Bavaria

The following articles have been tagged with "Bavaria":

The Left presents blueprint for party platform

Politics: 21 Mar 10
Germany’s socialist party The Left has submitted a draft of its policy platform, some two-and-a-half years after its founding. Both the conservatives and the SPD attacked the 25-page paper as a populist hodgepodge. READ »

Zollitsch says pope 'warning' German clergy

National: 20 Mar 10
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch on Saturday said Pope Benedict XVI's letter to Irish Catholics expressing remorse for child sex abuse by priests was also a warning to Germany's clergy. READ »

Conservatives plan to rein in pharmaceutical prices

Business & Money: 20 Mar 10
Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats have proposed a sweeping price freeze on prescription drugs for three years, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Saturday. READ »

Elisa Moolecherry: Bringing English theatre to Munich

Lifestyle: 17 Mar 10
The Local's series "Making it in Germany" presents Elisa Moolecherry, the Canadian actor and entrepreneur behind Munich’s English-language BeMe Theatre. READ »

Popular Passion play bad for Bavarian barbers

Society: 16 Mar 10
Once every 10 years, this Bavarian village crucifies Jesus all over again and local hairdressers nearly go out of business. READ »

Doctor shortage alarms military commissioner

National: 16 Mar 10
Reinhold Robbe, Germany’s outgoing parliamentary commissioner for the Bundeswehr, on Tuesday raised alarm over a shortage of military doctors and lacking equipment for the country's soldiers. READ »

Church suspends priest whom Benedict helped

National: 16 Mar 10
The Catholic priest at the centre of a paedophilia scandal that has embroiled Pope Benedict XVI was suspended from duty late Monday amid revelations he was still working with children 25 years after he was convicted of sexual abuse. READ »

Week off to a slippery start as icy roads cause multiple accidents

Society: 15 Mar 10
Wintery road conditions caused one death, traffic jams and several accidents across Germany, as commuters began their work week on Monday. READ »

Heavy fog and snow cause huge autobahn pile-up in Bavaria

National: 12 Mar 10
Police in Bavaria reported that up to 170 vehicles were involved in a massive accident on the A8 motorway on Friday morning, as a spring snowstorm and thick fog created dangerous road conditions throughout the southern state. READ »

Up to 30 centimetres of snow expected as winter wears on

National: 11 Mar 10
Don’t put your skis in the garage just yet – up to 30 centimetres of snow is expected in many parts of the country over the weekend, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported on Thursday. READ »

Bayern's Schweini wary of Champions League big guns

Sport: 10 Mar 10
German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger admitted he would be pleased if Bayern Munich avoided the Champions League's top teams in the quarter-finals after scraping past Fiorentina this week. READ »

Minister calls for abuse compensation

National: 9 Mar 10
Pressure was mounting on Germany's Catholic Church to offer compensation to sexual abuse victims Tuesday, as Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger called for ''a piece of justice'' for victims. READ »

New snowfall causes series of road accidents

Society: 6 Mar 10
Dogged winter weather caused a slew of road accidents across Germany overnight and clogged several motorways with traffic jams. READ »

Catholic abuse scandal hits famous boys' choir

Society: 5 Mar 10
The child sexual abuse scandal in Germany’s Catholic Church continued to spread on Friday as a spokesperson confirmed abuse at Regensburg’s cathedral school for their famous boys' choir, the Domspatzen. READ »

Bayern Munich looking to cement top league ranking

Sport: 5 Mar 10
Bayern Munich will be looking to cement their newly gained place at the top of the Bundesliga this weekend as second and third-placed Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke snap at their heels. READ »

Winter returns for an encore

National: 3 Mar 10
Don’t pack up those winter coats and mittens just yet, the German Weather Service (DWD) is forecasting more snow across much of the country this weekend. READ »

Germany hoping to tame Maradona's Argentina

Sport: 3 Mar 10
Two World Cup favourites lock horns in Munich on Wednesday night as Diego Maradona's struggling Argentine side take on solid three-times champions Germany. READ »

