Bavaria
Bavaria (German: 
Freistaat Bayern (help·info); IPA: [fraɪ.ʃtaːt ˈbaɪ.ɐn] English: Free State of Bavaria), with an area of 70,548 square kilometres (27,200 sq mi) and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest federated state (Bundesland) of Germany by area. Its capital is Munich in Upper Bavaria.
Modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia and Swabia. Neighbouring states within Germany are Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Thuringia and Saxony. International borders are shared with Austria and the Czech Republic. The Bavarian Alps form the border with Austria, and within the range is the highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze. Switzerland can be reached directly by crossing Lake Constance. Two major rivers flow through the state, the Danube (Donau) and the Main.
The major cities in Bavaria are Munich (München), Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Augsburg, Würzburg, Regensburg, Ingolstadt, Fürth and Erlangen.
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Munich (German: München, German pronunciation: [ˈmʏnçən] listen (help·info); Bavarian: Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg. There are approximately 1.35 million inhabitants within Munich.
The city's motto is "München mag Dich" ("Munich Loves You" in the English version), before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" (world city with heart). Its native name, München, is derived from the Old German word for Mönche, which means "Monks" in English. This is the reason for the monk on the city's coat of arms. Black and gold - the colours of the Holy Roman Empire - have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian.
Selected biography
In the news
More Bavarian-related news in English can be found at Deutsche Welle, Tagesschau, Der Spiegel and The Munich Times.
Quotes
- Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.
Christian Morgenstern (poet)
- So certainly, if we can tell evil stories to make people sick, we can also tell good myths that make them well.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (film director)
- Hopefully it won't be that bad than it is already.
Selected picture
Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, lit. New Swan Stone palace; [nɔʏˈʃvaːnʃtaɪ̯n]) is a 19th-century Bavarian palace on a rugged hill near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. Although public photography of the interior is not permitted, it is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations.
Did you know?
- ...that there is a Bavarian citizenship (as opposed to a German citizenship)? Actually, the Bavarian constitution (Bavaria has a separate constitution that exists alongside the German constitution) explicitly provides for it in articles 6 and 7. Specifically, you become a Bavarian citizen by birth, by marriage or by being naturalized.
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