4 tribes: Old Bavarians, Franconians, Swabians & Palatinate

The lowest point in Bavaria with 100 m is the water level of the Main in Kahl am Main (Lower Franconia), the highest at the summit of the Zugspitze (2962 m), the highest German mountain in the Wetterstein Mountains. All 30 of Germany's highest mountain peaks are in the Bavarian Alps, concentrated in the Wetterstein Mountains, in the Berchtesgaden Alps and the Allgäu Alps. The highest Bavarian peaks in the Berchtesgaden Alps are the Watzmann (2713 m) and in the Allgäu Alps the Hochfrottspitze (2649 m).

Already in 555 AD the older Bavarian tribal duchy was documented, which became part of the Franconian domain under the Merovingians. Under the Carolingians, a Bavarian kingship emerged for the first time, which they either ruled as kings or sub-kings, or appointed governors.