Construction worker finds €100,000 hidden under old bathtub

Society: 2 Mar 10
A young construction worker in Munich has discovered €100,000 underneath a bathtub while renovating an apartment, police reported on Tuesday. READ »

Teachers reject claim German schools are IT failures

Science & Technology: 2 Mar 10
The national teachers’ association on Tuesday rejected claims by Microsoft that German schools were failing to offer students adequate computer training, telling The Local better libraries were needed instead. READ »

MPs earning thousands from moonlighting

Politics: 2 Mar 10
Moonlighting members of the German parliament are earning thousands of euros from outside jobs, with MPs from the ruling centre-right coalition far outstripping those in the opposition parties, a report released late Monday revealed. READ »

Catholic child abuse scandal widens

National: 27 Feb 10
The child abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic Church in Germany continues to expand, with accusations that claims of abuse were ignored or hidden for years and the first resignations. READ »

Majority supports Westerwelle in controversial welfare debate

Politics: 26 Feb 10
More than half of German voters back Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle’s robust attacks on Germany’s welfare system, saying his fiery rhetoric has been justified, a poll released on Friday revealed. READ »

Hunters urge calm as wolves return to Bavaria

Society: 26 Feb 10
The ÖJV ecological hunters’ association urged Bavarians on Friday to remain calm following confirmation that a lone wolf has been spotted near the southern community of Brannenburg. READ »

Munich's answer to Lent: stronger beer

Lifestyle: 26 Feb 10
Lent might be a period of abstinence, but Bavarian monks decided centuries ago that drinking highly alcoholic beer helped their fasting. Thomas Barkley explains Munich's Starkbierzeit tradition. READ »

Westerwelle inflating the obvious on welfare, says Merkel

Politics: 25 Feb 10
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday took a swipe at her coalition partner Guido Westerwelle on Thursday, suggesting he was inflaming the debate over welfare by trumpeting himself as the lone voice on “taboo” topics. READ »

Germany aims to cut solar power subsidies

Politics: 23 Feb 10
The German government wants to slash its support to the solar energy industry to prevent the market from overheating, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats said on Tuesday. READ »

Young boy sparks huge search after setting off 'to find gold'

Society: 23 Feb 10
An adventurous nine-year-old boy sparked a large-scale police search operation in Bavaria this week after he decided to set off to find gold in Italy. READ »

Bundeswehr hazing scandal widens

National: 23 Feb 10
The parliamentary commissioner for the German armed forces confirmed on Tuesday that an army hazing scandal involving young recruits forced to take questionable rites of passage is much more widespread than initally thought. READ »

Giving English the big kiss-off

Analysis & Opinion: 22 Feb 10
Roger Boyes, the Berlin correspondent for British daily The Times, doesn’t lament the end of Deutsche Bahn’s troubled romance with the English language. READ »

Neuner to sit out final Olympic biathlon relay

Sport: 22 Feb 10
Just hours after winning her second Olympic gold medal on Sunday, German biathlete Magdalena Neuner made the surprise announcement that she would not compete in the relay event on Tuesday. READ »

Germany prepares for floods as big thaw looms

National: 20 Feb 10
Several regions around Germany are preparing for floods in the next few weeks as rising temperatures are expected to melt masses of snow accumulated over a long, cold winter. READ »

Riesch takes gold in super-combined

Sport: 19 Feb 10
The achievement brought a broad smile, but tears then trickled down the cheeks of Maria Riesch as she finally became Germany's Olympic golden girl on Thursday. READ »

Horde of 'Vikings' attacks home in Bavaria, injuring four

National: 17 Feb 10
Police are calling for witnesses on Wednesday after a horde of people dressed as Vikings attacked a family home in Bavaria, injuring a woman and three children, a spokesperson told The Local. READ »

