Bavaria - a Land at the Heart of Europe
Bavaria is located in the south-eastern part of the German Federal
Republic. In terms of surface area it is the largest of the
country's 16 federal states, and the second-largest in terms of
population (12 million).
Bavaria also lies at the heart of Europe. Several very important
European east-west and north-south traffic routes intersect in the
state.
Bavaria has its own representation at the European Union in
Brussels. Furthermore, it maintains ties with numerous states both
inside and outside the European Union. It is an active member of
several bilateral and also four multilateral special partnerships,
including the "Alpine Countries Special Partnership" (ARGE ALP) with
11 members from four states, as well as the "Danube Countries",
"Lake Constance" and "Alps-Adriatic" special partnerships, in which
Bavaria's geographical neighbours are represented respectively.
When the borders opened in 1989/90, Bavaria seized the opportunity
for close political, economic and cultural cooperation with its
eastern and south-eastern neighbours. Since that time it has
maintained firm contacts with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine,
Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, and the city of
Moscow.
Bavaria also has well-established ties worldwide. It is represented
in 10 states: Brazil, China, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Russia,
Singapore, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United States.
As a high-technology region and an important exporter, Bavaria also
considers it important to maintain a market presence in the future
markets of Asia and America: it has partnerships with
California/USA, Quebec/Canada, São Paulo/Brazil and the province of
Shandong in the People's Republic of China. To contribute to the
stabilisation of the economic and political situation in the
Republic of South Africa, Bavaria has also established relations
with the provinces of Western Cape and Gauteng.