Lower Bavaria

Geography

Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions (Planungsverband) – Landshut and Donau-Wald. Recent election results mark it as the most conservative part of Germany, generally giving huge margins to the CSU. This part of Bavaria includes the Bavarian Forest, a well-known tourist destination in Germany, and the Lower Bavarian Upland.

Landkreise (districts)

1. Deggendorf
2. Dingolfing-Landau
3. Freyung-Grafenau
4. Kelheim
5. Landshut
6. Passau
7. Regen
8. Rottal-Inn
9. Straubing-Bogen Kreisfreie Städte (district-free towns)
10. Landshut
11. Passau
12. Straubing

Population

| 1900 | 678,192 | 1910 | 724,331 | 1939 | 755,980 | 1950 | 1,041,333 | 1960 | 927,399 | 1970 | 977,166 | 1980 | 998,192 | 1990 | 1,078,110 | 2000 | 1,176,206 | 2005 | 1,196,923 | 2010 | 1,189,701 | 2015 | 1,212,119 | 2019 | 1,244,169

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 Landshut and Straubing and the baroque episcopal city of Passau, the city of Kelheim with the Befreiungshalle and Weltenburg Abbey belong to the major tourist attractions. To the scenic attractions belong the River Danube including the Donaudurchbruch at Weltenburg and the Bavarian Forest with Mount Großer Arber.

History

The Duchy of Lower Bavaria was created for the first time with the First Bavarian Partition in 1255 under Duke Henry, though the Duchy was not identical in extent to the current territory. After the reunification in 1340, Bavaria was divided again in 1349. In 1353 Bavaria-Straubing and Bavaria-Landshut were created in Lower Bavaria. In 1505 Bavaria was permanently reunited. For administrative purposes, Bavaria was split into (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 in 1778-9.

After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1805, the state was totally reorganized. In 1808 it was divided into 15 administrative districts (, singular Regierungsbezirk), in Bavaria called (singular Kreis). They were created in the same fashion as the French departements, being fairly similar to each other in size and population, and named after their main rivers. In the following years, territorial changes (such as the loss of Tyrol to [Italy and Austria] and the addition of the Palatinate) reduced the number of districts to eight. 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 and territorial exchanges. Thus the Unterdonaukreis became Lower Bavaria. The district capital was moved from Passau to Landshut which was added from Isarkreis.

Lower Bavaria and Upper Palatinate were consolidated in 1932 into one administrative district. In 1954 the two separate districts were restored. In 1972 Lower Bavaria was reshaped when the rural districts it included were also reshaped.

References

References

1. "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat".
2. "Germany: CSU and CDU victorious in Bavaria and Hesse – DW – 10/09/2023".
3. "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018".
4. Swafford, Jan, "Mozart: The Reign of Love", Harpercollins, 2020.