Deutsche Bahn to ditch English

National: 16 Feb 10
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn is ditching or changing its use of English terms such as “Service Point,” “hotline” and “Call a Bike” amid concerns gratuitous and unintelligible Anglicisms are irking its customers. READ »

Hartz IV ruling sparks jump in welfare applications

Society: 16 Feb 10
Job centres in Germany have been flooded by applications for welfare payments following a Constitutional Court ruling that could pave the way for Hartz IV benefits to be raised, daily Bild reported Tuesday. READ »

Terrified tax dodgers turning themselves in

Business & Money: 15 Feb 10
The number of tax dodgers turning themselves in has reportedly risen dramatically in recent days, following the German government’s decision to purchase stolen bank data on secret Swiss accounts. READ »

Germany takes gold and silver in men's luge

Sport: 15 Feb 10
Felix Loch won Winter Olympics gold in the men's singles luge on Sunday to lead a German 1-2 with compatriot David Möller finishing second and Italy's Armin Zöggeler third. READ »

Army ritual abuse scandal spreads

National: 14 Feb 10
The hazing scandal in the German army, in which young recruits have reportedly been forced to eat raw animal liver until they vomited, has snowballed with more soldiers blowing the whistle on ugly rites of passage, reports said Sunday. READ »

Leading conservative calls for more immigrant naturalisation

Society: 14 Feb 10
The president of Germany’s federal Parliament, Norbert Lammert, called on Sunday for the country to work together to raise the immigrant naturalisation rate, singling this out as the best path to greater integration. READ »

German athletes go for gold at Winter Olympics in Vancouver

Sport: 12 Feb 10
A winter-sports powerhouse, Germany is hoping to dominate the Olympic Games starting in Vancouver on Friday. READ »

Berlin forges deal over WWII expellee centre

National: 11 Feb 10
A dispute over a memorial centre for Germans driven from Eastern Europe after 1945 that has caused friction with Poland looked to be over Thursday after the main expellees' body and the government reached a compromise. READ »

Ramsauer rules out Deutsche Bahn privatisation

Business & Money: 11 Feb 10
German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer said on Thursday that he had serious misgivings about government plans to privatise national rail provider Deutsche Bahn. READ »

Rhineland jesters try to get Munich to lighten up for Karneval

Society: 10 Feb 10
Maybe it's the ''calming'' effect of all that Bavarian beer, but the relatively sedate approach to Karneval in Munich has the excitable folks from Cologne worried. So they've decided to do something about it. READ »

Support for Merkel's coalition flagging

Politics: 10 Feb 10
Voter support for the two parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s struggling centre-right coalition has fallen to its lowest level since 2001, a poll published Wednesday found. READ »

Bundeswehr launches investigation into hazing

National: 10 Feb 10
Reports of ritual hazing at a Bundeswehr mountain infantry training camp surfaced on Wednesday, spurring Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg to urge an investigation into the mistreatment of young recruits. READ »

Young literary star Hegemann counters plagiarism claim

Society: 9 Feb 10
Best-selling teenage novelist Helene Hegemann rejected accusations of plagiarism in her debut novel “Axolotl Roadkill” on Tuesday, after it emerged she had taken slabs of text from an anonymous author and blogger. READ »

Knobloch to step down as Jewish leader

National: 7 Feb 10
The Central Council of Jews in Germany is set for a historic generational shift after Charlotte Knobloch announced Sunday she would retire as president, making her the last leader to come from the Holocaust-survivor generation. READ »

British airman killed in avalanche during training

National: 5 Feb 10
A British airman died Thursday after being hit by an avalanche while skiing in Germany as part of a training exercise, defence officials said. READ »

Don't mess with Bavaria

Society: 4 Feb 10
Loud, proud and fiercely independent, Bavaria is Germany’s Texas. But are laptops starting to beat out lederhosen? Lois Jones takes the former kingdom’s temperature. READ »

Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt: 'I'll give up Hollywood and mingle with the people'

