NIEDERBAYERN - Geography and history
Lower Bavaria is the most agricultural of Bavaria's Regierungsbezirke. Bavaria is shaped by the Danube (the fertile area around Straubing), the Isar and the Inn (forming the southern border with Austria), by the Bavarian forest (bounding the Czech Republic to the east) and by the hills of Lower Bavaria. Two towns - Landshut, the seat of government, and the cathedral town of Passau, with its university founded in 1978-79 - form the economic and cultural centres. Furthermore, the town of Dingolfing has gained in importance since a branch of BMW was located there in the 1970s.
Almost 56% of the total area of Lower Bavaria (10 330 km2) is used for agricultural purposes, and just under a third is woodland. Most of the latter is in the Bavarian forest, Germany's largest wooded upland area, which reaches its highest point in the Grosser Arber and which, together with the surrounding national park, is of considerable economic significance to the region.
The Deggendorf-Munich motorway (A92) links Lower Bavaria with the Munich conurbation. The Nuremberg-Passau motorway (A3), which continues into Austria via Linz to Vienna, also forms an important link in the European road network. The same is true of rail transport, Passau being an important stop on the Intercity line.
After Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria recorded the greatest number of overnight hotel stays in 2003 at 7 million, 6.4 million of which were spent in the Bavarian forest, a popular holiday destination. Tourism also boomed in the spa region of Bad Füssing-Bad Birnbach-Bad Griesbach, with 4.1 million overnight stays in 2003.
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