The Free State of Bavaria : Germany

A lovable state with a long history.

The historical term “Free Slate of Bavaria” indicates that Bavaria is a republican rather than monarchical state. The largest federal state (in terms of area) and its nearly twelve million inhabitants are proud of their history, which dates back to the 6th century. Nowhere else in Germany are age-old customs cultivated as matter-of-factly as here; people wear colorful traditional dress not only during major folk festivals such as the annual Oktoberfest in Munich. Bavaria owes its great tourist appeal to both its rich cultural and historical heritage as well as the charm of its spectacular natural beauty.

The Alps with the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak (2,962 meters), the Alpine foreland with its exquisite lakes such as the Chiemsee and the Konigssee, theBavarian Forest with its national park, the Franconian Jura, the Fichtel Hills, the Steigerwald, the Spessart and many other scenic areas of the state offer tourists incomparably enticing opportunities for rest, recreation and enjoyment of nature. The mountains are a hiker’s paradise; the lakes in the Alpine foothills and the new artificial lakes created in Franconia in the course of construction of !hc Main-Danube Canal invite vacationers to indulge in water sports. The state is richly endowed with extensive parks such as Schonbusch Park in Aschaffenburg, the Hofgarten in Ansbach and the English Garden in Munich, as well as magnificent palaces, above all the palaces of the “fairy-tale king” Ludwigll: Linderhof, Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee. The royal residences in Wurz-burg and Bamberg are likewise of imposing beauty, as is the Veste Coburg with its rich collection of copper engravings.