Society: 4 Feb 10
Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, flamboyant German-born LA socialite and husband to Zsa Zsa Gabor, has announced his intention to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California. The Local caught up with His Royal Highness. READ »

‘Miriam’ wreaks winter havoc

National: 3 Feb 10
The winter storm “Miriam” created chaotic traffic conditions across Germany on Wednesday, as the military used helicopters to bring food and supplies to the Baltic Sea island of Hiddensee. READ »

Berlin to buy stolen Swiss tax dodger data

National: 2 Feb 10
Germany said Tuesday it would pay for data on some 1,500 suspected tax dodgers with funds stashed in Swiss accounts, waving aside concerns that the allegedly stolen material would not stand up in court. READ »

Germany grapples with relentless winter weather

Society: 2 Feb 10
Unrelenting winter weather forced the evacuation of a Baltic Sea island and caused hundreds of traffic accidents in Germany on Tuesday, as another storm threatened to dump more snow across much of the country. READ »

Booze-related violence on the rise among youths

Society: 1 Feb 10
The number of alcohol-fuelled acts of violence by youths in Germany has seen a stunning increase over the last decade, a new study released on Monday showed. READ »

Politicians renew calls for NPD ban

Politics: 1 Feb 10
Seven years after Germany’s high court refused to ban the neo-Nazi NPD party, a growing number of politicians are advocating a renewed attempt to end their legitimacy. READ »

Snow causes chaos in the north

Society: 30 Jan 10
More than 25 centimetres of new snow disabled traffic throughout northern Germany on Saturday, particularly in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where Baltic islands have been cut off. READ »

Green blueblood's solar project irks commoners

National: 28 Jan 10
The aristocratic house of Thurn und Taxis wants to build the world's largest solar park in Bavaria. But as Kyle James reports, the plans have angered their commoner neighbours. READ »

What's on in Germany: January 28 - February 3

Lifestyle: 28 Jan 10
This Week's Highlights: Air plays Cologne, nudes fill a Hamburg museum, and the Transmediale festival begins in Berlin. READ »

Two dead after boulder crushes family home

National: 26 Jan 10
Two people are dead and another two seriously injured after an enormous boulder crushed a family home in the southern Bavarian town of Stein an der Traun on Monday evening. READ »

Teens beat man with club in Munich S-Bahn

Society: 25 Jan 10
A 29-year-old man has been brutally beaten by a group of teenagers in a Munich S-Bahn commuter train, police reported on Monday. READ »

German TV is murder

Analysis & Opinion: 22 Jan 10
In the latest installment of Portnoy’s Stammtisch, The Local’s column about life in Germany, Portnoy examines the country’s beloved TV treasure Tatort. READ »

Munich Airport admits to serious security mistakes

National: 22 Jan 10
Munich Airport has acknowledged two serious mistakes that led to Wednesday’s security breach, which allowed a person to slip away after his laptop set off an alarm for explosives. READ »

Alpine association threatens to scupper Munich Olympic bid

Sport: 19 Jan 10
The German Alpine Association (DAV) is threatening to boycott the joint bid by Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the 2018 Winter Olympics unless the concept becomes more environmentally friendly. READ »

Berlin residents at highest risk for poverty

Business & Money: 18 Jan 10
Nowhere in Germany are people more at risk of poverty than in the capital city of Berlin, a study released on Monday found. READ »

Merkel holds crisis talks as squabbles tarnish coalition

Politics: 17 Jan 10
Chancellor Angela Merkel held what was being billed as a "crisis meeting" of her key coalition allies on Sunday in a bid to quell internal squabbling that has seen her own popularity slide. READ »

FDP under fire for large donation from hotel magnate

Politics: 16 Jan 10
The Free Democratic Party (FDP) received more than €1 million from one single donor – a baron whose company will profit from the reduction in value added tax on hotel bills recently enacted by the new government. READ »

