Bava'ria

Bava'ria (Ger. Bayern), one of the states of the German empire; according to its size, the second in importance. Bavaria is divided into two unequal parts, which are separated by the Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt dominions, and of which the eastern comprises fully eleven-twelfths of the whole. Its frontiers touch also on Alsace-Lorraine, Prussia, Bohemia, Austria, and the Tyrol. Bavaria is divided into eight districts, as follows:

The area is a little less than that of Scotland. In 1890, Munich, the capital, had 350,594 inhabitants, and Nuremberg 142,590. Augsburg had over 75,000; Würzburg over 61,000.

Surface, Hydrography, Railways, &c.—Bavaria is walled in on the SE., NE., and NW. by mountains ranging from 3000 feet to close on 10,000 feet in height. The highest elevation is reached on the south, the Zugspitz of the Noric Alps being 9665 feet high. The interior is intersected in several directions by various less elevated ranges, alternating with extensive plains and fertile valleys. The country is rich in wood, nearly one-third of its surface being covered with forests, mostly of pine and fir.

The river Rhine flows along the whole eastern boundary of the Palatinate, which is also watered by the Speyer, the Lauter, and the Queich. The Danube enters Bavaria proper at Ulm, and pursues its course through the centre of the country, until it passes out at Passau into the Austrian dominions. Including its windings, the length of the Danube in Bavaria is about 270 miles, which can be navigated throughout. The north part of the state is in the basin of the Maine. The lakes and rivers abound in fish. The Ludwigs-Kanal unites the Rhine and Danube, and through them the German Ocean with the Black Sea. Bavaria has altogether about 3200 miles of railway in operation, about 9000 miles of public roads, and over 5300 of telegraphs.

Climate, Soil, Products, &c.—The temperature of Bavaria varies considerably, but the climate may be described generally as mild and salubrious. The soil is very fertile, and the wealth of the country consists almost wholly of its agricultural produce. The plain south of Munich has been described as the granary of Germany, while the districts of Upper and Middle Franconia are styled the hop-garden of Bavaria. The vine is cultivated extensively in Franconia, and the wine is held in great esteem. Rhenish Bavaria also produces good wine. The quantity annually produced in Bavaria is estimated at upwards of 16,000,000 gallons. Cattle-rearing forms the exclusive occupation of the inhabitants on the slopes and at the foot of the Alps. The forests of Bavaria annually furnish large quantities of timber. The chief minerals are salt—which is a government monopoly—coal, and iron, which is worked almost everywhere throughout the territory.

Manufactures, &c.—The manufacture of beer is carried to great perfection in Bavaria, and to an extent unparalleled in Europe. There are upwards of 5400 breweries in Bavaria, making about 110 million gallons of beer annually, which are mainly consumed in the country. Nearly two-thirds of the revenue of the state is said to be derived from this source alone. Next to beer, coarse linens and woollens are the most important products. Glass is pretty extensively manufactured, as also are iron goods, firearms, toys, paper, articles of straw and wood, porcelain, nails, needles, jewellery, chemicals, beetroot sugar, and tobacco. The mathematical, optical, and musical instruments of Munich are held in high repute. The position of Bavaria gives it a large share of the transit-trade between North Germany and Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

Population.—The growth of the population of Bavaria has been much checked by the regulations which relate to marriages. No marriage can take place until the public authorities have given permission; in especial, until the guardians of the poor are satisfied that the persons wishing to marry have adequate means to support a wife and family. (Bavaria and Alsace-Lorraine are specially excepted from the law of 1868, valid elsewhere in Germany, which removed these restrictions.) These restrictive laws have naturally tended to increase inordinately the number of illegitimate children. Bavaria has a bad pre-eminence in this respect on the Continent. In the capital, the illegitimate births have at times almost equalled the legitimate. In 1859 the illegitimate births were 23.6 per cent. of the whole; in 1884, 13.87 per cent. (the percentage being least in the Palatinate). In 1817 the population was 3,564,757; in 1833, 4,187,390; and in 1855 it had only increased to 4,541,556. During recent years, however, the increase has been more rapid. The Bavarians, notwithstanding their beer-bibbing propensity, are essentially a sober and industrious people. In Franconia, the people are mainly descended from the Frankish stock, in Swabia from the Allemannian; while the old Bavarian stock is represented in the districts of Upper and Lower Bavaria, and in the Upper Palatinate.

Religion.—In 1890 the Roman Catholics numbered 3,962,702; Protestants, 1,571,683; Jews, 53,885; and other minor sects, 6025. The state allows perfect toleration, guaranteeing the same civil rights to Catholic and Protestant alike. A concordat with Rome divides the state into 2 archbishoprics and 6 bishoprics. The revenues of the Catholic Church are derived from lands and endowments, the Protestant Church is supported by the state.

Bavaria has a good system of education, under the supreme direction of a minister of public instruction. Besides elementary schools, there are about 30 gymnasia, and numerous technical schools of various kinds. The three Bavarian universities are at Munich, Würzburg, and Erlangen, the last being Protestant. There are several extensive libraries in Bavaria, that of Munich being one of the largest in Germany. Art has been zealously cultivated in Bavaria, and since the days of King Louis I. has been peculiarly fostered by the state. There are numerous institutions for the furtherance of painting, sculpture, and music.

