The Ancient History Of Bavaria: How Old Is It?

Bavaria, a region in southeastern Germany, has a rich history that dates back to ancient times. The earliest inhabitants of the area were the Celts, who settled there before the Common Era. The Romans conquered the region around the same time, dividing it into the provinces of Raetia and Noricum. After the Romans were overcome by Germanic attacks in the 5th century, the area was settled by Germanic tribes from the east and north, who mixed with the remaining Celts and Romans. The tribe that gave the territory its name, the Baiovarii (Bavarians), settled in the south between 488 and 520 CE. In the 7th and 8th centuries, Bavaria was Christianized by Irish and Scottish monks. Over the centuries, Bavaria changed hands many times, becoming part of the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the German Empire. It was ruled by the local Wittelsbach dynasty from 1180 until 1918, when it became a republic after World War I. Today, Bavaria is a state in the Federal Republic of Germany and is known for its rich culture, including its famous Oktoberfest and picturesque villages.

The Bavarians

During the early medieval period, Bavaria was a centre of Christianisation, with Irish and Scottish monks introducing Christianity to the region. In the 10th century, Bavaria became a part of the Holy Roman Empire and was constantly ravaged by Hungarian attacks. Despite this, Bavaria remained a moderately powerful kingdom and played a significant role in Central European politics until the conclusion of World War I.

Today, Bavaria is the largest state in Germany by area and is known for its strong Catholic traditions and unique culture. It has a diverse landscape, ranging from alpine mountains to dark forests, and its economy is largely based on agriculture and high-tech industries.

The Kingdom of Bavaria

The polity's foundation dates back to the ascension of prince-elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach as King of Bavaria. In 1806, Maximilian proclaimed himself king, and Bavaria became a kingdom. The kingdom faced challenges from the outset of its creation, relying on the support of Napoleonic France. In 1808, Maximilian promulgated Bavaria's first written constitution. Over the next five years, it was amended numerous times in accordance with Paris' wishes.

During the French invasion of Russia in 1812 about 30,000 Bavarian soldiers were killed in action. With the Treaty of Ried of 8 October 1813 Bavaria left the Confederation of the Rhine and agreed to join the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in exchange for a guarantee of her continued sovereign and independent status. On 14 October, Bavaria made a formal declaration of war against Napoleonic France.

With the defeat of Napoleon's France in 1814, Bavaria lost the territories it had gained from Austria, but was compensated for some of its losses, receiving new territories such as the Grand Duchy of Würzburg, the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt, and parts of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Finally, the Rhenish Palatinate was given to Bavaria by the Treaty of Munich. It was the second-largest and second-most powerful state south of the Main, behind only Austria. In Germany as a whole, it ranked third behind Prussia and Austria.

In 1825, Ludwig I ascended the throne of Bavaria. Under Ludwig, the arts flourished in Bavaria, and Ludwig personally ordered and financially assisted the creation of many neoclassical buildings and architecture across Bavaria. In foreign affairs under Ludwig's rule, Bavaria supported the Greeks during the Greek War of Independence with his second son, Otto being elected King of Greece in 1832.

In 1848, Ludwig abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Maximilian II. The revolutions also brought amendments to the constitution, including changes to the lower house of the Landtag with equal suffrage for every male who paid a direct tax. Maximilian II responded to the demands of the people for a united German state by attending the Frankfurt Parliament, which intended to create such a state. However, when Maximilian II rejected the Frankfurt Constitution in 1849, there was an uprising in the Bavarian Palatinate under Joseph Martin Reichard, which was put down with the support of Prussian forces.

In 1864, Maximilian II died early, and his eighteen-year-old son, Ludwig II, became King of Bavaria as tensions between Austria and Prussia escalated steadily. Bavarian Army was defeated in Lower Franconia at the Battle of Kissingen (10 July 1866). Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria took command, but the Bavarians were decisively beaten at Roßbrunn (26 July 1866).

Austria was defeated, and the German Confederation was dissolved, ending Austria's influence over the lesser German states. Bavaria lost Gersfeld, Bad Orb, and Kaulsdorf to Prussia; the former two became part of the new Province of Hesse-Nassau, whereas the latter became part of the Province of Saxony. From this time, Bavaria steadily progressed into Prussia's sphere of influence.

With Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, the northern German states quickly unified into the North German Confederation, with the Prussian king leading the state. Bavaria's previous inhibitions towards Prussia changed, along with those of many of the south German states, after French Emperor Napoleon III began speaking of France's need for "compensation" from its loss in 1814 and included the Bavarian-held Palatinate as part of its territorial claims. Ludwig II joined an alliance with Prussia in 1870 against France, which was seen by Germans as the greatest enemy to a united Germany. At the same time, Bavaria increased its political, legal, and trade ties with the North German Confederation.

