161-515: The Duchy of Bavaria ( German : Herzogtum Bayern ) was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes ( duces ) under Frankish overlordship. A new duchy was created from this area during the decline of the Carolingian Empire in the late ninth century. It became one of
322-460: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
483-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
644-458: A subpolar oceanic climate , Cfc. The alpine valleys between 900 and 1,400 metres (3,000 and 4,600 ft), with a typically humid continental climate — Dfb, covering the largest part of the province. The winters are usually very cold (24-hour averages in January between −8 and −3 °C (18 and 27 °F)), and the summers, mild with averages between 14 and 19 °C (57 and 66 °F). It
805-587: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
966-520: A class of civil servants and a national militia founded, and several small districts were brought under the duke's authority. The result was a unity and order in the duchy which enabled Maximilian to play an important part in the Thirty Years' War ; during the earlier years of which he was so successful as to acquire the Upper Palatinate and the electoral dignity which had been enjoyed since 1356 by
1127-556: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
1288-459: A model for settling interethnic disputes and for the successful protection of linguistic minorities. This is among the reasons why the Ladin municipalities of Cortina d'Ampezzo /Anpezo, Livinallongo del Col di Lana /Fodom and Colle Santa Lucia /Col have asked in a referendum to be detached from Veneto and reannexed to the province, from which they were separated under the fascist government. In 1996,
1449-690: A monarchical form of government after the war, which would include Austria, Bavaria and South Tyrol. In 1943, when the Italian government signed an armistice with the Allies , the region was occupied by Nazi Germany, which reorganised it as the Operation Zone of the Alpine Foothills and put it under the administration of Gauleiter Franz Hofer . The region was de facto annexed to the German Reich (with
1610-484: A native of Trentino, wanted to extend the autonomy to his fellow citizens. This led to the creation of the region called Trentino-Alto Adige/Tiroler Etschland . The Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement of September 1946 was signed by the Italian and Austrian Foreign Ministers, creating the autonomous region of Trentino-South Tyrol , consisting of the autonomous provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol. German and Italian were both made official languages, and German-language education
1771-453: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
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#17328490265041932-679: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
2093-475: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
2254-653: A short time of reunification, Bavaria gained new heights of power with Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor , who became the first Wittelsbach emperor in 1328. The newly gained areas of Brandenburg (1323), Tyrol (1342), the Dutch provinces Holland , Zeeland and Friesland and the Hainaut (1345) were, however, lost under his successors. In 1369, Tyrol fell through the Treaty of Schärding to the Habsburgs. The Luxemburgish rider followed in 1373 and
2415-481: A total population of about 534,000 inhabitants as of 2021. Its capital and largest city is Bolzano . The province is granted a considerable level of self-government, consisting of a large range of exclusive legislative and executive powers and a fiscal regime that allows it to retain 90% of revenue, while remaining a net contributor to the national budget. As of 2023, South Tyrol is the wealthiest province in Italy and among
2576-600: A treaty at Linz with Ferdinand I , the king of Hungary and Bohemia . This link strengthened in 1546, when the emperor Charles V obtained the help of the duke during the war of the league of Schmalkalden by promising him in certain eventualities the succession to the Bohemian throne, and the electoral dignity enjoyed by the count palatine of the Rhine . William also did much at a critical period to secure Bavaria for Catholicism . The reformed doctrines had made considerable progress in
2737-663: Is Provincia autonoma Bolzano — Alto Adige , in Ladin Provinzia autonoma Bulsan — Südtirol . South Tyrol as an administrative entity originated during the First World War . The Allies promised the area to Italy in the Treaty of London of 1915 as an incentive to enter the war on their side. Until 1918, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian princely County of Tyrol , but this almost completely German-speaking territory
2898-580: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
3059-598: Is a very snowy climate; snow may occur from early October to April or even May. Main municipalities in this area are Urtijëi , Badia , Sexten , Toblach , Stilfs , Vöran , and Mühlwald . The alpine valleys between 1,400 and 1,700 metres (4,600 and 5,600 ft), with a subarctic climate — Dfc, with harsh winters (24-hour averages in January between −9 and −5 °C (16 and 23 °F)) and cool, short, rainy and foggy summers (24-hour averages in July of about 12 °C (54 °F)). These areas usually have five months below
3220-596: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
3381-546: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
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#17328490265043542-672: Is becoming increasingly common. Alto Adige (literally translated in English: "Upper Adige"), one of the Italian names for the province, is also used in English. The term had been the name of political subdivisions along the Adige River in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte , who created the Department of Alto Adige , part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy . It was reused as the Italian name of
3703-563: Is called Vinschgau; the southernmost section, from Bolzano to Salurner Klause (207 metres or 679 feet), is divided into Überetsch and Unterland. From there, the Adige Valley continues in a southerly direction until it merges with the Po plain at Verona . At Bolzano, the Eisack Valley merges into the Adige Valley. The Eisack Valley runs from Bolzano northeastward to Franzensfeste, where it merges with