Government, Revenue, &c.—Bavaria is a constitutional monarchy, the throne hereditary in the male line. Its constitution dates no further back than 1818, when it was declared a part of confederated Germany. When Bavaria in 1870 became one of the states of the German empire, she still retained certain independent privileges, including the control of her home affairs, of her postal system, and of her army in time of peace. The king is the executive, but his ministers are responsible for all his acts. The legislature consists of a chamber of senators and one of deputies. The senators are hereditary; the king, however, having the power, within certain limits, to nominate life-members. The Chamber of Deputies consists of representatives in the proportion of 1 deputy to every 31,500 of the population.

The revenue of Bavaria for 1893 was estimated to cover an expenditure of £15,314,613. The public debt in 1892 was £67,008,000, about three-fourths of it having been contracted for railways, most of them state property. Of late the railway receipts exceed somewhat the charges for the debt.

The army system was in 1871 remodelled on Prussian lines. The army in 1870 was formed into two corps of the imperial army, each consisting of two divisions, under the command of the king of Bavaria in times of peace, but controlled by the emperor of Germany in war. On the peace-footing, it consists of 52,863 men, without including the landwehr. In time of war this force is rather more than trebled.

History.—The Boii, a race of Celtic origin, appear to have conquered the country about 600 B.C., and they retained it until shortly before the Christian era, when they were subjugated by the Romans. After the decay of the Roman power, the Ostrogoths and Franks successively held possession of it, and it was a part of Charlemagne's empire. In 1180 it was transferred by imperial grant to Otho, Count of Wittelsbach, whose descendant now occupies the throne. The Rhenish Palatinate was conferred on this family by the Emperor Frederick III. in 1216. Now followed quarrels between relatives, and divisions of territory, until the dukedom of Bavaria was severed from the Rhenish and Upper Palatinates (see PALATINATE); of the latter, however, it repossessed itself in 1621—the peace of Westphalia, in 1648, confirming the title of its princes to that possession, as well as its right to the electoral dignity, to which it had been raised in 1624. In the War of the Spanish Succession, Bavaria supported France, and suffered considerably in consequence; but in 1777, on the extinction of the younger Wittelsbach line, it received the accession of the Rhenish Palatinate. In 1805 Bavaria was erected into a kingdom by Napoleon I. The king assisted Napoleon in his wars, and in consideration of his aid received large additions of territory. In 1813, however, the Bavarian king contrived to change sides opportunely, and thus managed to be confirmed to him, by the treaties of 1814–15, an extent of territory nearly as valuable as the possessions which the treaties of Presburg and Vienna had given him, and which he had now to restore to Austria. In 1818 a new constitution was granted.

In 1825 Louis I. ascended the throne. He was a well-meaning, liberal, and intellectual monarch; but he lavished the wealth of the kingdom to an extravagant degree on the embellishment of the capital, and on works of art, while neglecting works of practical value. The restriction of the freedom of the press, following the French revolution of 1830, excited so much opposition that it was soon after rescinded; but fresh dissatisfaction was created by the imposition of new taxes. The Jesuits now obtained an immense influence with the king, which they used to the detriment of popular rights. The wrath of the people was further aroused against their monarch by his connection with the notorious Lola Montez (q.v.), who for a time wielded great influence in the state. In March 1848, following the example set by the French revolutionists, the people of Munich seized the arsenal, and demanded reforms and the expulsion of Lola Montez. The king had to consent; but in the same month he abdicated. His son, Maximilian II., ascended the throne. He died in 1864, and was succeeded by his son, Louis II. In the war between Austria and Prussia in 1866, Bavaria took the Austrian side, and after the short struggle had to pay Prussia 30 million florins (£3,000,000), and to cede some small strips of territory. It also made a defensive and offensive alliance with Prussia; and in the struggle which followed between the party which aimed at bringing Bavaria into closer and friendlier relations with Prussia and the Ultramontane or 'Patriotic' party, the former had on the whole the best of it. Munich was the main centre of the Old Catholic (q.v.) movement. On the outbreak of the great Franco-German war in 1870, Bavaria put its army under the command of the Prussian Crown Prince; and the Bavarian troops took a distinguished part in the battles of Weissenburg, Wörth, Sedan, before Paris, and on the Loire. In November 1870 the government agreed, on the granting of certain concessions, to become part of the German empire; and a month later it was the king of Bavaria who, at Versailles, proposed that the imperial crown should be conferred on the Prussian king. Since then the struggle between liberals and Ultramontanes has proceeded with varying success. King Louis carried his grandfather's love of art and music to excess; he finally went mad, and committed suicide by drowning, June 13, 1886. He should be remembered less for his artistic extravagances than for his generous patronage of the great composer Wagner. He was succeeded by his brother, Otho (also unhappily insane), under the regency of his uncle, Prince Luitpold.