Pangea's Bavaria: A Journey Through Ancient Germany

Bavaria, now a state in the southeast of Germany, has a long and dynamic history. The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Celts, followed by the Romans in the 1st century BC, who incorporated the territory into the provinces of Raetia and Noricum. The Romans were then overcome in the 5th century 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), who settled in the south between 488 and 520 CE. In the 7th and 8th centuries, Bavaria was Christianized by Irish and Scottish monks, and in 788 CE, Charlemagne incorporated it into the Carolingian empire for a short time.

Bavaria became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century and was ruled by the Wittelsbach dynasty from 1180 to 1918. In 1806, Bavaria was elevated from an electorate to a kingdom, and in 1871, it became a federated state of the German Empire. During World War I, civil unrest spread across Bavaria, and in 1918, the kingdom was deposed, becoming the People's State of Bavaria.

During the Pangea era, the supercontinent that existed from roughly 335 to 175 million years ago, Bavaria did not exist as a distinct region. Instead, the land that now comprises modern-day Bavaria was part of the supercontinent along with the rest of present-day Europe.

Bavaria's history of settlement

In the 5th century, the Romans were overcome by repeated Germanic attacks, and 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), who settled in the south between 488 and 520 CE. In the 7th and 8th centuries, Bavaria was Christianized by Irish and Scottish monks.

In 788, Charlemagne incorporated Bavaria into the Carolingian Empire for a short time. In the 10th century, Bavaria became part of the Holy Roman Empire, and during this period, it was constantly ravaged and all but depopulated by the Hungarians. In 955, Otto I defeated the Hungarians at the Battle of Lechfeld, just south of Augsburg, ushering in an era of cooperation between Bavaria and Hungary.

In 1180, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa gave Bavaria to the count palatine Otto of Wittelsbach, marking the start of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which ruled Bavaria until 1918. Otto was succeeded by his son, Louis I, who founded several cities and acquired the Palatinate of the Rhine in 1214. His son, Otto II, increased the area of his lands through purchases. However, the efforts of these dukes to consolidate their power were soon undermined by partitions that, for 250 years, made Bavaria's history one of territorial divisions, family feuds, and petty squabbles.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Upper and Lower Bavaria were repeatedly subdivided, resulting in four duchies: Bavaria-Straubing, Bavaria-Landshut, Bavaria-Ingolstadt, and Bavaria-Munich. In 1506, with the Landshut War of Succession, the other parts of Bavaria were reunited, and Munich became the sole capital.

In 1623, the Bavarian duke replaced his relative of the Palatinate branch, acquiring the powerful prince-elector dignity in the Holy Roman Empire. During the 18th century, the ambitions of the Bavarian prince electors led to several wars with Austria and occupations by Austrian forces.

In 1777, the Bavarian succession passed to the elector Charles Theodore of the Palatinate, reuniting Bavaria and the Palatinate. In the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778-1779), Frederick II of Prussia successfully prevented Austria from incorporating a large part of Bavaria.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Bavaria was occupied by Revolutionary France and Austria. In 1805, the Peace of Pressburg allowed Maximilian Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach to raise Bavaria to the status of a kingdom. In 1806, Bavaria seceded from the Holy Roman Empire, joining the Confederation of the Rhine. In 1813, shortly before the Battle of Leipzig, Bavaria rejected Napoleon and joined the Germanic Confederation against him.

In 1818, a new constitution was proclaimed, establishing a bicameral Parliament. In 1848, Ludwig I ascended the throne, and under his rule, the arts flourished, and Bavaria increased its pace towards industrialization. In 1864, Ludwig II became king as tensions escalated between Austria and Prussia. Bavaria sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which resulted in a quick victory for the Prussians.

In 1871, Bavaria joined the German Empire under King William I of Prussia, retaining a larger measure of independence than any other constituent state. However, Ludwig II became increasingly detached from political affairs, spending vast amounts of money on personal projects, including the construction of fairytale castles such as Neuschwanstein. In 1886, he was declared insane, and his uncle, Luitpold, became regent.