3864-472: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
4025-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
4186-418: Is divided into eight districts (German: Bezirksgemeinschaften , Italian: comunità comprensoriali ), one of them being the chief city of Bolzano. Each district is headed by a president and two bodies called the district committee and the district council. The districts are responsible for resolving intermunicipal disputes and providing roads, schools, and social services such as retirement homes. The province
4347-418: Is further divided into 116 Gemeinden or comuni . Climatically, South Tyrol may be divided into five distinct groups: The Adige valley area, with cold winters (24-hour averages in January of about 0 °C (32 °F)) and warm summers (24-hour averages in July of about 23 °C (73 °F)), usually classified as humid subtropical climate — Cfa. It has the driest and sunniest climate of
4508-466: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
4669-595: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
4830-559: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
4991-657: Is mostly cultivated with different types of shrubs and forests and is highly mountainous. Entirely located in the Alps , the province's landscape is dominated by mountains. The highest peak is the Ortler (3,905 metres, 12,812 ft) in the far west, which is also the highest peak in the Eastern Alps outside the Bernina Range . Even more famous are the craggy peaks of the Dolomites in
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5152-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
5313-587: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
5474-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
5635-510: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
5796-700: Is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ),
5957-566: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
6118-580: Is the term most commonly used in English for the province, and its usage reflects that it was created from a portion of the southern part of the historic County of Tyrol , a former state of the Holy Roman Empire and crown land of the Austrian Empire of the Habsburgs . German and Ladin speakers usually refer to the area as Südtirol ; the Italian equivalent Sudtirolo (sometimes parsed Sud Tirolo )
6279-481: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
6440-673: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
6601-627: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
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6762-458: The Archbishopric of Cologne for his brother Ernest in 1583, and this dignity remained in the possession of the family for more than 200 years. In 1597 he abdicated in favour of his son Maximilian I . Maximilian I found the duchy encumbered with debt and filled with disorder, but ten years of his vigorous rule effected a remarkable change. The finances and the judicial system were reorganised,
6923-875: The Bavarii in the east, the Franks in the west ..." Until the end of the first duchy, all rulers descended from the family of the Agilolfings . The Bavarians then colonized the area from the March of the Nordgau along the Naab river (later called the Upper Palatinate ) up to the Enns in the east and southward across the Brenner Pass to the Upper Adige in present-day South Tyrol . The first documented duke
7084-653: The Bohemian Forest at about the same time. At around 743, the Bavarian duke Odilo vassalised the Slavic princes of Carantania (roughly corresponding with the later March of Carinthia ), who had asked him for protection against the invading Avars. The residence of the largely independent Agilolfing dukes was then Regensburg , the former Roman Castra Regina , on the Danube river. During Christianization , Bishop Corbinian laid
7245-557: The Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
7406-610: The Dolomites are the highest in the Alps. Among the large number of peaks, three stand out for their alpine or cultural importance: the Ortler (3,905 metres, 12,812 ft) as the highest mountain in South Tyrol, the Schlern (2,563 metres, 8,409 ft) as the country's "landmark" and the Drei Zinnen (2,999 metres, 9,839 ft) as the center of alpine climbing. Other well-known mountains are
7567-595: The Duchy of Carinthia on former Bavarian territory granted to the former Luitpolding Count palatine Henry III , who also became Margrave of Verona. Though Henry II reconciled with Emperor Otto's widow Theophanu in 985 and regained his duchy, the power of the Bavarian dukes was further diminished by the rise of the Franconian House of Babenberg , ruling as Margraves of Austria ( Ostarrichi ), who became increasingly independent. The last Ottonian duke, Henry IV of Bavaria ,
7728-444: The Duchy of Saxony , claiming that it was unlawful for a duke to hold two duchies. This, compounded with his bitterness for being denied the throne, prompted Henry to refuse to swear his oath of allegiance to Conrad. As a consequence, he was dispossessed of all of his territories, and Bavaria was given to his Babenberg half-brother Leopold IV, Margrave of Austria in 1139. The Duchy of Swabia consisted largely of countryside during
7889-407: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
8050-422: The European Union in Brussels. South Tyrol is located at the northernmost point in Italy. The province is bordered by Austria to the east and north, specifically by the Austrian federal states Tyrol and Salzburg , and by the Swiss canton of Graubünden to the west. The Italian provinces of Belluno , Trentino , and Sondrio border to the southeast, south, and southwest, respectively. The landscape itself
8211-417: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
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#17328490265048372-413: The Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino was formed between the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino. The boundaries of the association correspond to the old County of Tyrol. The aim is to promote regional peace, understanding and cooperation in many areas. The region's assemblies meet together as one on various occasions, and have set up a common liaison office with
