(photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deutschland_Lage_von_Bayern.svg)
1. begin clip-The Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, and Bavaria has since been a free state (republic). Modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia.
IMPORTANT HISTORICAL CHANGES
Saint Boniface completed the people's conversion to Christianity in the early-8th century. Bavaria was, for the most part, unaffected by the Protestant Reformation that happened centuries later. Bavarians have often emphasized a separate national identity and considered themselves as "Bavarians" first, "Germans" second. Bavaria has a unicameral Landtag, or state parliament, elected by universal suffrage. Until December 1999, there was also a Senat, orSenate, whose members were chosen by social and economic groups in Bavaria, but following a referendum in 1998, this institution was abolished.
The Constitution of the free state of Bavaria was enacted on 8 December 1946. The new Bavarian Constitution became the basis for the Bavarian State after the Second World War.end clip. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria).
2. The population is 12.519,571. The city of Passau is well known. In Passau, a person can see the three rivers from all directions (der Passuer Stephandom & Die Altstadt).
3. The current political affiliation is the CSU, or the Christian Social Union. There are other parties such as the FDP or free democrats, SPD or social democrats, and the alliance '90s/ the greens. The CSU has won every election since 1945. It is the dominating political party. They are also very conservative. The SPD are collaborates and close with the CSU. They are known as the socialist party. The Alliance '90/the greens are a merge of alliance 90 and German green party. They are known as environmentalists and peace activists.
The religion of this state is 54.4 percent Roman Catholic, 20.4% Lutherans, 4.0% Muslims, and 21.2 percent that either are other or do not follow a religion. Roman catholics have had a long and predominant tradition in this state. Pope Benedict XVI was born in upper Bavaria. The numbers for Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Muslims are declining. More people in this state are either not belonging to these religions or do not consider themselves a part of a religion.
The traditions in Bavaria are costumes/Tracht. The men wear altbayern lederhosen, and the women wear dirndl. There also is the Maibaum/Maypole. This is the yellow pages of the middle ages. It represents the trades of the village. There is also Aperschnalzen, which is traditional competitive whip cracking. Food and drink that is very common is weibwruest, a white sausage. There are many beer gardens. There is the Reinheitsgebot/ Purity law that states only water, hops, and barley are allowed in beer ingredients. There is also the Bocksbeutel wine bottle which is often enjoyed.
4. There are seven Bavaria UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
1) Bamberg Old Town- •Bramberg is located in Upper Franconia
•Bamberg prides itself with being on seven hills, as it symbolizes similarity to Rome.
•Cathedral Hill, Michaelsberg, Kaulberg/Obere, Pfarre, Stefansberg, Jakobsberg, Altenburger and Abtsberg.
•Altenburger Hill is the Highest hill of the seven hills and the Altenburg Castle serves as a high-class restaurant.
•The Bamberg Cathedral (1237) carries the tombs of emperor Henry II and Pope Clement II
•Bamberg is known for its smoked Rauchbier and is home to eight breweries.
•Bamberg college is The University of Bamberg, named Otto-Friedrich. University
•Bamberg is an independent city.
•The climate is high and low like an Ocean Climate.
The Population has 70,084 people (Dec 31, 2011).
2) Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth-
It is a masterpiece of Baroque theatre architecture, built between 1745 and 1750
Seats 500 people
Architect: Joseph Saint-Pierre
It is one of Europe's few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored.
3) Regensburg - Germany's best-preserved medieval town-
Regensburg is named an imperial city by the Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.
It was founded in 179 AD by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate.
The first settlements in Regensburg date to the Stone Age.
Regensburg was home to both a Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft factory and an oil refinery, bombed in Feb 5 1945 during The Cold War.
It is the work of Gothic architecture.
Regensburg was a home for Multiple Noble residents.
Places to see: St. Peter's cathedral, Palace of the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, and the Ancient Stone Bridge
Interesting fact; BMW operates an automobile production plant in Regensburg.
4) Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square-
Wurzburg Residence is a palace in Würzburg, southern Germany.
The famous staircase with its unsupported vaulted ceiling features one of the largest ceiling frescos in the world, painted in 1752/53 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
It was made of stucco and it’s walls consist entirely of glass panels. The interiors include The Grand Staircase, The Chapel, and The Grand Salon.
The Residence is at once the most homogeneous and the most extraordinary of the Baroque palaces.
