General
Bavaria is not a geographical concept; its current borders are the result of successive expansions over the course of its history. Bavaria is above all a historical reality. Most of the Franconian territory was only added a little over 200 years ago. And even a hundred years ago, the Rhineland Palatinate had to be counted as part of Bavaria. This shows just how much Bavaria's borders have changed over the years. Administratively, today's Bavaria is divided into 7 districts ("Bezirke"), each with its own capital, shown here in brackets: Lower Franconia (Würzburg), Upper Franconia (Bayreuth), Middle Franconia (Ansbach), Upper Palatinate (Regensburg), Lower Bavaria (Landshut), Upper Bavaria (Munich), Swabia (Augsburg). This is the administrative division used in this guide.
Four regions to help you find your way
There are four main natural regions in Bavaria.
First, there are the Alps in the south. Altogether, 5.6% of the Alpine massif is located in Germany. The Bavarian Alps, with the famous Zugspitze peak (2,962 meters above sea level), are one of Bavaria's most attractive tourist regions, with their mountain landscapes ideal for hiking and winter sports. The Zugspitze is both Bavaria's highest peak and Germany's highest mountain.
Then there's the Pre-Alps, a region north of the Alpine foothills. Strictly speaking, the Pre-Alps encompass the territory between the Loisach in the west and the Inn in the east. But we can also include the whole area stretching down to the Danube valley. Here, lakes abound, attracting hikers and swimmers alike.
In the eastern part of Bavaria, between Regensburg and Passau and right up to the Czech border, the Bavarian Forest (in German, Bayrischer Wald) covers an area of 6,000 km2. In 1970, it was the first region in Germany to be classified as a protected national park.
To the north and west, the Swabian-Franconian basin is marked by rolling karst cliffs. Here we find the Swabian and Franconian Jura. The most impressive landscapes are those of Fränkische Schweiz.
Bavaria has several major cities. Munich is the most populous, with over a million inhabitants. Bavaria's second-largest city is Nuremberg, with half as many inhabitants.
