Zugspitze
Bavaria-Tirol Border
This is the cross at the summit of Zugspitze (9,718 ft). Just
beyond, one can see the Hochwanner (9,019 ft). The Zugspitze was
first climbed by Lt. K. Naus in 1820. The cross was erected on the
eastern summit in 1882.
Copyright © 1999 Richard Jaklitsch
Zugspitze
Bavaria-Tirol Border
Looking east from the summit of Zugspitze (9,718 ft), this is the view
of the Hochwanner (9,019 ft) and the Tirolean Alps.
Copyright © 1999 Richard Jaklitsch
Zugspitze
Bavaria-Tirol Border
Looking southeast from the summit of Zugspitze (9,718 ft), the Tirolean
Alps seemed to go on forever. From this incredible vantage point,
one can see the Tuxer Alpen, Stubair Alpen, Zillertaler Alpen, and the
Dolomites, far in the distance.
Copyright © 1999 Richard Jaklitsch
Zugspitze
Bavaria
The Bavarians are a Germanic people that were formed from various tribes,
mainly the Marcomanni, during the 5th and 6th centuries AD, and that settled
in the region between the Danube and the Alps. During the 4th and
5th centuries, Germanic peoples, who worked as Roman mercenaries, settled
on the Danube. During the late 5th and early 6th centuries, large
groups of Marcomanni and other German settlers from the Elbe Valley moved
in from Bohemia. Parts of the Eastern Germanic tribes – such as the
Quadi and Heruli – passed through the area and mixed with the peoples who
were already settled there.
The Bavarians lived mainly in small villages and worked as farmers. Following the disintegration of Roman control of the area in the late 5th century, the Bavarians expanded further south into the Alpine valleys and all along the Danube. The Bavarians mixed with the Romans and the remaining Langobardi and settled in what are now the provinces of Upper Austria, Salzburg and Tirol as far as Säben and the Pustertal Valley. Around 550 AD, these various peoples were for the first time recorded as a single tribe, under the dominion of the Franks. Their land was composed of provinces with six royal families forming a noble upper class mentioned in the Lex Baiuvariorum, among the oldest collection of German laws. Of these six royal families, the Burgundian House of Agilolfing became the leading dynasty from the middle of the 6th century until 788, when the Bavarians came under the direct control of Charlamagne. The conversion of the Bavarians to Christianity started around 600 AD, and was primarily the missionary work of Emmeram, Rupert, and Corbinian – a process that continued under Frankish rule.
The Bavarians were the main agents of colonization in eastern Austria and Carantania before and during Carolingian times. Within the federate Duchy of Bavaria, a mark (or border province) was instituted and settled following the year 955. Beginning in the 10th century, there developed various territories independent from the Bavarian duchy, including the Duchy of Carinthia in 976, the Duchy of Austria (Ostarichi) in 1156, and the Duchy of Styria in 1180. Eventually, the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the county of Tirol became independent of Bavaria as well.
Copyright © 1999 Richard Jaklitsch
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