A state in southwestern Germany famous for its beer; BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works.
(German Bayern) Administrative region (German Land) of Germany
area 70,600 sq km/27,252 sq mi
capital Munich
towns and cities Nuremberg, Augsburg, Würzburg, Regensburg
features largest of the German Länder; forms the Danube basin; festivals at Bayreuth and Oberammergau
industries beer, electronics, electrical engineering, optics, automobiles, aerospace, chemicals, plastics, oil refining, textiles, glass, toys
est) 11,596,000 (25% Czechs and Slovaks)
famous people Lucas Cranach, Adolf Hitler, Franz Josef Strauss, Richard Strauss
religion 70% Roman Catholic, 26% Protestant
history the last king, Ludwig III, abdicated 1918, and Bavaria declared itself a republic.
The original Bavarians were Teutonic invaders from Bohemia who occupied the country at the end of the 5th century. From about 555 to 788 Bavaria was ruled by Frankish dukes of the Agilolfing family. In the 7th and 8th centuries the region was christianized by Irish and Scottish monks. In 788 Charlemagne deposed the last of the Agilolfing dukes and incorporated Bavaria into the Carolingian Empire, and in the 10th century it became part of the Holy Roman Empire. The house of Wittelsbach ruled parts or all of Bavaria 1181–1918; Napoleon made the ruler a king 1806. In 1871 Bavaria became a state of the German Empire.