More snow expected on Sunday

Society: 16 Jan 10
Meteorologists are forecasting more snow for much of Germany on Sunday, although they also warn it could turn into rain and then possibly freeze to produce black ice on roads. READ »

More snow forecast for the weekend

Society: 14 Jan 10
More snow is likely to fall this weekend in Germany - even as freezing temperatures mean that accumulation from last week's storm continues to snarl traffic, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported on Thursday. READ »

Dozens rescued from gondola by helicopter

National: 12 Jan 10
A Bavarian helicopter crew on Tuesday launched a dramatic rescue operation to save 43 people left dangling high in the sky after their gondola broke down, police told The Local. READ »

Merkel under pressure from party ranks

Politics: 10 Jan 10
Internal squabbling and a lack of tangible results in the first few months of the new government resulted in growing political pressure against Chancellor Angela Merkel from leading members of her own party over the weekend. READ »

Oktoberfest security to be kept at last year's high level

National: 10 Jan 10
The extra tough security measures deployed to combat terrorist threats at last year's Oktoberfest in Munich will likely become a permanent requirement, organisers said over the weekend. READ »

Winter storm on the way

National: 8 Jan 10
Arctic air dumped almost 30 centimetres of snow on the Baltic island of Rügen on Friday, as weather experts predicted another storm would likely blanket the rest of the country with plenty of the white stuff over the weekend. READ »

Snow bounty boosts Germany's most northern ski slope

Sport: 7 Jan 10
Germany’s most northerly ski lift is seeing an unprecedented rush of business amid unusually wintry conditions this season, operators said on Thursday. READ »

Conservatives and FDP agree to coalition 'crisis meeting'

Politics: 7 Jan 10
The heads of the three parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition will hold what the German media had termed a "crisis meeting" after a shaky start marked by infighting, it emerged on Thursday. READ »

Steinbach's halfhearted compromise

Analysis & Opinion: 5 Jan 10
Erika Steinbach will have little success trying to outwit those in the German government opposed to her joining a foundation for people displaced after World War II, argues Ludwig Greven from Zeit Online. READ »

Kosovar cousins jailed for vicious Munich U-Bahn beating

Society: 5 Jan 10
Two cousins who beat a young man nearly to death at a Munich U-Bahn station 13 years ago were sentenced on Tuesday to five and seven years’ prison for the savage attack. READ »

Policeman suspended from duty after sex in church

Society: 4 Jan 10
A Bavarian police officer has been suspended from duty after he was caught ringing in the New Year with a quickie in a Baroque church during the morning prayer service, a police spokesperson confirmed Monday. READ »

Teen skiers die in cliff fall

National: 4 Jan 10
Two German teenagers have been found dead after a skiing accident in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, the country’s news agency APA reported on Monday. READ »

Wrangling starts between CDU and CSU

Politics: 3 Jan 10
Unrest has developed in the coalition between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavaria sister party the Christian Social Union, after some CSU members called for Defence Minister Guttenberg to be made vice-chancellor. READ »

CSU and SPD ridicule Westerwelle

Politics: 2 Jan 10
Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has attracted scorn from rival parties for his apparent threat to boycott the Afghanistan NATO conference in London late January. READ »

German ski-jumpers disappoint at home

Sport: 2 Jan 10
Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer, the defending World Cup champion, won the second leg of the Four Hills ski jump event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria on Friday. Germany's top-placed finish was Pascal Bodmer in 16th. READ »

Bavarian interior minister wants Left party watched

Politics: 1 Jan 10
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has declared his intention to continue having the Bavarian Left party observed by Germany's constitutional protection office. READ »

The Local's year in review

National: 31 Dec 09
As 2010 kicks off, The Local takes a look back at some of the stories that caught our attention during the past year in Germany. READ »

Tenants association fears impending apartment shortage

Society: 31 Dec 09
The German national tenants association (DMB) has warned the government that unless investment in new construction is increased, the country could face an acute housing shortage in urban areas in the next two or three years. READ »

