Bavaria Team

Profile managers: Traci Thiessen [send private message], Laura Bozzay [send private message], Germany Project WikiTree [send private message], and Kylie Haese [send private message]

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Welcome to the Bavaria Team Page

Free State of Bavaria location within Germany

Name: Bavaria

German: Bayern

Place Type: Modern Federal State

Coordinates: 48.7775, 11.431111

Located in: Germany

When: 1949-present

Previous locations:

Overview of Bavaria

The Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern, Alemannic German: Freistaat Bayre, Bavarian: Freistood Boajan/Baijaan, Main-Franconian: Freischdood Bayan) is a federal state of Germany. It is the largest by area and second largest by population, with 12.5 million inhabitants. Bavaria's main cities are Munich, its capital and largest city, Nuremberg and Augsburg. Othe large cities include Regensburg, Würzburg, Ingolstadt, Fürth and Erlangen.

Bavaria has a long history beginning in 555. It has been a Dutchy, a part of the Holy Roman Empire, a kingdom, and after World War II part of the new German Federation. It includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia. It is considered a wealthy state with the second highest GDP. Two major rivers flow through the state, the Danube (Donau) and the Main.

Three German dialects are spoken in Bavaria - Austro-Bavarian in Old Bavaria (South-East and East); Swabian German (an Alemannic German dialect) in the Bavarian part of Swabia (South West); and East Franconian German in Franconia (North). In the 20th century an increasing part of the population began to speak Standard German, mainly in the cities.

• Wikipedia: Bavaria
• Britannica: Bavaria
• WikiVoyage: Bavaria

Maps

Bavaria is a landlocked state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of 70,550.19 square kilometres (27,239.58 sq mi), Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany. Bavaria shares international borders with Austria, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland (across Lake Constance). The Bavarian Alps create a natural border with Austria and within the range is the highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze. The Bavarian Forest and the Bohemian Forest create another natural border with the Czech Republic. Neighboring states within Germany are Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Thuringia, and Saxony.

Maps Coordinates: 48°46′39″N 11°25′52″E ISO 3166 Code DE-BY

• Google Maps: Bavaria Map
• Geoportal: Bayern - If you go to "Thema wechseln" - "Verwaltungsatlas" - "Kirchen" (on the left) - "kath. Kirche" you can display the parish boundaries. It is ideal to find the possible parish. Or you can change to an historic map. On the bottom right "Hintergrund" change to "Historische Karte"
• Meyers Gazetteer: Bayern (Bayern, Traunstein, Oberbayern, Bayern)
• Wikipedia: The Kingdom of Bavaria in 900
• Wikipedia: Bavaria in the 10th century
• Wikipedia: Bavaria in the 19th century and beyond
• Wikipedia: Administrative districts (Regierungsbezirke and Bezirke) of Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Map of the Landkreise of Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Bavaria is one of Germany's least densely populated states.

Flag

Coat of Arms

More info on Coat of Arms of Bavaria

Coat of Arms of Bavaria

Team

Team Leader: OPEN ... any volunteers??

Team Members:

• Markus Brenner
• Linda Franks
• Beth Golden
• Teddy LaMarr Gruver
• Wendy Hoffman
• William Hull
• Phillip Jares
• Loic Mahe
• Dallace Moore
• Dave Nelson
• Richard Otter
• Kai Schenck
• Weldon Smith
• Jessica West
• Bev Weston
• Harold (Glenn) Wright

Free Space Pages Related to Bavaria

Have you created a page that you'd like included above? Contact Laura Bozzay through private message and send her a copy of what you would like to contribute. Make sure to add your direct email so we can get back to you.

Team or Topic	Team Members
Agilolfing Nobility in Early Bavaria	Jack Day
Thansüß place study	Joe Kohl
Munich (Muechen), Germany	Germany Project
The Stem Duchy of Bavaria	Germany Project
Team	Team Members

WikiTree Categories

• Category: Bavaria, Germany (37 subcategories)
• Category: Bayern, Deutschland (37 subcategories, different than above)

Research Help and Current Resources

Libraries

• WorldCat Library Search - find a library in Bavaria
• Archive.org: published Bavaria Genealogical works with free access
• Bavarchion
• Bavarian State Library Online
• Munich DigitiZation Center (MDZ): search the Digital Collections

Vital Records

• FamilySearch: Germany, Bavaria, Catholic Church Records, 1650-1875
• FamilySearch: Germany Online Genealogy Records
• FamilySearch: Ansbach, Middle Franconia, Brenner Collection of Genealogical Records, 1550-1900 at FamilySearch
• FamilySearch: Bavaria: Nuremberg Civil Registration, 1803-1886
• Archion.de: Protestant church records from Bavaria ($subcription site)
• Bavarian State Library: Digitized Historical Newspapers
• Matricula: Catholic Church records from the diocese of Augsburg, Passau and München-Freising (and more)
• GenTeam.eu: register for an account and you'll get access to databases containing records in Vienna, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Passau, Nuernberg, Bayreuth, etc.

