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Bavaria ), 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.

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Bavaria has a culture very distinct from the rest of Germany. Noteworthy differences (especially in rural areas, less significant in the major cities) can be found with respect to:

i Bavarians are typically very conservative Catholics, contrasting markedly with the more casual attitude to religion in much of the rest of Germany. The current pope, Benedict XVI, is from Bavaria.

i Bavarians resemble the latin countries in that they give great attention to their personal appearance, while much of the rest of Germany dresses very casually. Also in business context, wearing traditional- clothing is not unusual at least in the south of the Free State. Bavarian cities and towns, whether rich or poor, are among the best looked after locations in Germany.

i Bavarians tend to place a greater value on food and drink than do other Germans. Benefitting from their southern location, they generally have better access to many fresh ingredients at modest prices. Bavarians also consume many items of food and drink which are unusual elsewhere in Germany.

i Bavarians are very proud of their marked dialects and most of them speak with their Bavarian, Franconian or Swabian accent.

i The Christian Social Union, which has ruled in Bavaria uninteruptedly since 1957, doesn't seek election in any other state of Germany. The CSU, arguably the most inward looking of the major German political parties, combines socially conservative positions with advocacy for extensive involvement of the state in the economy.

i In comparison to the elaborate formality in the rest of Germany, Bavarians can be extremely egalitarian and folksy.

Bavaria shares international borders with Austria and the Czech Republic. Neighbouring states within Germany are Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Thuringia and Saxony. Two major rivers flow through the state, the Danube (i), Augsburg, Regensburg, Würzburg, Ingolstadt, Fürth and Erlangen.

See also: List of places in Bavaria.

, or Senate, whose members were chosen by social and economic groups in Bavaria, but following a referendum in 1998, this institution was abolished. The head of government is the Minister-president.

Bavaria has long been a bastion of conservative politics in Germany, with the Christian Social Union having almost a stranglehold on power since its inception in 1946. Every Minister-president since 1957 has been a member of this party.

In the 2003 elections the CSU won more than two thirds of the seats in i. No party in post-war German history had achieved this before (not counting the rigged wins of the SED in East Germany).

Bavaria is divided into 7 administrative regions called i

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The 71 administrative districts are on the lowest level divided into 2031 municipalities (called i administrations), there are a total of 2056 municipalities in Bavaria.

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

Several German dialects are spoken in Bavaria. In the administrative regions to the north the Franconian dialect is prevalent, in Swabia the local dialect is Swabian, a thread of the Alemannic dialect family. In the Upper Palatinate people speak the Northern Bavarian dialect that can vary regionally. In Upper and Lower Bavaria (Middle) Austro-Bavarian is the predominant dialect.

given by the Romans to the province. A later mention 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.

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.

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. The first of several divisions of the duchy occurred in 1255 but in 1506 Bavaria was reunited and Munich became the sole capital. In 1623 the dukes acquired the electoral dignity.

Bavaria 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.

Socialist premier Kurt Eisner, who deposed King 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.

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 CDUCSU candidate for chancellor in the 2002 federal election, and native son Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI -- as of April 2005 he is the current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. His baptismal name is b such as the Nobel prize winner Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and Werner Heisenberg,also Rudolf Moessbauer and Robert Huber, or Bavarian Motor Works) and Audi, Grundig (consumer electronics) and Siemens (electricity, telephones, informatics, medical instruments) have (or had) a Bavarian industrial base.

A famous annual festival is called i. It was first celebrated in 1810 as a public feast when the Bavarian crown prince Ludwig married Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The celebration originally was designed as a feast for all members of the Bavarian Nation, who should celebrate the country and the crown. It only turned to a pure matter of boozing in the 20th century and is nowadays attended rather by tourists than by Bavarians. Munich locals often despise it. It is celebrated during the two weeks leading up to the first Sunday in October.

Bavaria has also given its name to a major Dutch brewery, i

Modern coat of arms was designed by Eduard Ege, following heraldic traditions in 1946.

The Golden Lion: The rampant lion Palatinate in its golden-and-red amour stands for the administrative region of Upper Palatinate.The "Franconian Rake": It represents the administrative regions of the Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia.The Blue Panther: At the bottom left of the third field there is a blue panther rampant, with gold talons, on a white (silver) ground. It rep-resents the regions of the Lower and Upper Bavaria.The Three Lions: In the fourth field three black lions with red talons stand on a golden ground one above the other, with heads askance. On the Bavarian coat of arms they symbolize Swabia.The White-And-Blue Heart-Shaped Shield: The heart-shaped shield of white and blue fusils askance was originally the coat of arms of the Counts of Bogen to be adopted in 1247 by the Wittelsbachs House. The white-and-blue fusils are indisputably the emblem of Bavaria and the heart-shaped shield today symbolizes Bavaria as a whole. Along with the People's Crown, it is officially used as the Minor Coat of Arms.The People's Crown: The four coat fields with the heart-shaped shield in the centre are crowned with a golden band with precious stones decorated with five ornamental leaves. This crown appeared for the first time in the coat of arms in 1923 to symbolize sovereignty of the people after the dropping out of the royal crown.

The fact that, different to the constitutions of all other German Länder, the Bavarian constitution provides for a Bavarian citizenship, is often mentioned as an indicator for Bavarian distinctiveness. Some Bavarians are keen to emphasize that - in accordance with the generous indication of the constitution - they regard everyone

as a fellow-Bavarian; some of those falling under this untechnical definition express pride to being "Bavarian". However, state legislation regulating citizenship procedures has never been enacted, the consitution itself provides that all Germans enjoy the same rights as Bavarian citizens, and no office issues certificates concerning a "Bavarian" citizenship. Thus, the notion of citizenship rather bears a folkloristic, not really a political meaning.

Lower Bavaria .... 1,162,972 9.6% 10,330 14.6% 258 12.5% Lower Franconia .. 1,329,399 11.0% 8,531 12.1% 308 15.0% Upper Franconia .. 1,113,790 9.2% 7,231 10.2% 214 10.4% Middle Franconia . 1,678,535 13.9% 7,246 10.3% 210 10.2% Upper Palatinate . 1,069,121 8.8% 9,690 13.7% 226 11.0% Swabia ........... 1,773,688 14.4% 9,992 14.2% 340 16.5% Upper Bavaria .... 3,996,043 33.1% 17,530 24.8% 500 24.3% ------------------ ---------- ------ ------ ------ ---- ------ BAVARIA .......... 12,086,548 100.0% 70,549 100.0% 2056 100.0%

The Bavarian's take great pride in their culture. Traditions are taught to the children and descendants of Bavarian citizens through literature, music and cultural events. Whether actually in Bavaria, overseas or full citizens of other nations they continue to cultivate their traditions. They hold festivals and dances to keep their traditions alive.

In New York the German American Cultural Societey is a alarger umbrella group for others such as the Bavarian organizations, which represent a specific part of Germany. They proudly march pt forth a German Parade each year. Various affilliated events take place amongst it's affiliated groups, one of which is the Bavarian Dancers group.