What Bavaria is like

Bavaria is a beautiful place. There are high, snowy peaks of the Bavarian Alps in the southern part, near the border of Switzerland, and in the valleys there are lakes where people go swimming and fishing on their vacations. Many men go to the forest regions of Bavaria to hunt wild boars, and in the winter they also hunt the chamois that come down to the woods from the high Alps, where they live in the summer. About a third of Bavaria is dense forest, in which it would be very easy to get lost if you tried wandering around without a guide.

One of the many things you would want to see on a visit to Bavaria would be the October Festival in Munich. This is a gay holiday. In the streets and public halls there are orchestras, and gay, laughing people in the peasant costumes of the country.

At one time Bavaria was a part of the Roman Empire. Afterward it was part of the vast territory ruled by the great Emperor Charlemagne for a time. Still later it was made up of many different towns and counties. Until the end of World War I it was a kingdom ruled by members of the Wittelsbach family, but was also a part of the German Empire. In 1918, at the end of World War I, Bavaria became an independent republic for a few months, then it became part of Germany again. After World War II it was occupied by American troops. Many Bavarian cities, with large airplane factories and other industries, were greatly damaged by bombing in World War II. In 1949, Bavaria became a member of the Federal Republic of West Germany.