NIEDERBAYERN

English Lower Bavaria Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), east-central Bavaria Land (state), southeastern Germany. Niederbayern is bordered by the Czech Republic to the northeast, Austria to the southeast, and the Regierungsbezirke of Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) to the southwest and west and Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) to the north. Together with Oberbayern and Oberpfalz, the district comprises most of the historic region of Bavaria (q.v.). Its name is derived from that of the Baiuvarii, or Baiuwarii, a mixture of Germanic people who moved westward from Bohemia between AD 488 and 520, establishing their original settlement in the Danube River valley between modern Regensburg and Vilshofen. In 1180 when Otto of Wittelsbach gained control of the Bavarian lands, the duchy was bounded by the Bohemian Forest, the Alps, and the Inn and Lech rivers. The first division of the duchy into southwestern lands, afterward known as Upper Bavaria, and northeastern lands, or Lower Bavaria, was made in 1255 between the sons of Duke Otto II. Frequent changes of territorial boundaries followed, and in 1392 a threefold division of Bavaria took place, creating separate duchies centred at Ingolstadt, Landshut, and Munich. Landshut, which is located on the Isar River, rose to major importance as the residence of the dukes of Lower Bavaria, and today that city serves as the administrative seat of Niederbayern Regierungsbezirk. The Danube River flows across central Niederbayern from the northwest border southeast to Passau, which is an important economic, cultural, and transportation centre situated at the confluence of the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers. The Inn River, joining the Danube from the southwest, forms the district's southeastern border with Austria. Along the southern bank of the Danube the Guboden plain, a fertile farm basin known as the granary of Bavaria, extends nearly 19 miles (30 km) in width. Here villages lie close to one another amid fields of sugar beets, wheat, barley, rye, and cabbage. Straubing serves as the major market centre for the region's agricultural goods and produces electrical equipment and beer. Rising to the south of the Danube basin are the Lower Bavarian Uplands, a region comprising long ridges of hills broken by the Isar, Vils, and Rott rivers. Many small villages lie along the rivers, as well as the growing industrial cities of Landshut and Dingolfing. Electrical and mechanical engineering and the manufacture of automobiles and textiles are among the leading industries. The rural population of the uplands live in small hamlets or on individual farms scattered about the countryside. Wheat is the chief crop, and animal husbandry, particularly horse breeding, is also important. Immediately northwest of Landshut is the Hallertau district, Germany's largest hop-growing region . North of the Danube River, the Bavarian Forest rises to merge with the Bohemian Forest along the district's eastern frontier with the Czech Republic. The landscape consists mainly of granite and gneiss hills covered with mixed woodland of spruce, silver fir, and beech. A number of larger mountain peaks rise above the hills, including the Grosser Arber with an elevation of 4,777 feet (1,456 m). Poor economic conditions have caused decades of depopulation in the forest region. Given its harsh climate and thin soils, small farms confined to the upland valleys produce only modest yields of rye, oats, and potatoes. In addition, the region's traditional stone, timber, ceramics, and glass industries have suffered from a loss of traditional market centres in central Europe since World War II. The tourist trade, however, is growing along the beautiful Bavarian Eastern Marches Highway and near such scenic attractions as the Bavarian Forest National Park, where more than 98 percent of the park's 51-square-mile (131-square-kilometre) area is tree-covered and many species of birds and small animals thrive. The people of Niederbayern speak Bavarian, one of three principal German dialects in Bavaria. More than three-quarters of the population are Roman Catholics. Higher education in the Regierungsbezirk is centred at Passau University, which was founded in 1972. Bavaria's second largest popular folk festival, the Gubodenfest, is celebrated during the month of August in Straubing. Area 3,989 square miles (10,331 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 1,078,110.