Bavaria

Free State of Bavaria
Freistaat Bayern (German)
Freistoot Bayern (Bavarian)
Anthem: Bayernhymne (German)
"Hymn of Bavaria"
Map
Coordinates: 49°04′43″N 11°23′08″E / 49.07861°N 11.38556°E / 49.07861; 11.38556
CountryGermany
CapitalMunich
Government
 • BodyLandtag of Bavaria
 • Minister-PresidentMarkus Söder (CSU)
 • Governing partiesCSU / FW
 • Bundesrat votes6 (of 69)
 • Bundestag seats117 (of 736)
Area
 • Total70,550.19 km2 (27,239.58 sq mi)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[1]
 • Total13,369,393
 • Density189/km2 (490/sq mi)
DemonymBavarian
GDP
 • Total€716.784 billion (2022)
 • Per capita€53,768 (2022)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeDE-BY
NUTS RegionDE2
HDI (2021)0.950[3]
very high · 5th of 16
Websitewww.bayern.de

Bavaria,[a] officially the Free State of Bavaria,[b] 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, and with over 13.08 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous German state, behind only North Rhine-Westphalia; however, due to its large land area, 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),[5] 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.[6]

Bavaria has a distinct culture, largely because of its Catholic heritage and conservative traditions,[7] which includes a language, cuisine, architecture, festivals and elements of Alpine symbolism.[8] It also has the second-largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, giving it the status of a wealthy German region.[9]

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

  1. ^ "Bevölkerung: Gemeinden, Geschlecht, Quartale, Jahr". Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung (in German). October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Bruttoinlandsprodukt, Bruttowertschöpfung | Statistikportal.de". Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder | Gemeinsames Statistikportal (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. ^ "The Free State of Bavaria – Bayerisches Landesportal". Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Bavaria". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Bavaria". Britannica. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Kirchenmitgliederzahlen Stand 31.12 2016" (PDF). ekd.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  8. ^ Local, The (4 February 2010). "Bavaria – The Local". The Local. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  9. ^ Campbell, Eric (14 February 2012). "Germany – A Bavarian Fairy Tale". ABC. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).