Bavaria
Bavaria/Bayern is the largest and oldest state of Germany. Muenchen (Munich) is the capital and largest city. Other important cities are Nuernberg, Augsburg and Regensburg. It is drained by the Main River in the northwest and by the Donau (Danube) River and two of its tributaries, the Inn and Isar rivers, in the southern and central regions. North of the Donau the land is a rolling upland. Along the border with the Czech Republic is the Bavarian Forest, which reaches an elevation of 1,460 m (4,780 ft). South of the Danube the land is a rising upland cut by numerous river valleys. In the extreme southern part of the state are the Bavarian Alpen/Alps, the highest mountains in Germany. Bavaria is noted for many monasteries and baroque churches, picturesque castles, and universities, and tourism is important to the state's economy. The castle of Neuschwanstein for example, 3306 feet above see-level, is built in the style of the late Romanesque period of the early 13th century. Bavaria lies at the heart of Europe. Today, near Waldsassen one could still see the stone block erected by Napoleon in 1805 to mark the "centre of Europe". Brussels, Milan, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Paris, Rome or Zurich are easily reached from Bavaria. It is the most favored German state for the purposes of vacationing and tourism. Its scenery, cultural riches, the agreeable price-to-service ratio, and the traditional Bavarian hospitality are strongly appreciated by innumerable visitors from Germany and abroad.
The Mountains
The German Alps rise quite abruptly from the rolling hills of the Alpine Foreland of Bavaria, thus creating a dramatic scenery. The narrow fringe of mountains runs along the German border with Switzerland and Austria from Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the west to Salzburg in Austria in the east.
The German Alps are divided into three sections: The western section are the Allgauer Alpen, located between Lake Constance and the Lech River. The central section are the Bayerische Alpen between the Lech and Inn rivers. Here is Germany's highest peak, the "Zugspitze" with a height of 2,963 meters above sea level. The Salzburger Alpen begin at the Inn River, encircle Berchtesgaden, and make up the easternmost section of Germany's Alps. The largest and most famous resort towns are Oberstdorf, Fuessen, Berchtesgaden and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Oberammergau area.
The Ocean
The North Sea: Islands and flecks of low-lying land in the sea, grassy dykes, the continuous change of tides, large mudflats in designated nature reserves, marshes and a host of lifestyle attractions in many towns and villages along the coast.
The Baltic Sea Coast: A string of sandy beaches and cliffs protects the Baltic coastline from the gentle fjords of Flensburg and Lübeck, past the flat indented shores at Wismar and the isthmus of Fischland, across the windswept dunes round Greifswald and on to the sandy island of Usedom.
The Hanseatic League is forever linked with European history. The importance of commerce, strong member towns and many long-standing traditions are all vestiges associated with this once powerful trade alliance.
A Hanseatic theme route has been designed to link the historic and architectural landmarks which run through five of Germany’s federal states. From Bremen to Greifswald, the route spans some 400 kilometers and presents each urban destination in its own right while still featuring the theme aspects they share.
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