Southern Germany

Southern Germany (German: Süddeutschland) as a region has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas where Upper German dialects are spoken. This corresponds roughly to the historical stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia, or in a modern context to the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg within the Federal Republic of Germany (to the exclusion of the areas of the modern states of Austria and Switzerland). Sometimes also included are the Saarland and the southern parts of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate often are included as well, corresponding to historical Franconia.

Southern Germany primarily contrasts with Northern Germany. The term mostly corresponds to those territories of modern Germany which did not form part of the North German Confederation in the nineteenth century.

Between Northern and Southern Germany is the loosely defined area known as Central Germany (Mitteldeutschland), roughly corresponding to the areal of Central German dialects (Franconia, Thuringia, Saxony).

The boundary between the spheres of political influence of Prussia (Northern Germany) and Austria (Southern Germany) within the German Confederation (1815–1866) was known as the "Main line" (Mainlinie, after the River Main), Frankfurt am Main being the seat of the federal assembly. The "Main line" did not follow the course of the River Main upstream of Frankfurt, however, it corresponded rather, to the northern border of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

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