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BavariaBavaria{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" |- ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD" | Flag |- | colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | Image:Flag_de-bayern_lozenge.png|thumb|none|200px|Rautenflagge (flag, lozengy variant) |- | colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | Image:Flag_de-bayern_striped.png|thumb|none|200px|Streifenflagge (flag, striped variant) |- ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD" | Statistics |- | Capital: || Munich ''(München)'' |- | Area: || 70,553 square kilometre|km² |- | Inhabitants: | 12.401.000 <small>''(08/2003)''</small> |- | population density|pop. density: | 164 inh./km² |- | Homepage: || [http://www.bayern.de/English/ bayern.de] |- | ISO 3166-2: || DE-BY |- ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD" | Politics |- | Minister-president: | Edmund Stoiber (Christian Social Union in Bavaria|CSU) |- | Ruling party: | Christian Social Union in Bavaria|CSU |- ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD" | Map |- | colspan=2 align=center | Image:Germany Laender Bayern.png|250px|Federal states of Germany: Bavaria |} {{alternateuses}} With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12.4 million inhabitants, the '''Free State of Bavaria''' (German language|German ''Bayern'' or ''Freistaat Bayern'') forms the southernmost of the 16 States of Germany|states of Germany. Its capital is Munich. == 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, Regensburg, Würzburg, Ingolstadt, 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 Minister-president|Ministerpräsident. Bavaria has long been a bastion of conservative politics in Germany, with the Christian Social Union|CSU having almost a stranglehold on power since its inception in 1946. Every Minister-president since 1957 has been a member of this party. In the 2003 elections the CSU won more than two thirds of the seats in ''Landtag''. No party in post-war German history has achieved this before. == Administration == Bavaria is divided into 7 administrative regions called ''Regierungsbezirke'' Image:Bavarian_Admin_Districts.jpg # Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) # Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) # Unterfranken (Lower Franconia) # Swabia (administrative region)|Schwaben (Swabia) # Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) # Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) # Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria) These administrative regions consist of 71 districts (called ''Kreise'') and 25 independent towns: image:bavaria_map.png|Map of Bavaria Districts: {| |- | width="34%" valign="top" | # Aichach-Friedberg # Altötting (district)|Altötting # Amberg-Sulzbach # Ansbach (district)|Ansbach # Aschaffenburg (district)|Aschaffenburg # Augsburg (district)|Augsburg # Bad Kissingen (district)|Bad Kissingen # Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen # Bamberg (district)|Bamberg # Bayreuth (district)|Bayreuth # Berchtesgadener Land # Cham (district)|Cham # Coburg (district)|Coburg # Dachau (district)|Dachau # Deggendorf (district)|Deggendorf # Dillingen (district)|Dillingen # Dingolfing-Landau # Donau-Ries # Ebersberg (district)|Ebersberg # Eichstätt (district)|Eichstätt # Erding (district)|Erding # Erlangen-Höchstadt # Forchheim (district)|Forchheim # Freising (district)|Freising | width="33%" valign="top" | <ol start=25> <li> Freyung-Grafenau <li> Fürstenfeldbruck (district)|Fürstenfeldbruck <li> Fürth (district)|Fürth <li> Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district)|Garmisch-Partenkirchen <li> Günzburg (district)|Günzburg <li> Haßberge <li> Hof (district)|Hof <li> Kelheim (district)|Kelheim <li> Kitzingen (district)|Kitzingen <li> Kronach (district)|Kronach <li> Kulmbach (district)|Kulmbach <li> Landsberg (district)|Landsberg <li> Landshut (district)|Landshut <li> Lichtenfels (district)|Lichtenfels <li> Lindau (district)|Lindau <li> Main-Spessart <li> Miesbach (district)|Miesbach <li> Miltenberg (district)|Miltenberg <li> Mühldorf (district)|Mühldorf <li> Munich (district)|Munich (''München'') <li> Neuburg-Schrobenhausen <li> Neumarkt (district)|Neumarkt <li> Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim <li> Neustadt (Waldnaab) (district)|Neustadt (Waldnaab) </ol> | width="33%" valign="top" | <ol start=49> <li> Neu-Ulm (district)|Neu-Ulm <li> Nürnberger Land <li> Oberallgäu <li> Ostallgäu <li> Passau (district)|Passau <li> Pfaffenhofen (district)|Pfaffenhofen <li> Regen (district)|Regen <li> Regensburg (district)|Regensburg <li> Rhön-Grabfeld <li> Rosenheim (district)|Rosenheim <li> Roth (district)|Roth <li> Rottal-Inn <li> Schwandorf (district)|Schwandorf <li> Schweinfurt (district)|Schweinfurt <li> Starnberg (district)|Starnberg <li> Straubing-Bogen <li> Tirschenreuth (district)|Tirschenreuth <li> Traunstein (district)|Traunstein <li> Unterallgäu <li> Weilheim-Schongau <li> Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen <li> Wunsiedel (district)|Wunsiedel <li> Würzburg (district)|Würzburg </ol> |} Independent towns: {| |- | width="33%" valign="top" | # Amberg # Ansbach # Aschaffenburg # Augsburg # Bamberg # Bayreuth # Coburg, Germany|Coburg # Erlangen # Fürth | width="33%" valign="top" | <ol start=10> <li> Hof, Germany|Hof <li> Ingolstadt <li> Kaufbeuren <li> Kempten <li> Landshut <li> Memmingen <li> Munich (''München'') <li> Nuremberg (''Nürnberg'') <li> Passau</ol> | width="33%" valign="top" | <ol start=19> <li> Regensburg <li> Rosenheim <li> Schwabach <li> Schweinfurt <li> Straubing <li> Weiden <li> Würzburg </ol> |} == Dialects == Image:ChapelBavaria.JPG|thumb|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 language|Swabian, a thread of the Alemannic German|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 == ''Main article: History of Bavaria'' The first known mention of the Bavarian name was made by the Franks ca. 520. Saint Boniface completed the people's conversion Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria resisted the Protestant Reformation, and remains strongly Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic. Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor gave Bavaria to the Wittelsbach family, which ruled from 1180 to 1918. It became a King of Bavaria|kingdom in 1806, and in 1815 the Rhenish Palatinate was annexed to it. It 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 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. Image:Wieskirche1998.jpg|thumb|Wies Socialist premier Kurt Eisner, who deposed Louis III of Bavaria|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 Bavaria became a Nazi stronghold under the Third Reich. As a manufacturing center, Munich was heavily bombed during World War II and occupied by United States Army|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 German federal election, 2002|2002 federal election, and native son Cardinal Bishop|Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. See also: List of rulers of Bavaria, List of Premiers of Bavaria == Miscellaneous == The many famous Bavarians include: * Pope Benedict XVI -- as of April 2005 he is the current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. His baptismal name is '''Joseph Ratzinger'''. * '''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 musician|musicians like Klaus Doldinger and Barbara Dennerlein * Widely-read Bavarian '''writers''' like Bertolt Brecht, Lion Feuchtwanger * Well-known '''scientists''' such as the Nobel prize winner Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and Werner Heisenberg * Well-known '''inventors''' such as Levi Strauss and Rudolf Diesel. * Neurologist Alois Alzheimer, who described the Alzheimer's_Disease|disease bearing his name. The motorcycle and automobile makers BMW (the name stands for ''Bayerische Motoren-Werke'', or "Bavarian Motor Works") and Audi, Grundig (consumer electronics) and Siemens AG (electricity, telephones, informatics, medical instruments)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. === Population and area === '''Regierungsbezirk population'''(2003) '''area''' (km²) '''municipalities''' Lower Bavaria .... 1,162,972 9.6% 10,330 14.6% 258 12.5% Lower Franconia .. 1,329,399 11.0% 8,531 12.1% 308 15.0% Upper Franconia .. 1,113,790 9.2% 7,231 10.2% 214 10.4% Middle Franconia . 1,678,535 13.9% 7,246 10.3% 210 10.2% Upper Palatinate . 1,069,121 8.8% 9,690 13.7% 226 11.0% Swabia ........... 1,773,688 14.4% 9,992 14.2% 340 16.5% Upper Bavaria .... 3,996,043 33.1% 17,530 24.8% 500 24.3% ------------------ ---------- ------ ------ ------ ---- ------ BAVARIA .......... 12,086,548 100.0% 70,549 100.0% 2056 100.0% Bavaria ar:بافاريا cs:Bavorsko da:Bayern de:Bayern et:Baieri als:Bayern es:Baviera eo:Bavario fa:بایرن fr:Bavière ko:바이에른 id:Bayern it:Baviera he:בוואריה ka:ბავარია la:Bavaria nl:Beieren nds:Bayern ja:バイエルン州 no:Bayern pl:Bawaria pt:Baviera ro:Bavaria ru:Бавария simple:Bavaria sk:Bavorsko sr:Бајерн fi:Baijeri sv:Bayern uk:Баварія zh:巴伐利亚 First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Bavaria is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bavaria". if you like cool drinks you may be interested in:
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