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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, 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, no map available at this time)
- Oberfranken (Upper Franconia)
- Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia)
- Unterfranken (Lower Franconia)
- Schwaben (Swebia)
- Oberpfalz (Upper Palatine)
- Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria)
- Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria)
and 71 districts (called Kreise, see below) and 25 independent towns:
Map: Bavaria
Furthermore, Bavaria includes 25 independent towns, which don't belong to any district:
Dialects
Several German dialects are spoken in Bavaria. In the administrative regions to the north the Frankonian dialect is prevalent, in Swebia the local dialect is Swebian, a thread of the Alemannic dialect family. In Upper Palatine people speak a mixture between Franconian and Bavarian dialect that can vary regionally. In Upper and Lower Bavaria 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:
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
Bavaria is also a Dutch beer brand.
Bavaria is also the name of the statue standing at the Theresienwiese in Munich.
da:Bayern
de:Bayern
et:Baieri
es:Baviera
eo:Bavario
fr:Bavière
it:Baviera
la:Bavaria
nl:Beieren
ja:バイエルン州
no:Bayern
nds:Bayern
pl:Bawaria
pt:Baviera
ro:Bavaria
simple:Bavaria
sv:Bayern
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