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Free State of Bavaria
Freistaat Bayern  (German)
Freistoot Bayern  (Bavarian)
State
Flag of Free State of Bavaria

Flag of Free State of Bavaria
Flag
Coat of arms of Free State of Bavaria
Coat of arms
Anthem: Bayernhymne  (German)
"Hymn of Bavaria"
Map
Coordinates: 48°46′39″N 11°25′52″E / 48.77750°N 11.43111°E / 48.77750; 11.43111
CountryGermany
CapitalMunich
Government
 • BodyLandtag of Bavaria
 • Minister-PresidentMarkus Söder (CSU)
 • Governing partiesCSU / FW
 • Bundesrat votes6 (of 69)
Area
 • Total70,550.19 km2 (27,239.58 sq mi)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total13,124,737
 • Density186/km2 (480/sq mi)
DemonymBavarians
Population
 • Official languages
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeDE-BY
GRP (nominal)€633 billion (2019)[2]
GRP per capita€48,000 (2019)
NUTS RegionDE2
HDI (2018)0.947[3]
very high · 6th of 16
Websitehttps://www.bayern.de

Bavaria (/bəˈvɛəriə/; German: Bayern, [ˈbaɪɐn]), officially the Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern, [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈbaɪɐn] (audio speaker iconlisten); Bavarian: Freistoot Bayern), is a State (Bundesland) of Germany. The territory of this state is the largest of the 16 German states. The state capital is Munich with 1.5 million people. About 13.1 million people live in Bavaria.

Like many German states, Bavaria was once independent. Ludwig II of Bavaria was its last independent king. Bavaria joined the German Empire in 1871.

Structure

Bavaria has seven parts: Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria), Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria), Schwaben (Swabia), Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), Unterfranken (Lower Franconia), Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) and Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate). Bavaria has 71 districts and 25 free cities.

The highest point is the Zugspitze, which is also the highest mountain in Germany. Munich is the largest city, the second biggest city is Nuremberg (Nürnberg), which is famous for its gingerbread, a kind of Christmas bread that is often shaped like a Christmas tree, a snowman or Santa Claus.

Pope Benedict XVI was born in Bavaria.

Administrative divisions

Administrative regions

Administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke and Bezirke) of Bavaria

Bavaria is divided into seven administrative regions called Regierungsbezirke (singular Regierungsbezirk). For every Administrative region there is a state agency called Bezirksregierung (district government).

  1. Upper Palatinate
  2. Upper Bavaria
  3. Lower Bavaria
  1. Upper Franconia
  2. Middle Franconia
  3. Lower Franconia
  1. Swabia

Districts (Bezirke)

Bavaria has "Bezirke" or districts; the others are the Landkreise and the Gemeinden or Städte. The Bezirke in Bavaria are identical with the Regierungsbezirke. In the other larger states of Germany, there are only Regierungsbezirke as administrative divisions and no self-governing entities at the level of the Regierungsbezirke as the Bezirke in Bavaria.

Population and area

Region Coat of arms Capital Population (2019)[4] Area (km2) No. municipalities
Lower Bavaria Landshut 1,244,169 9.48% 10,330 14.6% 258 12.5%
Lower Franconia Würzburg 1,317,619 10.46% 8,531 12.1% 308 15.0%
Upper Franconia Bayreuth 1,065,371 8.49% 7,231 10.2% 214 10.4%
Middle Franconia Ansbach 1,775,169 13.65% 7,245 10.3% 210 10.2%
Upper Palatinate Regensburg 1,112,102 8.60% 9,691 13.7% 226 11.0%
Swabia Augsburg 1,899,442 14.21% 9,992 14.2% 340 16.5%
Upper Bavaria Munich 4,710,865 35.12% 17,530 24.8% 500 24.3%
Total 13,124,737 100.0% 70,549 100.0% 2,056 100.0%

Districts

Bavaria is made up of 71 rural districts that are comparable to counties, as well as the 25 independent cities, both of which share the same administrative responsibilities and duties.

Map of the Landkreise of Bavaria

Rural districts:

