Introduction

    
Fig. 1: Bavaria

Bavaria (in German: Bayern) is a unique state within Germany; it holds its own traditions, dialects, culture, religion and history as distinct elements that make it in some ways aloof from the rest of Germany. Indeed, some today say that Bavaria is not really part of Germany at all… Even though the extreme view is of a minority, that it exists at all says a great deal about Bavaria.

The areas that make up modern-day France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, etc., were hotly contested during the ebb and flow of Roman acquisitions, dispersed Celts, invading tribes, resettlement, piracy and migrations in Late Antiquity. The Germanic tribes that formed part of a political group (Thuringians, Goths, Lombards, Alemanni, even Romans remaining in the area) brought with them their various Germanic languages, of course.

Bavaria was already a separate Duchy by 520 A.D., and its language was Old High German which developed out of West German dialects. Of course, language rarely stays still – and today Bavaria contains three major dialects: Austro-Bavarian German, Swabian German and East Franconian German. Virtually all Bavarians write in Standard German, and the younger generation of Bavarians tend to speak it in the cities (although often with notable Bavarian accents). In more rural areas, many Bavarians speak only their own dialect.

Bavaria’s capital – München (known as Munich to non-Germans) – dates back at least to 1158 (a document of that date mentions that the Duke of Saxony and Bavaria built a bridge over the River Isar between München and a settlement of Benedictine monks on the other side of the river), and is today an extremely prosperous city doing what it has done since the Middle Ages, i.e., merchant business. Because it is located on the River Isar, it was well-situated for mediæval commerce, and its position just north of the Bavarian Alps means it is very close to what is now the nation of Austria. It is an important city, too, since Bavaria – while today a Free State within German – was a notable duchy from the middle of the 6th century onwards, and was even, for a time, a kingdom. In fact, its period as a kingdom impacts most strongly on the rôle played by Bavaria in the plot of Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (GK2).

From 1805 until 1918, Bavaria boasted kings and crown princes whose doings fascinated Europe and continue to enthral people today. Undoubtedly the most romantic of all these rulers was Ludwig II, widely spoken of as the most handsome youth in all Europe at the time. In German, he is sometimes referred to as the Märchenprinz – which can loosely be translated as “fairy-tale prince”, although the word “Märchen” is better described as “folk-tales of the marvellous” rather than the English term “fairy-tale” which derives from the French. The youthful Ludwig lived in a world of high romantic ideals, extravagant and marvellous, and in adulthood and upon assuming his kingship he attempted to bring those ideals to life. It was King Ludwig II who was responsible for the creation of Bavaria’s most internationally recognised castle – Neuschwanstein – and both he and that extravagantly romantic castle were integrated by Jane Jensen into the plot of GK2.

Fig. 2: Alpine Bavaria

Bavaria is often perceived as an alpine land – calendars of the Bayerische Alpen are published; photographs of Bavaria frequently feature its alps; much of Bavaria’s Volksmusik (folk music) speaks of the love of the mountains (to the accompaniment of accordions and fiddles and so on); and the highest mountain in all of Germany is the Zugspitze, part of the Bavarian Alps. And yet most of Bavaria is not alpine at all. The alpine image helps to distinguish Bavaria from the rest of Germany, of course, and it’s one reason why that image continues to be maintained.