Bavaria

From Wikinfo

[[fr:Bavi�re]]

Flag (lozengy variant)

Image:De-by-lozengeflag.png
Flag (striped variant)
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Statistics
Capital:	Munich
Area:	70,553 km�
Inhabitants:	11,600,000 (2000)
pop. density:	164 inh./km�
Homepage:	bayern.de
ISO 3166-2:	DE-BY
Politics
Minister-President:	Edmund Stoiber (CSU)
Ruling party:	CSU
Map
Image:Bundeslaender germany bv.png

With an area of 70,553 km� and 11.6 million inhabitants, Bavaria (German Bayern or Freistaat Bayern) forms the southernmost of the 16 Bundesl�nder of Germany. Its capital is Munich.

Geography

Bavaria shares international borders with Austria and the Czech Republic. Neighbouring states within Germany are [[Baden-W�rttemberg]], Hesse, 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, [[W�rzburg]], Ingolstadt, Regensburg, [[F�rth]] and Erlangen.

Politics

Bavaria has a unicameral Landtag or state parliament, elected by universal suffrage. Until December 1999, there was also a Senat or Senate chosen by social and economic groups in Bavaria, but following a referendum in 1998, this was abolished. The head of government is the Ministerpr�sident or prime minister.

Administration

Bavaria is divided into 71 districts:

Image:Bavaria map.png
Map: Bavaria

Aichach-Friedberg
[[Alt�tting (district)|Alt�tting]]
Amberg-Sulzbach
Ansbach
Aschaffenburg
Augsburg
Bad Kissingen
[[Bad T�lz-Wolfratshausen]]
Bamberg
Bayreuth
Berchtesgadener Land
Cham
Coburg
Dachau
Deggendorf
Dillingen
Dingolfing-Landau
Donau-Ries
Ebersberg
[[Eichst�tt (district)|Eichst�tt]]
Erding
[[Erlangen-H�chstadt]]
Forchheim
Freising

Freyung-Grafenau
[[F�rstenfeldbruck (district)|F�rstenfeldbruck]]
[[F�rth (district)|F�rth]]
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
[[G�nzburg (district)|G�nzburg]]
[[Ha�berge]]
Hof
Kelheim
Kitzingen
Kronach
Kulmbach
Landsberg
Landshut
Lichtenfels
Lindau
Main-Spessart
Miesbach
Miltenberg
[[M�hldorf (district)|M�hldorf]]
Munich (M�nchen)
Neuburg-Schrobenhausen
Neumarkt
Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim
Neustadt (Waldnaab)

Neu-Ulm
[[N�rnberger Land]]
[[Oberallg�u]]
[[Ostallg�u]]
Passau
Pfaffenhofen
Regen
Regensburg
[[Rh�n-Grabfeld]]
Rosenheim
Roth
Rottal-Inn
Schwandorf
Schweinfurt
Starnberg
Straubing-Bogen
Tirschenreuth
Traunstein
[[Unterallg�u]]
Weilheim-Schongau
[[Wei�enburg-Gunzenhausen]]
Wunsiedel
W�rzburg

The districts are grouped into seven administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke), namely:

Culture and language accents differ slightly from region to region.

Furthermore, Bavaria includes 25 independent towns, which don't belong to any district:

History

Main article: History of Bavaria

The Wittelsbach family ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918. Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806. In 1815 the Rhine Palatinate became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845 - 1886) reigned as King of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886.

Miscellaneous

The many famous Bavarians include:

Painters such as Hans Holbein the Elder, [[Albrecht D�rer]], Lucas Cranach and Franz Marc
Musicians such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss
Modern musicians like Klaus Doldinger and Barbara Dennerlein
Widely-read Bavarian writers like Bertolt Brecht
Well-known scientists such as the Nobel prize winners Konrad Lorenz and [[Wilhelm Conrad R�ntgen]]
Well-known inventors such as Werner von Siemens and Levi Strauss who invented the jeans and cofounded Levis with its famous brand Levis's.
Neurologist Alois Alzheimer, who described the disease bearing his name.

The motorcycle and automobile maker BMW has a Bavarian industrial base (the name stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, or "Bavarian Motor Works").

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.