There’s more to Bavaria than beer

Posted: July 02, 2010

There’s more to Bavaria than beer

This year is the 200th anniversary of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, the event that started the Munich Oktoberfest.

Until 1918 Bavaria was a kingdom and many citizens still preserve the traditions that made Bavaria different. In fact, even today, road signs inform you that you are entering "Freistaat Bayern" (Free State of Bavaria). The constitution even provides for separate Bavarian citizenship but it has never been enacted. Bavaria is the southernmost State of Germany and in the past its territory included parts of Austria.

Bavarians love their food and drink. Weisswurst (white sausage) is made only with natural ingredients and by tradition must be cooked and served in boiling water and eaten before midday. According to the Reinheitsgebot (purity laws) beer too must be natural made only from three ingredients - water, barley and hops.

On special occasions many Bavarians still wear traditional clothing such as lederhosen (for men) and dirndl (for women) on special occasions. And there are some that just wear them anyway as "normal" clothes! Munich has boomed since the WWII and is the industrial hub of Bavaria hosting companies such as Siemens, BMW, MAN, Allianz and Munich Re. It is popular with tourists and petrol heads should not miss the BMW museum. Thousands gather each day in Marienplatz to watch the Glockenspiel and mechanical jousts in the New City Hall despite it being voted the second most boring tourist attraction in Europe*.

A drive from Munich can be very rewarding.

  • The highest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze, is on the border with Austria and can be reached by cog railway, cable car or on foot (allow a couple of days). It is a great place for skiing and snowboarding.
  • The ‘mad‘ King Ludwig II loved building castles and the most spectacular is Schloss Neuschwanstein - the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.
  • Over the border in Austria, the whole city centre of Salzburg has been declared a World Heritage Site with its baroque architecture, magnificent Hohensalzburg Castle and Mozart museum. The movie, 'The Sound of Music' was made around Salzburg and tours can take you to places where it was filmed.
  • Not surprisingly salt was mined in Salzburg and you can take tours into the grottos and even take a boat ride on an underground lake.

Bavaria is considered quite prosperous and perhaps a little expensive compared to other destinations, but the recent fall in the Euro will assist travellers to build a visit into their plans.

*The prize for the most boring tourist attraction in Europe went to the Astronomical Clock in Prague.