Bavaria

Basic data:

Universities:

Augsburg: University of Augsburg
Bamberg: Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg
Bayreuth: University of Bayreuth
Eichstätt: Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Erlangen: Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg
Ingolstadt: Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Munich: Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Technical University of Munich
Ukrainian Free University of Munich
University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich
Nuremberg: Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg
Passau: University of Passau
Regensburg: University of Regensburg
Würzburg: Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg

Geography:

Bavaria is in southern Germany. The country stretches south to the Northern Alps with the Zugspitze (2,962 m above sea level), the highest mountain in Germany. To the north is the foothills of the Alps with the three large lakes of Upper Bavaria, Ammersee, Starnberger and Chiemsee. A fertile hill country follows up to the Danube in the north.

The low mountain range north of the Danube includes the Bavarian Forest, the Upper Palatinate Forest, the Fichtelgebirge and the Franconian Forest in the east. In the north, Bavaria shares the wooded Spessart and the Rhön. In between lies the eastern part of the Swabian-Franconian Stepped Country with Frankenhöhe, Steigerwald, Haßbergen and Franconian Jura.

The lowest point in Bavaria is 107 m above sea level in Kahl am Main (Lower Franconia), the highest on the summit of the Zugspitze.

The main rivers of Bavaria are the Danube with the tributaries Iller, Lech, Isar and Inn. Most of Franconia is drained by the Main and its tributaries Regnitz and Tauber.

Bavaria shares borders with Austria, in Lake Constance with Switzerland and in the east with the Czech Republic.

Climate:

The climate in Bavaria changes relatively evenly from north-west to east into a continental climate. Temperatures drop below zero about 100 days a year, while mean sunshine duration is about 1600 to 1900 hours. On average, westerly winds bring 70 cm of rain, although in the northern reaches of the Alps the amount of rain can increase up to 180 cm.

history:

The existence of a \"Bavarian\" tribal duchy among the Merovingians, part of the Frankish dominion of Austrasia, has been documented since the 6th century AD. Around 740 Boniface organized the bishoprics of Salzburg, Passau, Regensburg, Freising and Eichstätt. The end of this duchy was marked by the victory of Charlemagne over the Bavarian Duke Tassilo III. Sealed in 788 and made Bavaria part of the Carolingian empire

From 1070 to 1180 the Guelph dukes reigned in Bavaria. In 1158 Henry the Lion founded Munich. After the fall of Henry the Lion, Bavaria came to the Wittelsbachs in 1180. . In 1214 they acquired the Rhine Palatinate and gradually the Upper Palatinate. In 1255 it was divided into Lower Bavaria and Upper Bavaria with the Rhine Palatinate.

In a short period of reunification, Bavaria reached a peak of power with Ludwig IV the Bavarian, when he was the first Wittelsbacher to receive German imperial dignity in 1328. It was again divided into the lines of Landshut, Straubing, Ingolstadt and Munich, but the partial duchies were reunited in 1506.

After the Thirty Years\' War, Bavaria became an electorate in 1623 under Maximilian I. During the War of the Spanish and Austrian Succession, Bavaria was temporarily occupied by Austria. At the time of Napoleon, Bavaria was initially on the side of France and was able to record large territorial gains through secularization and mediatization, which it was able to keep by switching to the opposing side at the Congress of Vienna in good time.Bavaria owes its Swabian and Franconian territories to this policy.

In 1806 Bavaria became a kingdom with King Max I Joseph. Twelve years later, the kingdom received a constitution. King Ludwig I developed Bavaria into a center for the arts and sciences. Until he had to abdicate in 1848 in favor of his son. King Ludwig II went down in history as the \"fairy tale king\" through Neuschwanstein and other castles.

After the defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, Bavaria became part of the newly founded German Empire in 1871, but was able to retain some special rights. After World War I, the monarchy collapsed and Bavaria became a free state in 1918. Two years later, Coburg became part of the Free State of Bavaria through a referendum. During the National Socialist regime, Bavaria lost its independence. During the Second World War, cities such as Würzburg, Munich, Nuremberg and Augsburg suffered extensive destruction.

After the end of the war, Bavaria, with the exception of Lindau and the Palatinate, was an American zone. The Palatinate was annexed to Rhineland-Palatinate in 1946, and the Thuringian enclave of Ostheim came to Bavaria. In the same year, a new constitution came into force in Bavaria. In 1949 the state of Bavaria became part of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Economy:

Bavaria is seen as an economically strong and rich state. After the Second World War, it changed from a predominantly agricultural country to a technology-oriented industrial region with a highly developed service sector.

The economically strongest region is the greater Munich area with important large companies such as BMW, Audi and MAN. Bavaria also has locations for the metal processing industry, porcelain production in Upper Franconia and Upper Palatinate, the toy industry in Nuremberg and the Fichtelgebirge, the food industry with cheese production, malt houses and breweries, and medical and environmental technology.

Bavaria has few natural resources. At 51.6%, it has the largest agricultural area of ​​any federal state and is one of the largest milk-producing regions in Europe.