In 1914, Bavaria entered World War I, initially with enthusiastic recruits. However, over time, Bavarians, like many Germans, grew weary of the conflict. In 1918, civil unrest spread across Bavaria, and on November 7, Ludwig III fled Munich with his family. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed, and the socialist-led government of Kurt Eisner proclaimed Bavaria a republic.

Bavaria's incorporation into the Roman Empire

Bavaria, in the southeast of Germany, was incorporated into the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC, when the territory was incorporated into the provinces of Raetia and Noricum. The Romans were overcome in the 5th century by repeated Germanic attacks, and the area was 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. In 788 CE, Charlemagne incorporated Bavaria into the Carolingian Empire for a short time. In the 10th century, Bavaria became a part of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the 12th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa gave Bavaria to the count palatine Otto of Wittelsbach. This marked the start of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which was to rule Bavaria until 1918.

In the 16th century, Duke Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich established the principle of primogeniture in Bavaria and made Munich the capital of his duchy. In 1545, his son William IV reunified Bavaria into one duchy. In 1546, Bavarian policy changed abruptly to an alliance with the Austrian Habsburgs, and under William IV's successor, Albert V, Bavaria became a strictly Roman Catholic territory.

In the 18th century, Bavaria was ravaged by the wars of the Spanish Succession and the Austrian Succession. In 1777, the Bavarian succession passed to the elector Charles Theodore of the Palatinate, and in the War of the Bavarian Succession, Frederick II of Prussia successfully prevented Austria from incorporating a large part of Bavaria.

In the 1790s, Bavaria was a member of the first and second anti-French coalitions and was successively occupied by Revolutionary France, Austria, and then France again. In 1800, Bavaria became an ally of France and was able to expand its territories at the expense of Austria, acquiring approximately the boundaries it has today. The Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 elevated the Bavarian duchy to the status of a kingdom.

In 1813, shortly before the Battle of Leipzig, Bavaria rejected Napoleon and joined the Germanic Confederation against him. In 1815, it retained much of its territorial and political gains, making it the third-largest German state, after Austria and Prussia.

In 1866, Bavaria sided with Austria in the Prussian-Austrian War but was quickly defeated by the Prussians. Bavaria then joined Prussia in the Franco-German War of 1870 and shared in the establishment of a German Empire under William I of Prussia. Under the German constitution of 1871, Bavaria received a larger measure of independence than any of the other constituent states of the German Empire.

In 1918, the Bavarian monarchy was the first to fall when Socialist politician Kurt Eisner proclaimed the Free State of Bavaria. King Ludwig III fled, thus ending the rule of one of the oldest European dynasties.

The Duchy of Bavaria

For a century and a half, a succession of dukes resisted the inroads of the Slavs on their eastern frontier, and by the time of Duke Theodo I, who died in 717, they had achieved complete independence from the Frankish kings. When Charlemagne became the virtual ruler of the Frankish realm, he brought the Bavarians into strict dependence and deposed two dukes for contumacy. His son and successor, Pepin the Short, maintained Frankish authority, and several marriages took place between the two families.

Bavarian law was committed to writing between 739 and 748 AD, with supplementary clauses bearing evidence of Frankish influence. While the duchy belonged to the Agilolfing family, the duke had to be chosen by the people and his election confirmed by the Frankish king, to whom he owed fealty. The duke had a fivefold weregild, summoned the nobles and clergy for purposes of deliberation, called out the host, administered justice, and regulated finance.

Christianity had lingered in Bavaria from Roman times, but a new era began when Bishop Rupert of Worms came to the county at the invitation of Duke Theodo I in 696. He founded several monasteries, as did Bishop Emmeran of Poitiers, with the result that before long, most of the people professed Christianity and relations commenced between Bavaria and Rome. However, the 8th century witnessed a heathen reaction, which was checked by the arrival of Saint Boniface in Bavaria around 734 AD. Boniface organised the Bavarian church and founded or restored bishoprics at Salzburg, Freising, Regensburg, and Passau.

