Читать книгу Walking in the Bavarian Alps. 70 mountain walks and treks in southern Germany онлайн

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When Napoleon I abolished the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 Bavaria became a constitutional monarchy. With the rise of Prussia, and the unification of Germany under the German Empire in 1871, the kingdom became a state within the empire. After World War I the monarchy and the empire came to an end. A short-lived socialist republic followed and then Bavaria joined the Weimar Republic. The instability of this republic enabled the emergence of the Nazis, and Hitler helped stage the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich in 1923. After the end of Nazi rule (1933–1945) Bavaria became a part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Today it is the largest and one of the wealthiest of Germany’s 16 states.

Culture

Art and architecture

In few areas of Germany did the opulent baroque and rococo styles (17th–18th centuries) achieve the pre-eminence that they have in Upper Bavaria. Baroque churches with their onion domes seem to rise above every village and are seen perched on hills throughout the region. The even brighter colours and more joyful forms of the rococo (which developed from the baroque) can be admired in many village churches, but it is above all the Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) near Steingaden where it can be seen at its most stunning.