8533-429: The Frankish Empire under the Carolingian dynasty , the autonomy of the Bavarian dukes, previously enjoyed under the Merovingians, was reduced and subsequently terminated. In 716, the Carolingians had incorporated the Franconian lands in the north, formerly held by the Dukes of Thuringia , whereby the bishops of Würzburg gained a dominant position. In the west, the Carolingian mayor of the palace Carloman had suppressed
8694-455: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
8855-554: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
9016-435: The Königspitze (3,851 metres, 12,635 ft), the Weißkugel (3,739 metres, 12,267 ft), the Similaun (3,599 metres, 11,808 ft), the Hochwilde (3,480 metres, 11,417 ft), the Sarner Weißhorn (2,705 metres, 8,875 ft), the Hochfeiler (3,509 metres, 11,512 ft), the Dreiherrnspitze (3,499 metres, 11,480 ft), the Hochgall (3,436 metres, 11,273 ft), the Peitlerkofel (2,875 metres, 9,432 ft),
9177-439: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
9338-427: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
9499-422: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
9660-400: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
9821-540: The Vienna Woods , represented a significant gain for the security of Bavaria. At first, that territory was placed under the jurisdiction of the Bavarian prefect Gerold (d. 799), and subsequently organized as a frontier unit, that became known as the (Bavarian) Eastern March ( Latin : marcha orientalis ). It provided safety for Bavaria's eastern borders, securing as well the main communication between Frankish possessions in Bavaria and Pannonia. In his 817, Ordinatio Imperii , Charlemagne's son and successor Emperor Louis
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#17328490265049982-447: The ducal House of Welf . In the final conflict between the Welf and Hohenstaufen dynasties, Duke Henry the Lion was banned and deprived of his Bavarian and Saxon fiefs by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa . Frederick passed Bavaria over to the House of Wittelsbach , which held it until 1918. The Bavarian dukes were raised to prince-electors during the Thirty Years' War in 1623, and to kings by Napoleon in 1806. The duchy chaired
10143-408: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
10304-434: The river Danube , east of the Enns. The two sides clashed near the river Ybbs , on the Ybbs Field ( German : Ybbsfeld ), where the Avars suffered a significant defeat (788). In order to secure Bavaria's eastern borders, and resolve other political and administrative questions, Charlemagne came to Bavaria in person, during the autumn of the same year (788). In Regensburg , he held a council and regulated issues regarding
10465-402: The river Enns , and started to advance along the river Danube , divided in two columns, but found no active resistance, and soon reached the region of Vienna Woods , at the very gates of the Pannonian Plain . No decisive battles were fought, since the Avars had fled before the advancing Frankish army. Frankish acquisition of new eastern regions, particularly those between the river Enns and
10626-794: The rivers . The remaining areas have given way to settlements and agricultural land . On the valley slopes, sub-Mediterranean mixed deciduous forests are found up to 800 or 900 metres (2,600 or 3,000 ft) altitude, characterized mainly by manna ash, hop hornbeam, hackberry, sweet chestnut and downy oak . From about 600 metres (2,000 ft) of altitude, red beech or pine forests can appear instead, colonizing difficult and arid sites (more rarely). At altitudes between 800 and 1,500 metres (2,600 and 4,900 ft), spruce forests are found; between 900 and 2,000 metres (3,000 and 6,600 ft), montane and subalpine spruce forests predominate. The latter are often mixed with tree species such as larch, rowan, white pine and stone pine . The larch and stone pine forests at
10787-400: The stem duchies of the East Frankish realm, which evolved as the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire . During internal struggles in the Ottonian dynasty , the Bavarian territory was considerably diminished by the separation of the newly established Duchy of Carinthia in 976. Between 1070 and 1180, the Holy Roman Emperors were again strongly opposed by Bavaria, especially by
10948-451: The "Mittelgebirge" (including, for example, the Schlern area) are of particular importance in terms of settlement history . The three main valleys of South Tyrol are the Adige Valley , the Eisack Valley and the Puster Valley , formed by the Ice Age Adige glacier and its tributaries. The highest part of the Adige valley in western South Tyrol, from Reschen (1,507 metres or 4,944 feet) to Töll (approx. 500 metres or 1,600 feet) near Merano,
11109-430: The 2011 census, 62.3% of the population used German as their first language ( standard German in the written form and the South Tyrolean dialect of Austro-Bavarian in the spoken form); 23.4% of the population spoke Italian, mainly in and around the two largest cities (Bolzano, with an Italian-speaking majority, and Meran , with a slight German-speaking majority); 4.1% spoke Ladin , a Rhaeto-Romance language ; 10.2% of
11270-505: The 955 Battle of Lechfeld . The Magyars retreated behind the Leitha and Morava rivers, facilitating a second wave of German Ostsiedlung into the areas of today's Lower Austria , Istria and Carniola . Although ruled by the Ottonian descendants of Henry I, a cadet branch of the Saxon royal dynasty, the conflict of the Bavarian dukes with the German (from 962: Imperial ) court continued: in 976, Emperor Otto II deposed his rebellious cousin Duke Henry II of Bavaria and established
11431-430: The Alpine Association, South Tyrol is home to 13 mountain groups of the Eastern Alps, of which only the Sarntal Alps are entirely within national borders. The remaining twelve are (clockwise, starting from the west): Sesvenna Group, Ötztal Alps, Stubai Alps, Zillertal Alps, Venediger Group, Rieserferner Group, Villgratner Mountains, Carnic Alps, Dolomites, Fleimstal Alps, Nonsberg Group and Ortler Alps. Of particular note are
11592-619: The Arzkarsee (2,250 metres, 7,382 ft). The natural monuments designated by the province of South Tyrol include numerous hydrological objects, such as streams, waterfalls, moors, glaciers and mountain lakes like the Pragser Wildsee (1,494 metres, 4,902 ft), the Karersee (1,519 metres, 4,984 ft) or the Spronser Seen (2,117–2,589 metres, 6,946–8,494 ft). Approximately 50% of
