Bavaria

The Free State of Bavaria (German: Bayern or Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12.4 million inhabitants, forms the southernmost of the 16 states of Germany. Its capital is Munich.

History

Main article: History of Bavaria

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The first known mention of the Bavarian name was made by the Franks ca. 520. Saint Boniface completed the people's conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria resisted the Protestant Reformation, and remains strongly Roman Catholic.

Related Topics:
Franks - 520 - Saint Boniface - 8th century - Protestant Reformation - Roman Catholic

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From about 550 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the duchy of Bavaria, ending with Tassilo III who was deposed by Charlemagne. For the next 400 years numerous families held the duchy, rarely for more than three generations. The last, and one of the most important, of these dukes was Henry the Lion of the house of Welf, founder of Munich.

Related Topics:
Agilolfing - Tassilo III - Charlemagne - Henry the Lion - Welf

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When Henry the Lion was deposed as duke of Saxony and Bavaria by his cousin, Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1180, Bavaria was awarded as fief to the Wittelsbach family, which ruled from 1180 to 1918. It became a kingdom in 1806, and in 1815 the Rhenish Palatinate was annexed to it. It managed to preserve its independence by playing off the rivalries of Prussia and Austria, but defeat in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War led to its incorporation into the German Empire. In the early 20th century Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Henrik Ibsen, and other notable artists were drawn to Bavaria, notably to the Schwabing district of Munich, but the region was devastated by World War I.

Related Topics:
Saxony - Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor - Wittelsbach - 1180 - 1918 - Kingdom - 1806 - 1815 - Rhenish Palatinate - Prussia - Austria - 1866 - Austro-Prussian War - German Empire - 20th century - Wassily Kandinsky - Paul Klee - Henrik Ibsen - Schwabing - World War I

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Socialist premier Kurt Eisner, who deposed Ludwig III, was assassinated in 1919 leading to a violently suppressed communist revolt. Extremist activity on the right also increased, notably the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, and Munich and Nuremberg became Nazi strongholds under the Third Reich. As a manufacturing center, Munich was heavily bombed during World War II and occupied by U.S. troops.

Related Topics:
Socialist - Kurt Eisner - Ludwig III - 1919 - 1923 - Beer Hall Putsch - Nuremberg - Nazi - Third Reich - World War II - U.S. troops

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Since World War II, Bavaria has been rehabilitated into a prosperous industrial hub. A massive reconstruction effort restored much of Munich's historic core, and the city played host to the 1972 Summer Olympics. More recently, state minister-president Edmund Stoiber was the CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor in the 2002 federal election, and native son Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

Related Topics:
World War II - 1972 Summer Olympics - Edmund Stoiber - 2002 federal election - Cardinal - Pope Benedict XVI - 2005

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See also

:Bavarian Soviet Republic

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:List of rulers of Bavaria

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:List of Premiers of Bavaria

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:Former countries in Europe after 1815

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