Emigration

• Germany Genealogy Group: German Emigration Database
• Historisches Museum Bremerhaven: German Emigrant Database
• Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild: Transcribed Ships Manifests Departing from Germany. Ports of departure include: Altona, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Geestemunde, Hamburg, Stettin, Swinemunde (currently Swinoujscie, Poland), German Unspecified Ports
• GermanRoots.com: Online German Emigration Records, Lists and Indexes
• GermanyRoots: Ship's Database
• WikiTree: Category: Immigration Records and Passenger Lists
• WikiTree: Category: German Confederation, Emigrants
• WikiTree: Category: Germany, Emigrants
• Wikitree: Category: American Immigration

Religious Facilities

• FamilySearch: Germany Church Directories
• FamilySearch: German Jewish Records
• TripAdvisor: Churches & Cathedrals in Bavaria
• Bavaria.by: Churches and Monasteries
• Wikipedia: Category:Churches in Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Category:Religious buildings and structures in Bavaria

Local Cemeteries

• FindAGrave: Cemeteries in Bavaria (Bayern)
• FamilySearch: Bavaria (Bayern) Cemeteries
• TripAdvisor: Old Cemetery Berchtesgaden
• International Jewish Cemetery Project: Fuerth, Bayern
• The German Way: Death and Funerals

Colleges and Universities

They often have local records and have professors who are versed in local lore so can be a wonderful resource and many are multilingual.

• Wikipedia: Category:Universities and colleges in Bavaria
• Study in Bavaria: info for international students
• UniRank: Top Universities in Bavaria

Local Phone Books

• Library of Congress: Address/Telephone Directories from Germany

Online Resource Compilations

• Genealogy.net: Online OFBs (online heritage books)
• Genealogy.net: GenWiki
• Genealoger: Family History and Genealogy Resources
• German Genealogical Society of MN: Bavaria Resources and Email Lists
• German Roots.com: German Genealogy Resources on the Internet
• Wikipedia: Portal - Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Category - Bavaria
• The Ancestor Hunt: free online resources for international newspapers: see the section for Germany.
• WikiTree G2G: a good source for Coburg, Bayern, Deutschland
• Genealohie-Kiening: Genealogy and house chronicles in the area northwest of Munich
• WikiTree: Germany Genealogy Resources
• See A good source for Coburg Bayern Deutschland

Local Genealogy Groups

• WikiTree: List of Addresses for Family Research in Germany

History

The Duchy of Bavaria dates back to the year 555. 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, when Bavaria became a republic. In 1946, the Free State of Bavaria reorganized itself on democratic lines. Bavaria has had a major influence on many events throughout European history. This link - History of Bavaria - is the source for almost anything you want to know about Bavaria's history.

• Wikipedia: History of Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Kingdom of Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Duchy of Bavaria
• Wikipedia: The German Empire
• Wikipedia: Holy Roman Empire
• Danube Swabian History
• Wikipedia: Swabia

Culture and Travel

Bavarians foster different cultural identities: Franconia in the north, speaking East Franconian German, Bavarian Swabia in the south west, speaking Swabian German and Altbayern (so-called "Old Bavaria", the regions forming the "historic", pentagon-shaped Bavaria before the acquisitions through the Vienna Congress, nowadays the districts of the Upper Palatinate, Lower and Upper Bavaria). In Munich the Old Bavarian dialect was spoken, but nowadays mainly High German.

Bavarian culture (Altbayern) has a long and predominant tradition of Roman Catholic faith. Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger), was born in Marktl am Inn in Upper Bavaria and was Cardinal-Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Otherwise, the Franconian and Swabian regions of the modern State of Bavaria are historically more diverse in religion, with both Catholic and Protestant traditions. As of 2010, 54.4% of Bavarians still adhere to Roman Catholicism, though the number is on the decline; 20.4% of the population adheres to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria; Muslims make up 4.0% of the population; and 21.2% of Bavarians are irreligious or adhere to other religions.

Bavarians emphasize pride in their traditions. Traditional costumes collectively known as Tracht are worn on special occasions and include in Altbayern Lederhosen for males and Dirndl for females. Centuries-old folk music is performed. The Maibaum, or Maypole (which in the Middle Ages served as the community's yellow pages, as figurettes on the pole represent the trades of the village), and the bagpipes in the Upper Palatinate region bear witness to the ancient Celtic and Germanic remnants of cultural heritage of the region. There are a lot of traditional Bavarian sports disciplines, e.g. the Aperschnalzen is an old tradition of competitive whipcracking.

Cuisine in Bavaria has many dishes in common with Austria and Switzerland. It is known for its beer gardens, pretzels, potato dishes and beet dishes. Meats and noodles, coffee cakes and fruit cakes. Oktoberfest, beer gardens, castles, wood working, and alpine sports are all part of Bavarian culture.

• Wikipedia: Bavarian cuisine
• LonelyPlanet: Bavaria
• LonelyPlanet: Top 10 reasons to visit Bavaria
• WikiTravel: Bavaria
• Tripadvisor: Things to Do in Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Category:Museums in Bavaria
• Wikipedia: Bavarian National Museum
• Tripadvisor: Museums in Bavaria
• Guide to Bavaria: Museums and Galleries

Translation Aides

In Germany a number of different written languages and dialects were used. Below are some links to sites which may help you with old documents.

• Wikipedia: Sütterlin
• FamilySearch: Germany - Handwriting
• Wikipedia: Kurrent
• Wikipedia: Blackletter
• Wikipedia: Fraktur
• Wikipedia: ß
• WikiMedia: Brockhaus 1894 Deutsche Mundarten (map)
• Latin phrases because many old records are written in Latin this is a handy list of commonly used Latin phrases.
• WikiTree: Genealogy Glossary of multiple languages using common genealogy related words.