11753-622: The Bavarian frontier counties ( marches ), thus preparing the basis for future actions in the east. In 790, the Avars tried to negotiate a peace settlement with the Franks, but no agreement was reached. Bavaria then became the main base for the Frankish campaign against the Avars, which was initiated in 791. A large Frankish army, personally led by Charlemagne , crossed from Bavaria in to the Avarian territory beyond
11914-797: The Brenner Pass, the Tauern window, in which the Peninsular and, according to some authors, the Helvetic are visible. In South Tyrol, the following structure can be roughly recognized: The lowest floor forms the crystalline basement. About 280 million years ago, in the Lower Permian, multiple magmatic events occurred. At that time the Brixen granite was formed at the northern boundary of the Southern Alps, and at about
12075-574: The Dolomites, parts of which were recognized by UNESCO in 2009 as a "Dolomite World Heritage Site". Although some isolated massifs approach 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) and show strong glaciation (especially in the Ortler Alps and on the main ridge of the Alps), South Tyrol is by far dominated by mountains with altitudes of between 2,000 and 3,000 metres (6,600 and 9,800 ft). Among the multitude of peaks,
12236-817: The Duchy of Bavaria to the Welf Henry the Lion ; however, the East Mark remained in Babenberg hands, and it was thus elevated to the Duchy of Austria as compensation for the loss of Bavaria. The elevation of the Marcha Orientalis under the Babenbergs to a Dukedom established it as the nucleus of the later state of Austria (Ostarrichi). Henry the Lion founded numerous cities, including Munich in 1158. Through his strong position as ruler of
12397-434: The Duchy of Carinthia in 976 entailed the loss of large East Alpine territories covering the present-day Austrian states of Carinthia and Styria as well as the adjacent Carniolan region in today's Slovenia . The eastern March of Austria —roughly corresponding to the present state of Lower Austria — was likewise elevated to a duchy in its own right by 1156. Over the centuries, several further seceded territories in
12558-589: The Dutch counties fell to Burgundy in 1436. In the 1329 Treaty of Pavia , Emperor Louis divided ownership in a Palatine region, with the Rhine Palatinate, and a later so-called Upper Palatinate. Thus, the electoral dignity for the line was passed onwards to the Palatinate. With the recognition of the limits of domination by the Bavarian Duke in the year 1275, Salzburg of Bavaria went into their final phase. When
12719-714: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
12880-761: The Enns river. In 907 the army of Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Pressburg . Luitpold himself was killed in action and his son Arnulf the Bad assumed the ducal title, becoming the first Duke of Bavaria from the Luitpolding dynasty . However, the Austrian march remained occupied by the Hungarians and the Pannonian lands were irrecoverably lost. Nevertheless,
13041-718: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
13202-472: The German , who upon his death bequested the Bavarian royal title to his eldest son Carloman in 876. Carloman's natural son Arnulf of Carinthia , raised in the former Carantanian lands, secured possession of the March of Carinthia upon his father's death in 880, and became King of East Francia, in 887. Carinthia and Bavaria were the bases of his power, with Regensburg as the seat of his government. Due mainly to
13363-475: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
13524-447: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
13685-675: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
13846-646: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
14007-699: The Kalterer See (215 metres, 705 ft), the Großer (492 metres, 1,614 ft) and the Kleiner Montiggler See (514 metres, 1,686 ft). Fourteen South Tyrolean reservoirs used for energy production include the Reschensee (1,498 metres, 4,915 ft), which with an area of 523 hectares (2.02 sq mi) forms the largest standing body of water in South Tyrol, the Zufrittsee (1,850 metres, 6,070 ft) and
14168-696: The Langkofel (3,181 metres, 10,436 ft) and the Rosengartenspitze (2,981 metres, 9,780 ft). The extensive mountain landscapes , about 34% of the total area of South Tyrol, are alpine pastures (including the 57 square kilometres (22 sq mi) of the great Alpe di Siusi). Along the main valleys, the mountain ranges descend in many places to valley bottoms over gently terraced landscapes, which are geological remains of former valley systems; situated between inhospitable high mountains and formerly boggy or deeply incised valley bottoms, these areas known as
14329-507: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
14490-798: The Middle Triassic by a brief but violent phase of volcanic activity. In South Tyrol, the Eastern Alps consist mainly of metamorphic rocks, such as gneisses or mica schists, with occasional intercalations of marble and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks with metamorphic overprint (e.g., in the Ortler or southwest of the Brenner). Various metamorphic rocks are found in the Tauern Window, such as Hochstegen marble (as in Wolfendorn), Grünschiefer (as in Hochfeiler), or rocks of
14651-502: The Pious tried to maintain the unity of the Carolingian Empire : while imperial authority upon his death was to pass to his eldest son Lothair I , the younger brothers were to receive subordinate realms. From 825, Louis the German styled himself "King of Bavaria" in the territory that was to become the centre of his power. When the brothers divided the Empire by the 843 Treaty of Verdun , Bavaria became part of East Francia under King Louis
14812-634: The Salzburg Archbishop issued its own country regulations in 1328, Salzburg become a largely independent state within the Holy Roman Empire. In the 14th and 15th centuries, upper and lower Bavaria were repeatedly subdivided. Four Duchies existed after the division of 1392: Bavaria-Straubing , Bavaria-Landshut , Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Bavaria-Munich . These dukes often waged war against each other. Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria-Munich united Bavaria in 1503 through war and primogeniture . However,
