Lower Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven

administrative region Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

s of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, located in the east of the state. It consists of nine districts and 258 municipalities (including three cities).

Geography

Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-Wald. Recent

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

results mark it as the most

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

part of Germany, generally giving huge margins to the CSU. This part of Bavaria includes the

Bavarian Forest image:Zell-bayerischer-wald.jpg, The village of Zell in the Bavarian Forest The Bavarian Forest ( or ''Bayerwald'' ; ) is a wooded, low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany, that is about 100 kilometres long. It runs along the Czech Republic, C ...

, a well-known tourist destination in Germany, and the Lower Bavarian Upland. ''Landkreise''
(districts) # Deggendorf # Dingolfing-Landau #

Freyung-Grafenau Freyung-Grafenau () is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Passau (district), Passau, Deggendorf (district), Deggendorf and Regen (district), Regen, ...

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Kelheim (district), district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). His ...

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

Regen Regen (; Northern Bavarian: ''Reng'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the district town of the district of Regen. Geography Regen is situated on the great Regen River, located in the Bavarian Forest. Divisions Originally the town consiste ...

# Rottal-Inn #

Straubing-Bogen Straubing-Bogen is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the eastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Cham (district), Cham, Regen (district), Regen, Deggendorf (district), Deggendorf, Din ...

''Kreisfreie Städte''
(district-free towns) #

Straubing Straubing (; Central Bavarian: ''Strauwing'') is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the Districts of Germany, district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Ba ...

Population

Economy

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €48.5 billion in 2018, accounting for 1.4% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €36,100 or 120% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 100% of the EU average.

Main sights

Next to the former ducal residences

and

and the baroque episcopal city of

, the city of Kelheim with the Befreiungshalle and

Weltenburg Abbey Weltenburg Abbey (Kloster Weltenburg) is a Benedictine monastery in Weltenburg near Kelheim on the Danube in Bavaria, Germany. Geography The abbey is situated on a peninsula in the Danube, in a section of the river valley called the Weltenbu ...

belong to the major tourist attractions. To the scenic attractions belong the River

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

including the Donaudurchbruch at Weltenburg and the

with Mount

Großer Arber The Großer Arber (); , "Great Maple") or Great Arber, is the highest peak of the Bavarian Forest, Bavarian/Bohemian Forest mountain range and in Lower Bavaria, with an elevation of . As a result, it is known in the Lower Bavarian county of Regen ...

History

The Duchy of Lower Bavaria was created for the first time with the ''First Bavarian partition'' in 1255 under duke

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

but there was no exact identity with the current territory. After the reunification in 1340, Bavaria was divided again in 1349, then in 1353

Bavaria-Straubing Bavaria-Straubing denotes the widely scattered territorial inheritance in the Wittelsbach house of Bavaria that were governed by independent dukes of Bavaria-Straubing between 1353 and 1432; a map (''illustration'') of these marches and outlier ...

and

Bavaria-Landshut Bavaria-Landshut () was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire from 1353 to 1503. History The creation of the duchy was the result of the death of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. In the Treaty of Landsberg 1349, which divided up Louis's empire, his ...

were created in Lower Bavaria. In 1505 Bavaria was permanently reunited. For administrative purposes, Bavaria was split into ''Rentämter'' (plural of '). Lower Bavaria consisted of the Rentamt Landshut and Rentamt Straubing. Control of Lower Bavaria was one of the issues involved in the

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria ...

in 1778-9.Swafford, Jan, "Mozart: The Reign of Love", Harpercollins, 2020. After the founding of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

following the dissolution of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

in 1805, the state was totally reorganized and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative districts(German: Regierungsbezirke (singular Regierungsbezirk)), in Bavaria called Kreise (singular: Kreis). They were created in the fashion of the French departements, quite even in size and population, and named after their main rivers. In the following years, due to territorial changes (e. g. loss of

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

o Italy and Austria">Italy.html" ;"title="o Italy">o Italy and Austria">Italy">o_Italy<_a>_and_Austria.html" ;"title="Italy.html" ;"title="o Italy">o Italy and Austria">Italy.html" ;"title="o Italy">o Italy and Austria addition of the Palatinate (region)">Palatinate), the number of districts was reduced to 8. One of these was the Unterdonaukreis (Lower Danube District). In 1837, King Ludwig I of Bavaria renamed the Kreise after historical territorial names and tribes. This also involved border changes or territorial swaps. Thus the Unterdonaukreis changed to Lower Bavaria. The district capital was moved from

which was added from Isarkreis. Lower Bavaria and

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...

were consolidated in 1932 in one administrative district. In 1954 the two districts were restored again. In 1972 Lower Bavaria was reshaped when the rural districts covered were reshaped too.

References

External links

Official website of government

Official website of region
{{Authority control NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Government regions of Germany Regions of Bavaria