Bavaria

I

Introduction

Bavaria (German, Bayern), state in south-east Germany, bounded on the north by the states of Thuringia and Saxony, on the north-east by the Czech Republic, on the south-east and south by Austria, and on the west by the states of Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. Bavaria has an area of 70,548 sq km (27,239 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

Bavaria is the largest state in Germany. It is drained by the River Main in the north-west and by the Danube, which transects the state from west to east, as well as by two of its tributaries, the Inn and the Iser, in the southern and central regions. To the north of the Danube the region is characterized by rolling upland. To the north-west the Spessart Hills rise above the Lower Main valley, to form, together with the Rhön Highlands to the north-east, a natural border with the neighbouring state of Hesse. To the east, along the border with the Czech Republic, are the Bavarian Low Mountains and the Bavarian Forest National Park, which was opened in 1970, enlarged in 1997, and covers an area of 24,250 hectares (59,922 acres). To the south of the Danube, stretching as far as the Bavarian Alps, are the Alps fore-mountains, bordering on Lake Constance to the west and to the east on the confluence of the rivers Salzbach and Inn. The Upper Bavarian Lake Plateau includes the Stirmberger Lake (57 sq km/22 sq mi), Chiemsee Lake (78 sq km/30 sq mi), and Ammersee Lake (47 sq km/18 sq mi). Further south are the Bavarian Alps. The Zugspitze, at 2,962 m (9,718 ft), is the highest mountain peak in Germany. To the west are the Allgäuer Alps, to the east the Berchtesgaden Alps and the Berchtesgaden National Park, founded in 1978 and covering some 20,808 hectares (51,417 acres).

Apart from the Bavarian Forest National Park and the Berchtesgaden National Park, there are two biosphere reserves also located in the Bavarian Forest and Berchtesgaden. In addition, there are 15 nature parks located in Bavaria.

III

Population

Bavaria has a population of 12,423,000 (2004 estimate) and a population density of 176 people per sq km (456 people per sq mi; as of 2004). Munich is the capital of the state and has a population of 1,249,200 (2005 estimate). Other important towns and cities are: Augsburg (population, 2005 estimate, 260,400); Erlangen (2005 estimate, 102,600); Fürth (2005 estimate, 112,500); Ingolstadt (2005 estimate, 120,200); Nuremberg (2005 estimate, 495,300); Regensburg (2005 estimate, 128,900); and Würzburg (2005 estimate, 133,500). The inhabitants of Bavaria are largely Roman Catholic (around 67 per cent).

IV

Education and Culture

Bavaria has 11 universities: University of Augsburg (1970); the University of Bamberg (1647); the University of Bayreuth (1972); the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (founded in 1743 and merged with the University of Altdorf in 1809); University of Munich (1472); the Technical University of Munich (1868); the University of Passau (1972); the University of Regensburg (1962); the University of Würzburg (1582); the Catholic University of Eichstätt (founded originally in 1564 and re-opened in 1972); and the Munich University of the Armed Forces (founded in 1973). There are three theological universities (in Benediktbeuren, Munich, and Neuendettelsau); a Higher Institute of Political Sciences in Munich; two academies of fine arts—in Munich and Nuremburg; a State University for Music and Theatrical Arts in Munich; a State Academy of Music in Würzburg; a Municipal Music Academy in Nuremberg-Augsburg; and the Bavarian August Ewerding Theatrical Academy in Munich.

Notable libraries and archives in the state (other than university libraries) include: the State and City Library and the State Archive in Augsburg; the State Library and State Archive in Bamberg; the Bavarian State Library and State Archive in Munich; the Library of the Museum of Germany, the State Archive, and the City Library in Nuremberg; the State Library in Passau; and the State Archive in Würzburg. There are over 1,000 museums in Bavaria. There are 46 state museums and galleries including: the Bavarian State Art Galleries in Munich; the Bavarian National Museum in Munich; and the various museums of the State Scientific Collections, also in the capital. Other notable museums and galleries include the Richard Wagner Museum in Bayreuth and the Old Picture Gallery in Munich, dating from 1528.

There are 32 theatres in Bavaria including the Bavarian State Opera, the Bavarian State Drama Theatre, and the Gärtnerplatz State Theatre, all located in Munich. In addition to the world-famous Richard Wagner festival in Bayreuth (with a purpose-built theatre, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus), Bavaria regularly holds a number of cultural festivals including: the Munich Opera Festival; the Bach Week in Ausbach; the Nuremberg Organ Week; the Mozart Festival in Würzburg; and the Oktoberfest, a traditional food and drink festival, in the capital.

The Marien Chapel dating from c. 706 in the Citadel of Marienberg is the oldest church built in Germany. The cathedrals of Augsburg, Bamberg, Freising, and Würzburg are among the oldest examples of ecclesiastical buildings in the state. St Lorenz in Nuremberg was the first large Gothic church to be built in Germany, while the Church of Our Lady in Munich is seen as the last great example of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture in the country. The Fugger Chapel in Augsburg is regarded as the first Renaissance building in Germany. In addition, there are a number of fine examples of Baroque and Rococo architecture in Bavaria.

There are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Bavaria: the Ducal and Episcopal residence in Würzburg (inscribed in 1981); the Pilgrimage church of Wies at Steingaden (named in 1983); and the historic towns of Bamberg (designated in 1993) and Regensburg (added in 2006).

Famous personalities born in or associated with Bavaria include: painters Hans Holbein the Younger, Matthias Grünewald, Albrecht Dürer, and Lucas Cranach; composers Orlando di Lasso, Johann Pachelbel, Christoph Willibald Glück, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, and Carl Orff; scientists Simon Georg Ohm, Justus von Liebig, Josef von Fraunhofer, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, and Rudolf Diesel; philosophers Friedrich Wilhelm von Schelling, Oswald Spengler, and Max Scheler; sociologist Max Weber; poets and writers Wolfram von Eschenbach, Walther von der Vogelweide, Hans Sachs, Johann Paul Richter (Jean Paul), Friedrich Rückert, Thomas Mann, and Bertolt Brecht.