14973-591: The Sarntal, Pfitsch, Gröden, the Gadertal, the Tauferer Ahrntal and Antholz. In mountainous South Tyrol, about 64.5% of the total land area is above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level and only 14% below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Therefore, a large part of the population is concentrated in relatively small areas in the valleys at an altitude of between 100 and 1,200 metres (330 and 3,940 ft), mainly in
15134-644: The Saxon count Otto of Nordheim with the Duchy. Nevertheless, her son King Henry IV seized the duchy on fallacious grounds, which ultimately led to the Saxon Rebellion of 1073. Henry entrusted Bavaria to Welf , a scion of the Veronese margravial House of Este and progenitor of the Welf dynasty , which intermittently ruled the duchy for the next 110 years. Only with the establishment of Welf rule as dukes from 1070 by Henry IV
15295-639: The Wipp Valley, which runs first northwestward and then northward over the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck. In the town of Brixen, the Eisack Valley meets the Puster Valley, which passes through Bruneck and reaches Lienz via the Toblacher Sattel (1,210 metres or 3,970 feet). In addition to the three main valleys, South Tyrol has a large number of side valleys. The most important and populated side valleys are (from west to east) Sulden, Schnals, Ulten, Passeier, Ridnaun,
15456-518: The Wittelsbach treasury was rather low. In the following years it was significantly augmented by purchase, marriage, and inheritance. Newly acquired land was no longer given as a fief, but managed by servants. Also, powerful families, such as the counts of Andechs, died out during this period. Otto's son Ludwig I of Wittelsbach was enfeoffed in 1214 with the County Palatine of the Rhine . Since there
15617-656: The Zentralgneiss (predominantly in the area of the Zillertal Main Ridge). The province of South Tyrol has placed numerous geological natural monuments under protection. Among the best known are the Bletterbach Gorge, a 12 km (7½ mile) long canyon in the municipality of Aldein, and the Ritten Earth Pyramids , which are the largest in Europe with a height of up to 30 metres (98 ft). According to
15778-558: The addition of the province of Belluno ) until the end of the war. Italian rule was restored in 1945 as the Nazi regime ended. After the war, the Allies decided that the province would remain a part of Italy, under the condition that the German-speaking population be granted a significant level of self-government. Italy and Austria negotiated an agreement in 1946, recognizing the rights of the German minority. Alcide De Gasperi , Italy's prime minister,
15939-424: The area of South Tyrol is covered by forests , another 40% is above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and thus largely beyond the forest demarcation line, which varies between 1,900 and 2,200 metres (6,200 and 7,200 ft). In each case, more than half of the total forest area is located on land with a slope steeper than 20° and at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,800 metres (3,900 and 5,900 ft). Approximately 24% of
16100-556: The area of the extensive alluvial cones and broad basins. The most densely populated areas are in the Adige valley, where three of the four largest cities, Bolzano, Merano and Laives, are located. The flat valley bottoms are mainly used for agriculture. The most important river in South Tyrol is the Adige , which rises at the Reschen Pass, flows for a distance of about 140 kilometres (87 mi) to
16261-745: The bench of the secular princes to the Reichstag of the Empire. The medieval Bavarian stem duchy covered present-day Southeastern Germany and most parts of Austria along the Danube river, up to the Hungarian border which then ran along the Leitha tributary in the east. It included the Altbayern regions of the modern state of Bavaria , with the lands of the Nordgau march (the later Upper Palatinate ), but without its Swabian and Franconian regions. The separation of
16422-769: The border at the Salurner Klause, and then flows into the Po Valley and the Adriatic Sea. The Adige, whose total length of 415 kilometres (258 mi) in Italy is exceeded only by the Po , drains 97% of the territory's surface area. Its river system also includes the Eisack, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) long, and the Rienz, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) long, the next two largest rivers in South Tyrol. They are fed by numerous rivers and streams in
16583-549: The campaign of terrorism . The issue was resolved in 1971, when a new Austro-Italian treaty was signed and ratified. It stipulated that disputes in South Tyrol would be submitted for settlement to the International Court of Justice in The Hague , that the province would receive greater autonomy within Italy, and that Austria would not interfere in South Tyrol's internal affairs. The new agreement proved broadly satisfactory to
16744-418: The coldest month, January. The periadriatic seam, which separates the Southern Alps from the Central Alps , runs through South Tyrol in a southwest–northeast direction. In South Tyrol at least three of the four main structural elements of the Alps come to light: the Southern Alpine comes to light south of the periadriatic suture, the Eastern Alpine north of it, and in the northern part of the country, east of
16905-526: The current province after its post-World War I creation, and was a symbol of the subsequent forced Italianization of South Tyrol. The official name of the province today in German is Autonome Provinz Bozen — Südtirol . German speakers usually refer to it not as a Provinz , but as a Land (like the Länder of Germany and Austria). Provincial institutions are referred to using the prefix Landes- , such as Landesregierung (state government) and Landeshauptmann (governor). The official name in Italian
17066-496: The destiny of Austria, which had been annexed by Nazi Germany . Instead the dictators agreed that the German-speaking population be transferred to German-ruled territory or dispersed around Italy, but the outbreak of the Second World War prevented them from fully carrying out their plans. Every citizen was given the choice to give up their German cultural identity and stay in fascist Italy, or to leave their homeland for Nazi Germany to retain their cultural identity. This resulted in