  1. Aichach-Friedberg
  2. Altötting
  3. Amberg-Sulzbach
  4. Ansbach
  5. Aschaffenburg
  6. Augsburg
  7. Bad Kissingen
  8. Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
  9. Bamberg
  10. Bayreuth
  11. Berchtesgadener Land
  12. Cham
  13. Coburg
  14. Dachau
  15. Deggendorf
  16. Dillingen
  17. Dingolfing-Landau
  18. Donau-Ries
  19. Ebersberg
  20. Eichstätt
  21. Erding
  22. Erlangen-Höchstadt
  23. Forchheim
  24. Freising
  25. Freyung-Grafenau
  26. Fürstenfeldbruck
  27. Fürth
  28. Garmisch-Partenkirchen
  29. Günzburg
  30. Hassberge
  31. Hof
  32. Kelheim
  33. Kitzingen
  34. Kronach
  35. Kulmbach
  36. Landsberg
  1. Landshut
  2. Lichtenfels
  3. Lindau
  4. Main-Spessart
  5. Miesbach
  6. Miltenberg
  7. Mühldorf
  8. München (Landkreis München)
  9. Neuburg-Schrobenhausen
  10. Neumarkt
  11. Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim
  12. Neustadt an der Waldnaab
  13. Neu-Ulm
  14. Nürnberger Land
  15. Oberallgäu
  16. Ostallgäu
  17. Passau
  18. Pfaffenhofen
  19. Regen
  20. Regensburg
  21. Rhön-Grabfeld
  22. Rosenheim
  23. Roth
  24. Rottal-Inn
  25. Schwandorf
  26. Schweinfurt
  27. Starnberg
  28. Straubing-Bogen
  29. Tirschenreuth
  30. Traunstein
  31. Unterallgäu
  32. Weilheim-Schongau
  33. Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen
  34. Wunsiedel
  35. Würzburg

Independent cities:

  1. Amberg
  2. Ansbach
  3. Aschaffenburg
  4. Augsburg
  5. Bamberg
  6. Bayreuth
  7. Coburg
  8. Erlangen
  9. Fürth
  10. Hof
  11. Ingolstadt
  12. Kaufbeuren
  13. Kempten
  1. Landshut
  2. Memmingen
  3. Munich (München)
  4. Nuremberg (Nürnberg)
  5. Passau
  6. Regensburg
  7. Rosenheim
  8. Schwabach
  9. Schweinfurt
  10. Straubing
  11. Weiden
  12. Würzburg

Municipalities

The 71 rural districts are on the lowest level divided into 2,031 regular municipalities. Together with the 25 independent cities, there are a total of 2,056 municipalities in Bavaria.

Munich city center with Frauenkirche (left) and Rathaus (town hall)
Nuremberg
Augsburg
Regensburg with the Danube (foreground) and Regensburg Cathedral

In 44 of the 71 rural districts, there are a total of 215 unincorporated areas (as of 1 January 2005), not belonging to any municipality, all unsettled and unpopulated, mostly forested areas, but also four lakes (Chiemsee-without islands, Starnberger See-without islands, Roseninsel, Ammersee, which are the three largest lakes of Bavaria, and Waginger See).

Major cities and towns

City Region Population
(2000) 		Population
(2005) 		Population
(2010) 		Population
(2015) 		Change
(%)
Munich Upper Bavaria 1,210,223 1,259,677 1,353,186 1,450,381 +11.81
Nuremberg Middle Franconia 488,400 499,237 505,664 509,975 +3.53
Augsburg Swabia 254,982 262,676 264,708 286,374 +3.81
Regensburg Upper Palatinate 125,676 129,859 135,520 145,465 +7.83
Ingolstadt Upper Bavaria 115,722 121,314 125,088 132,438 +8.09
Würzburg Lower Franconia 127,966 133,906 133,799 124,873 +4.56
Fürth Middle Franconia 110,477 113,422 114,628 124,171 +3.76
Erlangen Middle Franconia 100,778 103,197 105,629 108,336 +4.81
Bayreuth Upper Franconia 74,153 73,997 72,683 72,148 −1.98
Bamberg Upper Franconia 69,036 70,081 70,004 73,331 +1.40
Aschaffenburg Lower Franconia 67,592 68,642 68,678 68,986 +1.61
Landshut Lower Bavaria 58,746 61,368 63,258 69,211 +7.68
Kempten Swabia 61,389 61,360 62,060 66,947 +1.09
Rosenheim Upper Bavaria 58,908 60,226 61,299 61,844 +4.06
Neu-Ulm Swabia 50,188 51,410 53,504 57,237 +6.61
Schweinfurt Lower Franconia 54,325 54,273 53,415 51,969 −1.68
Passau Lower Bavaria 50,536 50,651 50,594 50,566 +0.11
Freising Upper Bavaria 40,890 42,854 45,223 46,963 +10.60
Straubing Lower Bavaria 44,014 44,633 44,450 46,806 +0.99
Dachau Upper Bavaria 38,398 39,922 42,954 46,705 +11.87

Source: Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung[5][6]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung: Gemeinden, Geschlecht, Quartale, Jahr". Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung (in German). August 2020. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. ↑ "GDP NRW official statistics". Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. ↑ https://www.statistik.bayern.de/mam/produkte/veroffentlichungen/statistische_berichte/a1200c_201944.xla
  5. ↑ Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik, München 2015 (30 August 2015). "Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik – GENESIS-Online Bayern". bayern.de. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik, München 2017 (23 April 2017). "Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik – GENESIS-Online Bayern". bayern.de. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Sources

Other websites

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bavaria.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Bavaria
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