A Country Within a Country

A Country Within a Country

For most visitors, Bavaria, with its traditional Gemütlichkeit, beer gardens, quaint little villages, and culturally rich cities, is often seen as the quintessence of Germany. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. Of the 16 German Länder, as the German federal states are called, none is more fiercely independent than Bavaria. In fact, it was an autonomous dukedom and later kingdom until 1871, when it was incorporated into the German empire.

For Bavarians, anything beyond the state's borders remains foreign territory. The state has its own anthem and its own flag, part of which, the blue-and-white lozenges in the center, has virtually become a regional trademark symbolizing quality and tradition. Bavarian politicians discussing the issue of Europe in speeches will often refer to Bavaria almost as if it were a national state. And they will inevitably call it by its full official name: Freistaat Bayern, or simply der Freistaat, meaning "the Free State." The term was coined by Kurt Eisner, Minister President of the Socialist government who rid the land of the Wittelsbach dynasty in 1918. It is simply a German way of saying republic -- a land governed by the people. And it has an honorable place in the first line of the separate Bavarian constitution that was signed under the aegis of the American occupational forces in 1946.

Bavaria is not the only Freistaat in Germany, a fact not too many Germans are aware of. Thuringia and Saxony also sport that title. But the Bavarians are the only ones who make such a public point of it. As they say, clocks in Bavaria run differently. Now you know why…

-Marton Radkai