17227-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
17388-404: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
17549-441: The division of South Tyrolese families. In this tense relationship for the population, Walter Caldonazzi from Mals was part of the resistance group around the priest Heinrich Maier , which passed plans and information about production facilities for V-1 rockets , V-2 rockets , Tiger tanks , Messerschmitt Bf 109 , and Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and other aircraft to the Allies. The group planned for an independent Austria with
17710-471: The duchy when the duke obtained extensive rights over the bishoprics and monasteries from the pope. He then took measures to repress the reformers, many of whom were banished; while the Jesuits , whom he invited into the duchy in 1541, made the Jesuit College of Ingolstadt , their headquarters in Germany. William died in March 1550 and was succeeded by his son Albert V , who had married a daughter of Ferdinand I. Early in his reign Albert made some concessions to
17871-428: The eastern part of the region. The following mountain groups are (partially) in South Tyrol. All but the Sarntal Alps are on the border with Austria, Switzerland, or other Italian provinces. The ranges are clockwise from the west and for each the highest peak is given that is within the province or on its border. Located between the mountains are many valleys , where the majority of the population lives. The province
18032-435: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
18193-411: The elder branch of the Wittelsbach family. The Electorate of Bavaria then consisted of most of the modern regions of Upper Bavaria , Lower Bavaria , and the Upper Palatinate . German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It
18354-476: The forest area can be classified as protective forest preserving settlements, traffic routes and other human infrastructure . A 1997 study classified about 35% of South Tyrol's forests as near-natural or natural, about 41% as moderately modified and about 24% as heavily modified or artificial. The forests are found in the valley bottoms. The flat valley bottoms were originally completely covered with riparian forests, of which only very small remnants remain along
18515-489: The foundations for the later Diocese of Freising before 724; Saint Kilian in the 7th century had been a missionary of the Franconian territory in the north, then ruled by the Dukes of Thuringia , where Boniface founded the Diocese of Würzburg in 742. In the adjacent Alamannic ( Swabian ) lands west of the Lech river, Augsburg was a bishop's seat. When Boniface established the Diocese of Passau in 739, he could already build on local Early Christian traditions. In
18676-648: The freezing point, and snow sometimes occurs even during the summer, in September. This climate is the wettest of the province, with large rainfalls during the summer, heavy snowfalls during spring and fall. The winter is usually a little drier, marked by freezing and dry weeks, although not sufficiently dry to be classified as a Dwc climate. Main municipalities in this area are Corvara , Sëlva , Santa Cristina Gherdëina . The highlands above 1,700 metres (5,600 ft), with an alpine tundra climate , ET, which becomes an ice cap climate , EF, above 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The winters are cold, but sometimes not as cold as
18837-422: The higher valleys' winters. In January, most of the areas at 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) have an average temperature of about −5 °C (23 °F), while in the valleys at about 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), the mean temperature may be as low as −8 or −9 °C (18 or 16 °F). The higher lands, above 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) are usually extremely cold, with averages of about −14 °C (7 °F) during
18998-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
19159-417: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
19320-468: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . South Tyrol South Tyrol ( German : Südtirol [ˈzyːttiˌʁoːl] , locally [ˈsyːtiˌroːl] ; Italian : Alto Adige [ˈalto ˈaːdidʒe] ; Ladin : Südtirol ) is an autonomous province in northern Italy . An English translation of
19481-432: The last Alamannic revolt at the 746 Blood court at Cannstatt . The last tribal stem duchy to be incorporated was Bavaria in 788, after Duke Tassilo III had tried in vain to maintain his independence through an alliance with the Lombards . The conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne entailed the fall of Tassilo, who was deposed in 788. From that point, Bavaria was administered by Frankish prefects , first of whom
19642-441: The latter refused to acknowledge his royal supremacy. The Carolingian reign in East Francia ended in 911, when Arnulf's son, King Louis the Child , died without heirs. The discontinuation of the central authority led to a new strengthening of the German stem duchies . At the same time, East Francia was exposed to the rising threat from Hungarian invasions, especially in the Bavarian March of Austria ( marchia orientalis ) beyond
19803-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
19964-447: The new regime made efforts to bring forward the Italianization of South Tyrol . The German language was banished from public service, German teaching was officially forbidden, and German newspapers were censored (with the exception of the fascistic Alpenzeitung ). The regime also favoured immigration from other Italian regions. The subsequent alliance between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini declared that South Tyrol would not follow
20125-423: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
20286-414: The official German and Italian names could be the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol , reflecting the multilingualism and different naming conventions in the area. Together with Trentino , South Tyrol forms the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol . The province is the northernmost of Italy, the second largest with an area of 7,400 square kilometres (2,857 sq mi), and has