Tassilo III, who became duke of the Bavarians in 749, recognised the supremacy of the Frankish king, Pepin the Short, in 757 AD. However, Tassilo soon refused to furnish a contribution to the war in Aquitaine and, during the early years of Charlemagne's reign, Tassilo gave decisions in ecclesiastical and civil causes in his own name, refused to appear in the assemblies of the Franks, and generally acted as an independent ruler. His control of the Alpine passes and his position as an ally of the Avars and as a son-in-law of the Lombard king Desiderius made him troublesome to the Frankish kingdom, so Charlemagne determined to crush him.

The details of this contest are obscure, but Tassilo appears to have done homage in 781 and 787, probably due to the presence of Frankish armies. However, further trouble soon arose, and in 788, the Franks summoned the duke to Ingelheim and sentenced him to death on a charge of treachery. The King pardoned Tassilo, who entered a monastery and formally renounced his duchy at Frankfurt in 794.

Gerold, Charlemagne's brother-in-law, ruled Bavaria until his death in battle with the Avars in 799, after which Frankish counts took over the administration and assimilated the land with the rest of the Carolingian Empire. Measures taken by Charlemagne improved conditions, and the Bavarians offered no resistance to the change, which thus abolished their duchy.

Bavaria's independence and inclusion in the German Empire

Bavaria's history is a long and complex one, stretching back to its earliest settlement by Iron Age Celtic tribes. Over the centuries, it has been incorporated into various empires and confederations, eventually becoming part of the modern-day Federal Republic of Germany. Here is an overview of Bavaria's path to independence and inclusion in the German Empire:

Early History and Settlements:

Bavaria's earliest known inhabitants were Celtic tribes such as the Boii, who settled in the Bavarian Alps. The region was later conquered by the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC and incorporated into the provinces of Raetia and Noricum.

Duchy of Bavaria and Holy Roman Empire:

In the 6th century AD, following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Bavaria became the Duchy of Bavaria, also known as a stem duchy. It was ruled by various dynasties, including the Agilolfings and the Welfs, until it was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century. During this period, Bavaria faced invasions from the Hungarians and was ravaged by wars.

Kingdom of Bavaria and German Empire:

In 1806, Bavaria gained independence from the Holy Roman Empire and became the Kingdom of Bavaria. This kingdom was ruled by the Wittelsbach dynasty until 1918. In 1871, Bavaria joined the Prussian-led German Empire while retaining its title of kingdom. This inclusion in the German Empire was controversial among Bavarian nationalists, who favoured independence. Bavaria's heavy Catholic majority also resented being ruled by the mostly Protestant northerners in Prussia.

Post-World War I and Weimar Republic:

After World War I, the Bavarian monarchy was abolished, and Kurt Eisner proclaimed the Free State of Bavaria on November 8, 1918. This led to a period of political upheaval, including the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919. The Bamberg Constitution was enacted in 1919, placing Bavaria inside the Weimar Republic.

Nazi Era and World War II:

During the Nazi era, Bavaria was a stronghold of Nazism, with Munich and Nuremberg becoming centres of Nazi activity. The first Nazi concentration camp was established in Dachau, near Munich. After World War II, Bavaria was occupied by US forces and became part of the American Zone.

Federal Republic of Germany:

In 1949, Bavaria became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany, also known as West Germany. It experienced rapid economic growth and transformation into an industrial society. Despite some calls for Bavarian independence, it remains an integral part of Germany today.

Bavaria's modern-day status

Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of 70,550.19 square km, 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, behind only North Rhine-Westphalia.

Bavaria has a distinct culture, largely because of its Catholic heritage and conservative traditions, which includes a language, cuisine, architecture, festivals, and elements of Alpine symbolism. It also has the second-largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, giving it the status of a wealthy German region.

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

Bavaria has a multiparty system dominated by the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), which has won every election since 1945, except in 1950 and 2023. Bavaria is also home to the Bavarian Party, founded in 1946, whose goal is to establish an independent Bavarian state.

Bavaria has a unicameral Landtag (State Parliament), elected by universal suffrage. The Bavarian State Government consists of the Minister-President of Bavaria, eleven Ministers, and six Secretaries of State.

Bavaria has a continental climate that is harsh for middle Europe, although there are some exceptions, such as the Lower Main valley. The state's constitution of 1946 established it as a free state with democratic parliamentary institutions.

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