Two men missing on the Zugspitze

National: 31 Dec 09
Rescue workers and police are searching for two climbers who went missing two days ago on Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, in southern Bavaria. READ »

Christmas likely to be wet, not white

Society: 24 Dec 09
Christmas Day is likely to be wet and windy throughout the country, the German weather service reported Thursday. Only southern Bavaria can hope for snowfall later in the day. READ »

Naser steps down over BayernLB fiasco

Business & Money: 23 Dec 09
The president of Bavaria’s Savings Bank Association, Siegfried Naser, bowed to public pressure over the €3.75 billion BayernLB bank debacle and resigned on Wednesday. READ »

Politicians reject mooted unemployment insurance hike

Politics: 23 Dec 09
Senior government figures spoke out against a spike in the contribution German workers pay towards unemployment insurance on Wednesday, as a whirlwind of debate raged over how to get the nation’s finances back under control. READ »

White Christmas forecast for parts of Germany

National: 22 Dec 09
The chilly weather of the last week may bring rewards after all, with Germany set for a white Christmas - at least in some parts of the country, forecasters said Tuesday. READ »

Christmas post offices swamped with letters to Santa - from adults

Society: 22 Dec 09
More and more adults in Germany are writing to Santa – and the official Christmas post offices that deal with the mail are not amused. READ »

Bavarian ski resorts look to a brighter, if warmer, future

Business & Money: 21 Dec 09
Global warming and the mediocre outcome at Copenhagen aren't daunting Bavarian ski resorts. Rather, in keeping with the cold spell of recent days, they are pouring investment money into Germany's southern slopes. READ »

Ice and snow cause traffic chaos

National: 19 Dec 09
The biting cold that has blanketed Germany in snow and ice caused chaos on the roads at the beginning of the weekend, killing at least two people and causing thousands of accidents, particularly in the west of the country. READ »

The Local's guide to skiing in Germany

Travel: 18 Dec 09
There’s more to skiing in Germany than the northernmost bits of the Alps. As the new season begins, The Local’s Kristen Allen introduces some alternative slopes that just might be closer than you think. READ »

Fire fighters use night vision camera to save child's guinea pig

Society: 18 Dec 09
Fire fighters in the Bavarian city of Alzenau made a child very happy on Thursday night when they used special night vision equipment to retrieve a tiny lost pet. READ »

What's on in Germany: December 17 - 23

Lifestyle: 17 Dec 09
This Week's Highlights: A 1980s supermodel party in Berlin, an Alice in Wonderland opera in Cologne, and Hannover does Bach for the holidays. READ »

Muslims mull mosque debate after Swiss vote

Society: 16 Dec 09
The Swiss vote to forbid the construction of mosques with minarets has sparked calls for a similar ban in Germany. Robert Rigney samples the mood of the country’s Muslim community. READ »

Fresh doubts on Mannichl stabbing case

National: 15 Dec 09
The unsolved stabbing of former Passau police chief Alois Mannichl – allegedly by a neo-Nazi – was thrown into doubt Tuesday when the public prosecutor in the case dismissed his testimony as inconsistent. READ »

More than one in seven Germans on poverty line

Business & Money: 15 Dec 09
Official figures released on Tuesday showed nearly 15 percent of Germans were languishing near the poverty line in 2008, as a separate study said the country's long-term unemployed had a poor chance of having a normal work life. READ »

Top women's volleyball team prove work is a beach

Sport: 14 Dec 09
Spending the day at the beach can be hard work if you’re Europe’s top-ranked volleyball players. Jeff Kavanagh catches up with Laura Ludwig and Sara Goller. READ »

Nationalisation of Austria's HGAA costs Bavaria €3.75 billion

Business & Money: 14 Dec 09
The Austrian government on Monday nationalised real estate financier Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA), costing the German state of Bavaria an estimated €3.75 billion. READ »

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