20447-417: The originally Bavarian offices Kufstein , Kitzbühel and Rattenberg in Tirol were lost in 1504. In spite of the decree of 1506, Albert's oldest son William IV was compelled to grant a share in the government in 1516 to his brother Louis X , an arrangement which lasted until the death of Louis in 1545. William followed the traditional Wittelsbach policy of opposition to the Habsburgs until in 1534 he made
20608-455: The parties involved, and the separatist tensions soon eased. The autonomous status granted in 1972 has resulted in a considerable level of self-government, and also allows the entity to retain almost 90% of all levied taxes. In 1992, Italy and Austria officially ended their dispute over the autonomy issue on the basis of the agreement of 1972. The extensive self-government provided by the current institutional framework has been advanced as
20769-429: The population (mainly recent immigrants) spoke another native language in addition to Italian and German. Of 116 South Tyrolean municipalities , 103 have a German-speaking, eight a Ladin-speaking, and five an Italian-speaking majority. The Italianization of South Tyrol and the settlement of Italians from the rest of Italy after 1918 significantly modified local demographics. South Tyrol (occasionally South Tirol )
20930-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
21091-435: The province. The main city in this area is Bolzano . The midlands, between 300 and 900 metres (980 and 2,950 ft), with cold winters (24-hour averages in January between −3 and 1 °C (27 and 34 °F)) and mild summers (24-hour averages in July between 15 and 21 °C (59 and 70 °F)). This is a typical oceanic climate , classified as Cfb. It is usually wetter than the subtropical climate, and very snowy during
21252-464: The reformers, who were still strong in Bavaria; but about 1563 he changed his attitude, favoured the decrees of the Council of Trent , and pressed forward the work of the Counter-Reformation . As education passed by degrees into the hands of the Jesuits, the progress of Protestantism was effectually arrested in Bavaria. The succeeding duke, Albert's son, William V , had received a Jesuit education and showed keen attachment to Jesuit tenets. He secured
21413-497: The reign of Louis the Child, Luitpold , Count of Scheyern, who possessed large Bavarian domains, ruled the Mark of Carinthia , created on the southeastern frontier for the defence of Bavaria. He died in the great battle of 907, but his son Arnulf , whose last name was the Bad, rallied the remnants of the tribe in alliance with the Hungarians and became duke of the Bavarians in 911, uniting Bavaria and Carinthia under his rule. The German king Conrad I unsuccessfully attacked Arnulf when
21574-406: The reign of the Staufer king, while Franconia became the center of Staufer power, having been invested with the title dux Francorum orientalium , in 1115 by Henry V. This lasted until 1168, when the Bishop of Würzburg acquired the diocese of Bamberg and thus became the Duke of Franconia . The Hohenstaufen Frederick I Barbarossa attempted reconciliation with the Welfs and, in 1156, gave back
21735-410: The same time, further south in the Bolzano area, there was strong volcanic activity that formed the Adige Valley volcanic complex. In the Upper Permian a period began in which sedimentary rocks were formed. At first, these were partly clastic sediments, among which the Gröden sandstone is found. In the Triassic , massive carbonate platforms of dolomitic rocks then formed; this process was interrupted in
21896-418: The self-confidence of the Bavarian dukes was an ongoing matter of dispute in the newly established Kingdom of Germany : Duke Arnulf's son Eberhard was deposed by King Otto I of Germany in 938; he was succeeded by his younger brother Berthold . In 948, King Otto finally disempowered the Luitpoldings and installed his younger brother Henry I as Bavarian duke. The late Duke Berthold's minor heir, Henry III ,
22057-404: The south, Saint Rupert had founded in 696 the Diocese of Salzburg , probably after he had baptized Duke Theodo of Bavaria at his court in Regensburg, becoming the "Apostle of Bavaria". In 798, Pope Leo III created the Bavarian ecclesiastical province with Salzburg as metropolitan seat and Regensburg , Passau, Freising, and Säben (later Brixen) as suffragan dioceses. With the rise of
22218-492: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
22379-467: The support of the Bavarians, Arnulf could take the field against Charles in 887, and secure his own election as German king in the following year. In 899 Bavaria passed to Louis the Child , during whose reign continuous Hungarian ravages occurred. Resistance to these inroads became gradually feebler, and tradition has it that on 5 July, 907, almost the whole of the Bavarian tribe perished in the Battle of Pressburg against these formidable enemies. During
22540-408: The territory of the former stem duchy, such as the County of Tyrol or the Archbishopric of Salzburg , gained Imperial immediacy . From 1500, a number of these Imperial states were members of the Bavarian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. The origins of the older Bavarian duchy can be traced to the year 551/555. In his Getica , the chronicler Jordanes writes: "That area of the Swabians has
22701-449: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
22862-598: The tributary valleys. The most important tributaries are the Plima, the Passer, the Falschauer, the Talfer, the Ahr and the Gader. The remaining 3% of the area is drained by the Drava and Inn river systems to the Black Sea and by the Piave river system to the Adriatic Sea , respectively. In South Tyrol there are 176 natural lakes with an area of more than half a hectare (1¼ acre), most of which are located above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) altitude . Only 13 natural lakes are larger than 5 ha, and only three of them are situated below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) altitude:
23023-486: The two duchies of Saxony and Bavaria, he came into conflict with Frederick I Barbarossa. With the banishment of Henry the Lion and the separation of the March of Styria from Bavaria—raised to the Duchy of Styria in 1180 under Margrave Ottokar IV —the younger tribal duchy came to an end. From 1180 to 1918, the Wittelsbachs were the rulers of Bavaria, as dukes, later as electors and kings. When Count Palatine Otto VI. of Wittelsbach became Otto I, Duke of Bavaria in 1180,
