South Germany

Bundesgroßherzogtum Süddeutschland Federal Grand Duchy of South Germany

Demonym: South German, Süddeutsch Capital: Weißenburg Government: Federal constitutional monarchy with strong aristocracy Population: 7.5 million

Profile:
South Germany consists of those parts of the German Confederation that successfully resisted the Aristogogic Revolution that swept over the rest if the country. Today, it considers itself a lifeboat for traditional German culture. Monarchism is the state ideology, and the nobility still has quite a bit of political power in much of the federation. The divine right of kings is lodged deep in the national blood. It is only out of deep reverence to tradition that the head of state merely a "Grand Duke" - the title "King" would imply the right to rule all of Germany, and South Germany continues to await the return of a rightful German King. (That, and there would be jealousy among the four dukes over who would get to be King. Aquiescing to a Grand Duke was more palatable.)

This clinging to tradition extends to the country's actual government, where a vigorous nobility remains politically powerful in all four duchies. Vorarlberg, which has some politicial institutions separate from Fugger, is the only region with little to no aristocratic tradition and is remarkably egalitarian. Franconia, cobbled together mostly from old church lands, has few prominent families and a powerful monarch and is the most absolutist of the four. Ansbach has a large and powerful Second Estate wich such houses as the Hohenlohes and Helfensteins maintaining control over huge tracts of land. Bavaria could be called the "most average" of the four, with the Duke, aristocrats, and the People all roughly equal in political power.

The four dukes elect the Grand Duke from among the noble families of Germany. Most often, the crown goes to high-ranking noble exiles whose estates are across the border in Mitteleuropa. These exiled nobles have no political power of their own, but they socialize with South German nobility and are always jockeying for support among the landed nobility of the country, hoping one day to win the crown for themselves. The current head of state is Grand Duke Frederick Magnus von Solms, the titular Count of Solms.

All in all, the people of South Germany accept this state of affairs because the alternative is seen as a descent into the chaos of aristogogism. The ducal governments do an effective job of encouraging these fears.

Constituent states:

 * The Duchy of Bavaria
 * The Duchy of Ansbach
 * The Duchy of Franconia
 * The Duchy of Fugger and Vorarlberg
 * The Free City of Weißenburg

Bavaria (Bayern)
Capital: Munich

The oldest of the four constituent duchies, Bavaria has been ruled by the Wittelsbach family since the 12th century. For much of that history, it was a disorganized region of competing statelets led by rival members of the family. It reunited in the late 17th century. Bavaria has a history of ducal absolutism that kept its aristocracy in place, but its house of lords is still an important body at least equal in power to the elective house. Bavaria is the largest, most populous, and most industrialized of the four duchies.

Ansbach
Capital: Ansbach

Ansbach was only a Principality before the Revolution, ruled as a lesser territory of the Hohenzollern family. When the Hohenzollerns lost their other realms in the revolution and the Federal Grand Duchy was formed, the other three duchies graciously allowed for this increase in status from principality to duchy. The duchy is quaint and rural. Most land and political power is in the hands of a group of noble families, who most of the time manage to limit the power both of the Duke and the people.

Fugger and Vorarlberg
Capital: Augsburg

The Fugger family, the imperial bankers, were able to acquire more land and titles in TTL and did a good job playing the game of territorial politics even after their banking empire declined. By the 18th century the County of Fugger covered a large splotch to the north of Lake Constance. The acquisition of Vorarlberg added a prosperous and compact territory to their growing lands. They came out on top of the mediatization process and ended up as dukes of this nice area. Vorarlberg has a long history of democratic, egalitarian rule, and today it still has a separate legislature from Fugger proper, which is much more authoritarian and aristocratic. Stunning mountain vistas and picturesque Alpine towns dominate the landscape.

Franconia (Franken)
Capital: Würzburg

Franconia is the newest of the four duchies. In the 19th century it was carved out of former church lands and the mediatized estates of little nobles. The whole thing was given to the Nassau family (maybe?) as compensation for lost lands elsewhere. All those little nobles are still around but have had their wings clipped by the ducal family, making Franconia's duke the most personally powerful in South Germany. Franken is moderately industrialized.

Weißenburg
Weißenburg was a self-governing city during the days of the HRE and the early German Confederation. It was annexed to Ansbach but restored to autonomy when the Federal Grand Duchy was constituted. South Germany wanted a free city to serve as a neutral capital, and since Weißenburg was very near the center of the new state, it fit the bill. It's in a beautiful area of verdant forest but is seen as somewhat of a backwater. Some development has occurred with the creation of the new Bundestag there. As a free city, Weißenburg in theory is very democratic, but the federal Bundestag has a lot of say over how it is run.