- published: 25 Oct 2015
- views: 220507
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈbaɪ.ɐn] ( listen)), is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of 70,548 square kilometres (27,200 sq mi), it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany. Bavaria is Germany's second most populous state (after North Rhine-Westphalia), with 12.5 million inhabitants, more than any of the three sovereign states on its borders. Bavaria's capital is Munich.
One of the oldest states of Europe, it was established as a duchy in the mid first millennium. In the 17th century, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, and Bavaria has since been a free state (republic). Modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia and Swabia.
The Bavarians emerged in a region north of the Alps, originally inhabited by the Gauls, which had been part of the Roman provinces of Raetia and Noricum. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, probably did not migrate from elsewhere. Rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, Heruli. The name "Bavarian" ("Baiuvarii") means "Men of Baia" which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources c. 520. Saint Boniface completed the people's conversion to Christianity in the early-8th century. Bavaria was, for the most part, unaffected by the Protestant Reformation.
Just when you think you've seen it all
You find the question
Looming like a shadow overhead
Reawakens your obsession
To find the truth and put your doubts to bed
On and on and round and round
Here among the lost and found
Listening for a certain sound, even a whisper
Until the truth brings you around
Keeping one ear to the ground
And when you finally see the Light in all its glory
Shining on the truth of who you are
One more searcher with a story
A wiser fool who's following a star
On and on and round and round
Here among the lost and found
Listening for a certain sound, even a whisper
Until the truth brings you around
Keeping one ear to the ground, ground
On and on and round and round
Here among the lost and found
Listening for a certain sound, even a whisper
Until the truth brings you around
Keeping one ear to the ground
On and on and round and round
Here among the lost and found
Listening for a certain sound, even a whisper
Until the truth brings you around
Keeping one ear to the ground