With France's defeat and humiliation against the combined German forces, it was Ludwig II who proposed that Prussian King Wilhelm I be proclaimed German Emperor (Kaiser) of the new German Empire (Deutsches Reich), which occurred in 1871 at the German-occupied Palace of Versailles, France. The territories of the German Empire were declared, which included the states of the North German Confederation and all of the south German states, with the major exception of Austria. The empire also annexed the formerly French territory of Alsace-Lorraine, due in large part to Ludwig's desire to move the French frontier away from the Palatinate.

Bavaria's entry into the German Empire changed from jubilation over France's defeat to dismay shortly afterward because of the direction Germany took under the new German Chancellor and Prussian Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck. The Bavarian delegation under Count Otto von Bray-Steinburg had secured a privileged status for the Kingdom of Bavaria within the German Empire (Reservatrechte). The Kingdom of Bavaria was even able to retain its own diplomatic body and its own army, which would fall under Prussian command only in times of war.

After Bavaria's entry into the empire, Ludwig II became increasingly detached from Bavaria's political affairs and spent vast amounts of money on personal projects, such as the construction of a number of fairytale castles and palaces, the most famous being the Wagnerian-style Neuschwanstein Castle. Ludwig used his personal wealth to finance these projects, and not state funds, and the construction projects landed him deeply in debt. These debts caused much concern among Bavaria's political elite, who sought to persuade Ludwig to cease his building; he refused, and relations between the government's ministers and the crown deteriorated.

At last, in 1886, the crisis came to a head. A medical commission appointed by the cabinet declared Ludwig insane and thus incapable of reigning. His uncle, Prince Luitpold, was appointed as regent. A day after Ludwig's deposition, the king died mysteriously after asking the commission's chief psychiatrist to go on a walk with him along Lake Starnberg (then called Lake Würm). Ludwig and the psychiatrist were found dead, floating in the lake. The official autopsy listed the cause of death as suicide by drowning, but some sources claim that no water was found in Ludwig's lungs. While these claims could be explained by dry drowning, they have also led to conspiracy theories of political assassination.

The crown passed to Ludwig's brother Otto. However, Otto had a long history of mental illness and had been placed under medical supervision three years earlier. The duties of head of

The Duchy of Bavaria

In the west, the Carolingian mayor of the palace Carloman had suppressed the last Alamannic revolt at the 746 Blood Court at Cannstatt. The last tribal stem duchy to be incorporated was Bavaria in 788, after Duke Tassilo III had tried in vain to maintain his independence through an alliance with the Lombards. The conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne entailed the fall of Tassilo, who was deposed in 788. From that point, Bavaria was administered by Frankish prefects, first of whom was Gerold, who governed Bavaria from 788 to 799.

During internal struggles in the Ottonian dynasty, the Bavarian territory was considerably diminished by the separation of the newly established Duchy of Carinthia in 976. Between 1070 and 1180, the Holy Roman Emperors were again strongly opposed by Bavaria, especially by the ducal House of Welf. In the final conflict between the Welf and Hohenstaufen dynasties, Duke Henry the Lion was banned and deprived of his Bavarian and Saxon fiefs by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Frederick passed Bavaria over to the House of Wittelsbach, which held it until 1918.

The medieval Bavarian stem duchy covered present-day Southeastern Germany and most parts of Austria along the Danube river, up to the Hungarian border which then ran along the Leitha tributary in the east. It included the Altbayern regions of the modern state of Bavaria, with the lands of the Nordgau march (the later Upper Palatinate), but without its Swabian and Franconian regions. The separation of the Duchy of Carinthia in 976 entailed the loss of large East Alpine territories covering the present-day Austrian states of Carinthia and Styria as well as the adjacent Carniolan region in today's Slovenia.

Over the centuries, several further seceded territories in the territory of the former stem duchy, such as the County of Tyrol or the Archbishopric of Salzburg, gained Imperial immediacy. From 1500, a number of these Imperial states were members of the Bavarian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1180, Count Palatine Otto VI. of Wittelsbach became Otto I, Duke of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty ruled Bavaria without interruption until 1918. The Electorate of the Palatinate was also acquired by the Wittelsbachs in 1214.

The Free State of Bavaria

Bavaria, or Bayern, is a state in southeastern Germany. It was historically a duchy and then a kingdom before becoming a free state in 1918 after the abolition of the monarchy in the aftermath of World War I.

Early History

The earliest inhabitants of the area that is now Bavaria were the Celts. The Romans conquered the region around the beginning of the Common Era, dividing the southern part into Raetia and Noricum. The Romans were overcome in the 5th century by repeated Germanic attacks. The lands were eventually settled by Germanic tribes from the east and north who mixed with the remaining Celts and Romans. The tribe that gave the territory its name was the Baiovarii (Bavarians), which settled in the south between 488 and 520 CE. In the 7th and 8th centuries, Bavaria was Christianized by Irish and Scottish monks.

Duchy of Bavaria

In 788, Charlemagne incorporated Bavaria into the Carolingian Empire for a short time. Bavaria became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century. During this time, Bavaria was ravaged by Hungarian invasions. In 955, Otto I defeated the Hungarians at the Battle of Lechfeld, bringing an end to the invasions. In 1180, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I gave Bavaria to the count palatine Otto of Wittelsbach, marking the start of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which ruled Bavaria until 1918.

