Bavaria

Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern) is the southernmost state in Germany. The capital of Bavaria is Münich (München). Bavaria is the largest state in Germany in terms of area, while the capital city, Münich, with 1.3 million residents is the third largest city in Germany. The Bavarian people have lived in this area of Europe since the 6th century, and are very proud of their age-old traditions and customs. Bavaria has had a long and stable history, and was the nation with the longest ruling family in all of Europe, the Wittelsbachs. After 1918, in the first years of the Weimar Republic and during the Nazi Era, the history of Bavaria became very turbulent, in 1919 first an anarchist and then a communist Worker's Council dictatorship of the proletariat tried to establish itself, but was destroyed. The Nazi party was born and grew strong in Bavaria and Adolf Hitler in 1923 tried to gain power in Munich by marching on the seat of state government like Mussolini had done in Italy. The Hitler Putsch was defeated by force and some members killed in action. Hitler was arrested and wrote Mein Kampf in prison. Nurnberg also held important locations for the leaders of the Third Reich.

Geography

Bavaria is located in Southeastern Germany and borders Austria, The Czech Republic, and Switzerland (across the Bodensee), as well as the states of Baden-Württemburg, Hesse, Thuringia, and Saxony.

History

The history of Bavaria as a nation began in the early 6th century AD when the Germanic Tribes displaced the withdrawing Roman forces. Bavaria was an important location in provincial Rome, as it lies just to the north of Brenner Pass, which is one of the only passes through the Alps in the area. Two Roman roads, the Via Claudia Augusta, and Via Raetia linked the city of Augsburg with the Italian pennensula.

References

• (1997-98) Arno Kappler: Facts About Germany. Frankfurter Societats-Druckerei GmbH. ISBN 3797306598.