Bavaria is a land of lakes, mountains and rivers. For seven centuries it was a free state, and today it is an integral part of Germany. Medieval status has been retained by Bavaria, but for the last hundred years it has not given her any privileges.
About the first inhabitants of Bavaria
Today, large industrial cities are located on its territory, and once hunters and shepherds lived. The costumes of the Bavarian highlanders can be seen during folk festivals in Germany. The land of Bavaria is fraught with many beautiful and terrible legends about the inhabitants of local caves, about the bewitched Friedrich Barbarossa, who for several centuries sat in a dark grotto, on a throne made of real ivory. In the XII-XV centuries, the Bavarians were naive, superstitious people, however, like all medieval people.
Scenic land of mountains and waters
Bavaria occupies a vast territory, it spreads the Franconian forests, Alpine mountains, Fichtelsbirge. There are many lakes and rivers here, among them is the Danube, sung by German and Russian poets. There are more than one and a half thousand reservoirs in total. Bavaria borders on the lands of Baden-Württemberg, Thuringia, Hesse, as well asAustria and the Czech Republic.
Middle Ages
The first inhabitants of the lands that Bavarian cities occupy today were the Celts. There were also Etruscans among them. For some time the territory belonged to the Italian royal dynasty. The real history of Bavaria begins with the reign of the Duke of Wittelbach, a member of the dynasty described in more detail below.
New time
After the Austro-Prussian war, in which Bavaria got involved, part of its lands, according to a preliminary agreement, passed to the Germans. In addition, the kingdom, and this territory then had such a status, turned out to be in political isolation. The situation changed for the better after the Franco-Prussian War, in which Bavaria also took part. King Ludwig made an agreement with the German monarch Wilhelm.
In 1871, a new German state appeared on the map of Europe, which included Bavaria. Half a century later, the man who would unleash the Second World War in 1939 tried to organize an uprising in Munich, which went down in history under the term "Beer putsch". In the 40s, the largest Bavarian cities suffered from bombing.
Population
In Bavaria, in addition to the Bavarians, Franconians and Swabians live. Here you can hear the speech, which differs significantly from the literary German language. It is sometimes difficult for a Berliner to understand a person who speaks the Swabian dialect.
According to 2015, more than12 million people. After the Second World War, refugees who lived in the former German territories were added to the indigenous people. Several thousand Sudeten Germans arrived here from the border regions of the Czech Republic in the 50s.
Cities
Speaking about the history of the federal state of Bavaria, one cannot remain silent about such cities as Nuremberg and Munich. They began their development in the Middle Ages, at one time recovering from the horrors of the Thirty Years' War. The events that took place in Nuremberg and Munich during the Second World War also have much in common. But before citing some facts from history, it is worth mentioning other Bavarian cities with a population of more than 50 thousand people. Among them: Augsburg, Inogstadt, Regensburg, Würzburg, Erlangen, Furth, Bamberg, Landshut.
Munich
This city is the capital of this federal state of Germany. Bavaria covers an area of 70,000 km2. Munich - 300 km2. About three million tourists come to the Bavarian capital every year, and many of them would like to stay here forever. This city, the largest in the federal state of Bavaria, is home to over a million inhabitants. They say that it is very difficult not to envy them. What is so attractive about this burgher town?
Munich is the cultural center of the federal state of Bavaria. It is surrounded by the Starnberger and Ammersee lakes. This is a very friendly, hospitable city, rich in architectural monuments, attracting tourists from all over the world. The capital of the state, Bavaria, is able to interest everyone. Munich is called "the kingdom of beer and baroque","a metropolis with a tender heart." There are many more epithets that are used when talking about this ancient city.
It is known that at the beginning of the XII century monks lived on the territory of Munich. Hence the name of the city. Then, in the distant medieval times, it was called Munich, which in translation from the old German language means "located next to the monastery." The official date of foundation is 1158. It was then that the monastic fortress turned into a city. Among the sights of Munich are a church and an obelisk built on the site of the dwelling of the Wittelsbachs, representatives of an aristocratic dynasty, thanks to which the city once gained importance in the European expanses.
Bavaria is the land owned by the Wittelsbachs for seven centuries. Only in 1918 did it become part of Germany (then the Weimar Republic). The Isar Gate, located in the east of Munich, reminds of the deeds of one of the bearers of this legendary family. The inscriptions on the towers of this medieval building tell about the life of Ludwig of Bavaria. Not far from the gate is the Valentine Museum, which operates on a rather strange schedule: opens at 11:01, closes at 17:29.
The Old Courtyard is one of the main attractions of Munich. The castle on its territory was built in 1255, and the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire lived there from time to time. The restored Old Court is now inhabited by local financiers, who, however, only have rooms at their disposal. The courtyard itselfrecognized as a monument of ancient architecture and accessible to tourists.
In the autumn of 1810, the people of Munich had the opportunity to take part in a magnificent celebration arranged on the occasion of the wedding of Ludwig with Princess Theresa. This event was held on Theresienwiese (the name arose later), and it was it that served as the basis for the famous Oktoberfest, which is held annually in the capital of Bavaria.
Adolf Hitler began his political career in Munich. Today in this city nothing reminds of the greatest criminal of the 20th century. True, something still remains from the Nazi era. For example, the house where the body of the Fuhrer's niece, Geli Raubal, was found. It is a beautiful four-storey building with an attic and balconies. The Bürgerbräukeller, where Hitler hatched a plan to organize the Beer Putsch, lasted until 1979.
Nuremberg
The history of the city begins with the emergence of a village called Norimberg in the Frankish kingdom. Already in the Middle Ages, it became one of the largest German settlements. There was a brisk trade of the southern countries with the northern, eastern with western. However, Nuremberg not only traded, but also produced. It was here that the pocket watch, clarinet, lathe, thimble were invented. In Nuremberg, they made a globe that did not yet have America.
In the architecture of the city there are works of both Gothic and Renaissance. The historical buildings of Nuremberg include the Frontier Post, the Golden Bull House, the Petraeus House, the Courthousejurors.