Kingdom of Bavaria

In 1805, the duchy of Bavaria was raised to the status of a kingdom by Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1806, Bavaria left the Holy Roman Empire and joined the Confederation of the Rhine, a group of Napoleon-controlled states. In 1813, shortly before the Battle of Leipzig, Bavaria rejected Napoleon and joined the Germanic Confederation against him. In 1815, Bavaria retained much of its territorial and political gains, making it the third-largest German state, after Austria and Prussia.

Free State of Bavaria

In 1918, Bavaria became a republic, and the kingdom was succeeded by the current Free State of Bavaria. The Free State of Bavaria was established following the abolition of the monarchy in the aftermath of World War I. The Rhenish Palatinate was detached from Bavaria in 1946 and made part of the new state of Rhineland-Palatinate. After World War II, Bavaria became part of the American occupation zone. In 1948, under the Basic Law (constitution) of West Germany, Bavaria became a state of the Federal Republic.

Culture and Demographics

Bavaria is known for its folk arts and culture, and traditional crafts continue to be practiced. Popular festivals occur throughout the year, the best known being Munich's Oktoberfest. Bavaria is also well known for its music and theatre, with the annual Bayreuth Festival featuring the music of Richard Wagner.

Bavaria is a country of high plateaus and medium-sized mountains. The majority of Bavaria's inhabitants live in small towns, with only about one-fifth living in cities of 100,000 or more. Munich is the third-largest city in Germany and the largest city in Bavaria.

Bavaria is home to a mix of cultural identities: Franconia in the north, speaking East Franconian German; Bavarian Swabia in the southwest, speaking Swabian German; and Altbayern (so-called "Old Bavaria"), the regions forming the “historic" Bavaria, at present the districts of the Upper Palatinate, Lower and Upper Bavaria, speaking Austro-Bavarian.

Bavarian culture and identity

Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. It is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and with over 13 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous German state. Its distinct culture is largely due to its Catholic heritage and conservative traditions, including a language, cuisine, architecture, festivals, and elements of Alpine symbolism.

History

The earliest inhabitants of Bavaria were Celtic tribes, followed by the conquests of the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC, when the territory was incorporated into the provinces of Raetia and Noricum. It became the Duchy of Bavaria in the 6th century AD following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It was later incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire, became the independent Kingdom of Bavaria after 1806, joined the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871, and finally became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.

Language and Dialects

Three German dialects are commonly spoken in Bavaria: Austro-Bavarian in Old Bavaria (Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, and the Upper Palatinate), Swabian German in the Bavarian part of Swabia, and East Franconian German in Franconia. In the small town of Ludwigsstadt in Upper Franconia, Thuringian dialect is spoken.

Religion

Bavarian culture has a long and predominant tradition of Roman Catholic faith. As of 2020, 46.9% of Bavarians adhered to Catholicism, and 17.2% of the population adheres to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Three percent was Orthodox, and Muslims make up 4.0% of the population.

Traditions and Festivals

Bavarians commonly emphasize pride in their traditions. Traditional costumes, collectively known as Tracht, are worn on special occasions and include Lederhosen for males and Dirndl for females. Centuries-old folk music is performed, and the Maypole, or Maibaum, and the bagpipes of the Upper Palatinate region bear witness to the ancient Celtic and Germanic remnants of the cultural heritage of the region. There are many traditional Bavarian sports disciplines, such as Aperschnalzen, competitive whipcracking.

Bavaria is also known for its world-famous festivals, including Oktoberfest, Nürnberger Frühlingsfest, and Nürnberger Herbstfest.

Food and Drink

Bavaria is probably best known around the world for its outstanding beer. There are some 40 types of beer and over 4,000 brands of Bavarian beer. Bavarian beer has a very long tradition and was regulated in 1516 by the Bavarian beer purity law, limiting its ingredients to water, malt, hops, and yeast only.

Bavarian food is usually hearty and delicious, with many excellent meat and potato-based dishes. Some popular Bavarian dishes include:

• Weißwurst sausages, pretzels, and sweet mustard
• Käsespätzle, a combination of spaetzle noodles, grated mountain cheese, and fried onions
• Schweinebraten, a roast pork with a dark sauce and dumplings and a kraut salad on the side
• Zwetschgendatschi, a traditional plum cake

Arts and Entertainment

Bavaria is home to several football clubs, including FC Bayern Munich, 1. FC Nürnberg, and TSV 1860 Munich. It is also home to four professional basketball teams and five ice hockey teams playing in the German top-tier league.

Internationally renowned orchestras, theaters, operas, museums, and festivals, including the Bayreuth Festival dedicated to Richard Wagner, are based in Bavaria. Notable figures in the arts who have lived in Bavaria include:

• Painters: Albrecht Dürer, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, and Franz von Stuck
• Classical musicians: Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, and Carl Orff
• Writers: Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht
• Film directors: Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Werner Herzog

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