Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Kingdom of Bavaria, is a landlocked country in central Europe. Covering an area of over 70,000 square kilometres, it lies between the Commonwealth of Independent States to the north and east, Hesse to the northwest, Baden-Wurttemberg to the west, Switzerland to the southwest and Austria to the south and southeast.
The original Bavarians are believed to be descended from those left behind from the Roman withdrawal from the provinces of Raetia and Noricum in the fifth century. Since the twelfth century, the territory has been ruled by the House of Wittelsbach - successively as the Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria - and the nation played a significant part in the politics of the Holy Roman Empire and, after that state’s collapse, the German Confederation. In 1871, it became a member-state of the Prussian-dominated German Empire. During the Great War, it was a centre of anti-war discontent and under King Rupprecht it seceded from Germany in 1918 and sued for a separate peace.
As with the rest of Europe, Bavaria faced numerous social discontents during the interwar period and the army launched coups against a revolutionary communist regime in October 1919 and a national socialist one in July 1934. Bavaria rejoined the German Empire only five days after the second coup. Once more, however, Bavarian elites were skeptical of German militarism during the World War, with King Rupprecht spending 1941-45 in a prison camp as a result of his opposition to the use of unrestricted submarine warfare. Rupprecht’s personal popularity saw him return to power as a symbolic figurehead in November 1946 as Bavaria once again became independent, this time as a constitutional monarchy.
Skilful political positioning and its long land border with the emerging Soviet Bloc saw Bavaria avoid the worst effects of the Roosevelt Plan, although large reparations payments caused periodic budgetary problems for some time afterwards. In the postwar years, Bavaria rebounded economically and is now one of the most important economies on the continent. It has a conservative political culture, with the centre-right Christian Social Union (“CSU”) dominating the government since 1946, although the centre-left Social Democratic Party has had periods in power. The Minister-President since 2008 has been Horst Seehofer of the CSU.
Bavaria has long had one of the largest economies of any country in Europe. Its GDP in 2020 exceeded 529 billion bancors, making Bavaria the 39th largest economy in the world and the 9th largest in Europe (not counting the Commonwealth and the Benelux). Bavaria has strong economic ties with Austria, Italy, Spain and Portugal and has been a member of the Latin Economic Forum since 1995. Because of its relative economic strength, it is a popular destination for migrants from other German countries. Many large companies are headquartered in Bavaria, including Adidas, Allianz, Audi and BMW, while the country is also a popular tourist destination, being home to 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and numerous other sites of interest.
Diplomatically, Bavaria is a member of the United Nations, the International Clearing Union, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank Group and was a founding member of NATO in addition to being a member of the aforementioned Latin Economic Forum.
The original Bavarians are believed to be descended from those left behind from the Roman withdrawal from the provinces of Raetia and Noricum in the fifth century. Since the twelfth century, the territory has been ruled by the House of Wittelsbach - successively as the Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria - and the nation played a significant part in the politics of the Holy Roman Empire and, after that state’s collapse, the German Confederation. In 1871, it became a member-state of the Prussian-dominated German Empire. During the Great War, it was a centre of anti-war discontent and under King Rupprecht it seceded from Germany in 1918 and sued for a separate peace.
As with the rest of Europe, Bavaria faced numerous social discontents during the interwar period and the army launched coups against a revolutionary communist regime in October 1919 and a national socialist one in July 1934. Bavaria rejoined the German Empire only five days after the second coup. Once more, however, Bavarian elites were skeptical of German militarism during the World War, with King Rupprecht spending 1941-45 in a prison camp as a result of his opposition to the use of unrestricted submarine warfare. Rupprecht’s personal popularity saw him return to power as a symbolic figurehead in November 1946 as Bavaria once again became independent, this time as a constitutional monarchy.
Skilful political positioning and its long land border with the emerging Soviet Bloc saw Bavaria avoid the worst effects of the Roosevelt Plan, although large reparations payments caused periodic budgetary problems for some time afterwards. In the postwar years, Bavaria rebounded economically and is now one of the most important economies on the continent. It has a conservative political culture, with the centre-right Christian Social Union (“CSU”) dominating the government since 1946, although the centre-left Social Democratic Party has had periods in power. The Minister-President since 2008 has been Horst Seehofer of the CSU.
Bavaria has long had one of the largest economies of any country in Europe. Its GDP in 2020 exceeded 529 billion bancors, making Bavaria the 39th largest economy in the world and the 9th largest in Europe (not counting the Commonwealth and the Benelux). Bavaria has strong economic ties with Austria, Italy, Spain and Portugal and has been a member of the Latin Economic Forum since 1995. Because of its relative economic strength, it is a popular destination for migrants from other German countries. Many large companies are headquartered in Bavaria, including Adidas, Allianz, Audi and BMW, while the country is also a popular tourist destination, being home to 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and numerous other sites of interest.
Diplomatically, Bavaria is a member of the United Nations, the International Clearing Union, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank Group and was a founding member of NATO in addition to being a member of the aforementioned Latin Economic Forum.
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