23184-506: The upper edge of the forest belt occupy relatively small areas. Beyond the forest edge, subalpine dwarf shrub communities, alpine grasslands and, lately, alpine tundra dominate the landscape as vegetation types. The local government system is based upon the provisions of the Italian Constitution and the Autonomy Statute of the Region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol . The 1972 second Statute of Autonomy for Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol devolved most legislative and executive competences from
23345-402: The wealthiest in the European Union . In the wider context of the European Union, the province is one of the three members of the Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion , which corresponds almost exactly to the historical region of Tyrol . The other members are the Austrian federal state Tyrol to the north and east, and the Italian autonomous province of Trento to the south. According to
23506-410: The winters. During the spring and autumn, there is an extended foggy season, but fog may occur even on summer mornings. Main towns in this area are Meran , Bruneck , Sterzing , and Brixen . Near the lakes in higher lands (between 1,000 and 1,400 metres (3,300 and 4,600 ft)) the humidity may make the climate in these regions milder during winter, but also cooler in summer, making it more similar to
23667-438: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
23828-415: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
23989-405: Was Garibald I , a scion of the Frankish Agilolfings , who ruled from 555 onward as a largely independent Merovingian vassal. On the eastern border, changes occurred with the departure of the West Germanic Lombard tribes from the Pannonian basin to northern Italy in 568 and the succession of the Avars , as well as with the settlement of West Slavic Czechs on the adjacent territory beyond
24150-424: Was Gerold , who governed Bavaria from 788 to 799. By establishing direct rule over Bavaria, the Franks provoked the neighbouring Avars . At that time, the eastern Bavarian border, towards the Avars, was situated on the river Enns . Already in 788, the Avars made an incursion into Bavaria, but Franko-Bavarian forces repelled them, and then launched a counterattack towards neighbouring Avarian regions, situated along
24311-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
24472-407: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
24633-483: Was bloodier, costing 21 lives (15 members of Italian security forces, two civilians, and four terrorists). The South Tyrolean Question ( Südtirolfrage ) became an international issue. As the implementation of the post-war agreement was deemed unsatisfactory by the Austrian government, it became a cause of significant friction with Italy and was taken up by the United Nations in 1960. A fresh round of negotiations took place in 1961 but proved unsuccessful, partly because of
24794-416: Was elected King of the Romans in 1002 as Henry II. At different times, the duchy was ruled by the German kings in personal union, by dependent dukes, or even by the emperor's sons, a tradition maintained by Henry's Salian successors. This period saw the rise of many aristocratic families, such as the Counts of Andechs and the House of Wittelsbach . In 1061, the dowager empress Agnes of Poitou enfeoffed
24955-427: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
25116-432: Was fobbed off with the office of a Bavarian Count palatine . The last attempt of the Luitpoldings to regain power by joining the rebellion of King Otto's son Duke Liudolf of Swabia was crushed in 954. In 952, Duke Henry I also received the Italian March of Verona , which Otto I had seized from King Berengar II of Italy . He still had to deal with the Hungarian threat, which was not eliminated until King Otto's victory at
25277-438: Was no preference for succession of the firstborn in the Wittelsbach dynasty, in contrast to many governments of this time, there was in 1255 a division of the land into Upper Bavaria with the Palatinate and the Nordgau (headquartered in Munich) and Lower Bavaria (with seats in Landshut and Burghausen). There is still today a distinction made between upper and lower Bavaria (cf. Regierungsbezirke ). Despite renewed division after
25438-401: Was occupied by Italy at the end of the war in November 1918 and was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1919. The province as it exists today was created in 1926 after an administrative reorganization of the Kingdom of Italy , and was incorporated together with the province of Trento into the newly created region of Venezia Tridentina ("Trentine Venetia "). With the rise of Italian Fascism ,
25599-435: Was permitted once more. Still Italians were the majority in the combined region. This, together with the arrival of new Italian-speaking immigrants, led to strong dissatisfaction among South Tyrolese, which culminated in terrorist acts perpetrated by the Befreiungsausschuss Südtirol (BAS – Liberation Committee of South Tyrol). In the first phase, only public edifices and fascist monuments were targeted. The second phase
25760-425: Was there a re-emergence of the Bavarian dukes. This period is characterized by the Investiture Controversy between Emperor and Pope, which strengthened Welf rule through siding with the pope's position. After Henry V , the last of the Salian emperors, died in 1125, Lothair III of the House of Supplinburg was elected to the throne; the Bavarian duke Henry the Proud had married Lothair's daughter Gertrude , and
25921-506: Was thus promised her inheritance. When conflict arose with anti-king Conrad III , nephew of Henry V and member of the Swabian House of Hohenstaufen , the Bavarian duke threw his support behind Lothair, further increasing his social capital and increasing his chances of election as King of Germany as well as Duke of Saxony in the aftermath of Lothair's death. However, Conrad III was successfully elected as King of Germany in 1138; fearing Henry's power, Conrad denied Henry his investiture with
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