  • Politics of Bavaria
  • Economy of Bavaria
  • Culture of Bavaria
  • Sport in Bavaria
  • Buildings and structures in Bavaria

Topics

Cities of Bavaria: Munich • Nuremberg • Augsburg • Würzburg • Regensburg • Ingolstadt • Fürth • Erlangen • Bayreuth • Bamberg • Aschaffenburg

Regions of Bavaria: Lower Bavaria • Lower Franconia • Upper Franconia • Middle Franconia • Upper Palatinate • Swabia • Upper Bavaria

Politics of Bavaria: List of Ministers-President of Bavaria • Bavarian state election, 2008 • Landtag of Bavaria

Economy of Bavaria: BMW • Siemens • Audi • Allianz • Adidas • MAN

History of Bavaria: List of Ministers-President of Bavaria • Agilolfings • Kingdom of Bavaria • House of Wittelsbach • Bavarian Council Republic

Symbols: Coat of arms of Bavaria • Flag of Bavaria • Bayernhymne • Bavaria statue • Coat of arms of Munich • Münchner Kindl

Original languages: Austro-Bavarian (boarisch) • Swabian • Low Alemannic • East Franconian

Culture: Paganism in the Eastern Alps • Lederhosen • Dirndl • Maibaum • Oktoberfest • Hofbräuhaus am Platzl • Academy of Fine Arts, Munich • Der Blaue Reiter • Bavarian National Museum • Pinakothek der Moderne • Neue Pinakothek • Alte Pinakothek

Germany state portals

Berlin | Brandenburg | Hamburg | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | North Rhine-Westphalia | Schleswig-Holstein


WikiProjects

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Wikipedia in Bavarian languages

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