#hallplatz

Former Zeughaus and Mauthalle, Nuremberg

Bavaria shares international borders with Austria (Salzburg, Tyrol, Upper Austria and Vorarlberg) and Czechia (Karlovy Vary, Plzeň and South Bohemian Regions), as well as with Switzerland (across Lake Constance to the Canton of St. Gallen). Because all of these countries are part of the Schengen Area, the border is completely open. Neighboring states within Germany are Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Thuringia, and Saxony. Two major rivers flow through the state: the Danube (Donau) and the Main. The Bavarian Alps define the border with Austria (including the Austrian federal-states of Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg), and within the range is the highest peak in Germany: the Zugspitze. The Bavarian Forest and the Bohemian Forest form the vast majority of the frontier with the Czechia and Bohemia.

The major cities in Bavaria are Munich (München), Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Augsburg, Regensburg, Würzburg, Ingolstadt, Fürth, and Erlangen.

The geographic center of the European Union is located in the northwestern corner of Bavaria.

schloß zweibrücken

hallplatz, skulpturengruppe kurt grabert 1990

Mauthalle, Nuremberg

When city architect Hans Beheim demolished the inner Frauentor in 1498 (since ca 1250 the penultimate city wall had run along here), a granary was built into the former moat. It was the largest (84 x 20 x 29 m) of the 12 civic storehouses which guaranteed food supplies in times of crisis. The three-storey sandstone structure had a five-storey dormer bay in its gabled roof. On the narrow ends, carts could be driven inside. Roof-top hoists facilitated the storing of goods. The eastern gable is decorated by a network of blind ogee arches; the lancet-arched portal bears the city’s coat-of-arms (Adam Kraft, 1502). After 1572, the granary also served as weighhouse and customhouse (Maut = toll). Since 1897/98, commercial use. During restoration in 1953, the half-timbered dormer was reconstructed in plastered masonry. The impressive cellar (26 pillars) now houses a restaurant.