The foundation stone was laid on 22 May 1720 cover 49,000 square feet
constructed from 1720-1744.
As a result of a devastating air raid on March 16, 1945, the residence was almost completely burnt out and only the central building
5) Upper-Germanic Roman Limes-
The limes cover a total distance of 550 kilometres
Around 2,000 years ago its forts, watchtowers, walls and palisades were protected the mighty Roman Empire from independent Germania.
It is the longest and one of the most impressive archaeological monuments in Europe
The Limes run from Bad Hönningen/Rheinbrohl on the River Rhine to the Regensburg area on the River Danube
6) World Heritage Lake dwellings in Bavaria-
These pile-dwellings are the very first underwater archaeological sites to be inscribedThe "prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements are in and around the Alps.”
There are a total of 111 sites in six Alpine countries, three of which are in Bavaria.
Pestenacker is the most important prehistoric settlement of the wetland settlements in Bavaria and is dated back as far as 3,496 B.C.
The Rose Island settlement is the only known lakeside settlement in Bavaria.
The late Neolithic settlement of Unfriedshausen, was discovered during the 1986 during excavation.
7) Pilgrimage Church of Wies at Pfaffenwinke-
This is a home to the famous "Pilgrimage Church of the Scourged Saviour" in Steingaden, one of the most famous rococo churches in the world.
It has a figure of the flagellated Christ in the centre of this church.
On 14 June 1738, a peasant named Maria Lory saw tears in the eyes of the statue of Christ at the whipping post.
This miracle prompted a pilgrimage to the Scourged Saviour in Wies near Steingaden, it became a place for worship from 1745 to 1754.
Around 1 million people from all over the world come to the church every year.
5. - BMW (Bayerische Motoren-Werke or Bavarian Motor Works) BMW is a German world class automotive company. Established in 1916 it based in Munich, Bavaria.
- Audi AG, Audi is also a world known German automotive company. Audi was established by the Volkswagen company in 1965 and is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.
- Allianz SE, Allianz is based in Munich, Bavaria. As of 2010 Allianz is the world's largest insurance company. The Allianz company was established in 1905.
- Siemens AG, Siemens is a world wide leader in Engineering and Electronics. The company was established in 1847 and is headquartered in Munich, Bavaria.
- Adidas AG, Adidas is currently the largest sportswear manufacturer in Germany and all of Europe. Adidas is the 2nd largest sportswear manufacturer in the world only behind Nike. Adidas was established in 1948 by Adolf Dassler after he and his brother Rudolf Dassler split companionship and went their separate ways with separate companies. The Adidas corporation has its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria.
- Puma SE, Puma is also based with its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria. The Puma company was established in 1948 when Rudolf and his brother Adolf decided to both branch off and go their separate ways with different companies (Puma and Adidas).
6. Jeri Ryan is from Munich, Bavaria. She moved to the United States as a child, but she is originally from Munich. She is known as Miss Illinois 1989, and from many parts in movies such as Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, Star Trek: Voyager in 1995.
Werner Herzog is a director of films and operas, a producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his film Signs of Life. Here he won his first major award. He won best director for his movie Fitzcarraldo. He has directed documentaries such as On Death Row, Pilgrimage, and Ten Thousand Years Older. He has also directed many operas in his life.
Max Planck is a physicist who started quantum theory. Quantum theory is used today in many physics and chemistry classes. He is known for his contribution to black-body radiation and also the formula E=hv where h is Planck's constant. The number is approximately 6.626 x 10^-34.
7. There are many old buildings in Bavaria, such as Würzburg Residence. Bavaria also has one of the larger economies of any state in Germany. Only 17 countries in the world have a higher GDP than theirs at 434 billion Euros in 2007. Bavaria's GDP per capita is 48,000 U.S. dollars. If Bavaria was an independent country, they would rank 7th in the world for GDP per capita.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria
http://www.bavaria.by/bamberg-old-town-unesco-bavaria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margravial_Opera_Househttp://www.bavaria.bymargravial-opera-house-bayreuth
http://www.bavaria.by/regensburg-unesco-bavaria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regensburg
http://www.bavaria.by/upper-germanic-roman-limes-unesco-bavaria
http://www.bavaria.by/world-heritage-lake-dwellings-in-bavaria
http://www.bavaria.by/pilgrimage-church-of-wies-at-pfaffenwinkel-unesco-bavaria
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005394/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Herzog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck
