© Lonely Planet 25 History Bavaria is Germany’s largest and southernmost state, as well as one of the oldest in Europe, with origins in the 6th century. Today’s territory unites three distinct tribes: the Bajuwaren (Bavarians), the Franken (Franconians) and the Schwaben (Swabians). Each developed quite separately until united by Napoleon as the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806. Munich was founded in For a comprehensive 1158 by Duke Heinrich der Löwe (Henry the Lion) and granted town rights overview of Bavarian in 1175. It has been capital of Bavaria since 1506. Although never at the history (partly in English) centre of power, Bavaria was still a key player in continental politics for see the website of the centuries. Governed by the same family, the Wittelsbachs, for over 700 years, government-financed it was able to form a distinct culture that continues to shape its image and Haus der Bayerischen identity to this day. For milestones in the history of the Black Forest region Geschichte at www see the boxed text, p33 . .hdbg.de. TRIBAL MELTING POT The first inhabitants of Bavaria were Celts, who proved to be an easy pushover for the Romans who began barrelling across the Alps in the 1st century AD. The invaders founded the province of Raetia with Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg) as its capital. By the 5th century the tables were turned on the On Bavaria’s coat of arms, Romans by marauding eastern Germanic tribes pushing up the Danube Old Bavaria is represented Valley in search of new Lebensraum (living space). by a blue panther, The precise origin of the Bavarian tribe is obscure, but it’s widely assumed the Franconians by a that it coalesced from the remaining Romans, Romanised Celts and the red-and-white rake, the newcomers from the east. The name ‘Bajuwaren’ seems to have derived from Swabians by three black ‘men from Bohemia’, a region in today’s Czech Republic. lions, and the Upper The Franken began forming in the 3rd century AD from several western Palatinate (no longer part Germanic tribes who settled along the central and lower Rhine River, on the of Bavaria today) by a border with the Roman Empire. The Schwaben, meanwhile, are a subtribe golden lion. of the population group of the Alemannen (Alemannic tribes) who spread across the southwestern corner of Germany around the 2nd century AD. In the 3rd century they took on the Romans, eventually pushing as far east as the Lech River. CHURCH DOMINANCE Religion, especially of the Roman Catholic variety, has shaped all aspects of Bavarian history and culture for nearly two millennia. Following the decline of the Roman Empire, missionaries from Ireland and Scotland swarmed across Europe to spread the gospel. They found open arms and minds among the Agilofinges, the dynasty who had founded the first Bavarian duchy in the 6th century. They adopted the faith eagerly, thereby allowing Christianity 15 BC AD 555–788 7th–8th centuries Nero Claudius Drusus and Members of the Agilofinges dy- Christianisation takes hold as Tiberius Claudius Nero, step- nasty found the first Bavarian roving missionaries arrive in sons of the Roman emperor duchy with Garibald I (r 555–91) Bavaria from Ireland, Scotland Augustus, conquer the Celtic its first-known duke. They and the Frankish Empire. In 738 tribes north of the Alps, calling remain in power until becom- St Boniface creates the dioceses their new colony Raetia, with ing absorbed into the Frankish of Salzburg, Freising, Passau Augusta Vindelicorum (today’s Empire in 788 by Charlemagne. and Regensburg. Augsburg) as capital 26 HISTORY •• Church Dominance lonelyplanet.com WE ARE POPE! ‘Habemus papam.’ It was a balmy spring evening in Rome when the world – Catholics and non-Catholics – held its collective breath. Who would follow in the footsteps of the charismatic Pope John Paul II who’d led the church for 27 years? That man was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, henceforth known as Benedict XVI and born on 16 April 1927 in the Bavarian hamlet of Marktl am Inn. For the first time in nearly 500 years a German had been elected pope. The following day the headline of the sensationalist tabloid German daily Bild screamed proudly: ‘Wir sind Papst!’ (We are Pope). Ratzinger’s election met with a mix of elation and disappointment. Those who had hoped for a more progressive and liberal church leader were stunned to find that the job had gone to this fierce and uncompromising cardinal who for 24 years had been John Paul II’s enforcer of church doctrine. He was known as the ultimate hardliner, opposed to abortion, homosexuality and contraception, and ruthless in his crackdowns on dissident priests. ‘Panzer cardinal’ and ‘God’s Rottweiler’ were just two of his nicknames. Yet, even his staunchest critics could not deny that Ratzinger was well prepared for the papal post. A distinguished theologian, he speaks seven languages and has written more than 50 books. He looks back on a long career as a university professor, archbishop of Freising and Munich, and 24 years as John Paul II’s main man. As Pope Benedict XVI, he has declared that stemming the tide of secularisation, especially in Europe, and a return to Christian values, is his major priority. He considers interfaith dialogue another important mission but has at times been clumsy in going about accomplishing it. A 2006 speech at Regensburg university in which he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine-Christian emperor as saying that the Prophet Muhammad had only brought evil and inhuman things into the world, launched major protests and ended up with the pope apologising to the Muslim world. Highroad to the Stake: to quickly take root. By 739 there were bishoprics in Regensburg, Passau, A Tale of Witchcraft, Freising and Salzburg, and monasteries had been founded in Tegernsee, by Michael Kunze, is a Benediktbeuern, Weltenburg and many other places. haunting account of the For nearly the next 800 years, the Church completely dominated daily life, arrest, torture and life as the only major religion in the land. Until 1517, that is. That’s when execution of an entire a spunky monk and theology professor named Martin Luther sparked the family of paupers in 16th- Reformation with his 95 theses critiquing papal infallibility, clerical celibacy, century Bavaria. selling indulgences and other elements of Catholic doctrine. Despite the Church’s attempt to quash Luther, his teachings resonated widely, especially in Franconia and Swabia, though not in Bavaria proper where local rulers instantly clamped down on anyone toying with conversion. They also encouraged the newly founded Jesuit order to make Ingolstadt the hub of the Counter-Reformation. The religious strife eventually escalated into the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), which left Europe’s soil drenched with the blood of millions. During the conflict, Bavaria’s Duke Maximilian I (r 1598–1651) fought firmly on the side of Catholic emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg, who 962 1180 1214 The pope crowns the Saxon The Wittelsbachs’ 738-year Emperor Friedrich II grants the King Otto I to Kaiser (emperor), reign begins with Otto von fiefdom of the Palatinate along marking the beginning of the Wittels bach’s appointment as the Rhine River to Duke Otto Holy Roman Empire, which duke of Bavaria by Emperor II von Wittelsbach, thereby remained a major force in Euro- Fried rich Barbarossa, marking significantly enlarging the pean history until 1806 the transition from tribal duchy family’s territory and increasing to territorial state its power.