page_title: Bavaria
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Bavaria / History
caption_attribution_description: Die Heunischenburg bei Gehülz/Kronach
context_page_description: Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a landlocked state of Germany, occupying its southeastern corner. With an area of 70,550.19 square kilometres Bavaria is the largest German state by land area comprising roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany. With 13 million inhabitants, it is Germany's second-most-populous state after North Rhine-Westphalia. Bavaria's main cities are Munich, Nuremberg, and Augsburg.
  The history of Bavaria includes its earliest settlement by Iron Age Celtic tribes, followed by the conquests of the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC, when the territory was incorporated into the provinces of Raetia and Noricum. It became a stem duchy in the 6th century AD following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It was later incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire, became an independent kingdom, joined the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871 while retaining its title of kingdom, and finally became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.
  Bavaria has a unique culture, largely because of the state's large Catholic plurality and conservative traditions.
caption: Prehistoric Heunischenburg, in the vicinity of Kronach
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