Bavarians - Settlements

Agricultural settlements include isolated scattered farmsteads ( Einöden ), small clusters of farms ( Weiler), and small or larger villages, usually with a church. Barns, dairies, and outbuildings can be found in the center of these rural villages, competing for space with shops and gas stations. "Urban" places, including chartered towns ( Städte ) or markets (Märfete), are often quite small and sometimes retain a medieval flavor, with fortified walls, castles, stuccoed merchant houses, and elaborate churches. The traditional Bavarian farmhouse is a long, rectangular, stuccoed building combining two-storied living quarters with a barn. External features include intricately carved wooden balconies ablaze with geraniums in the summer, colorfully decorated windows and doors, and whitewashed walls, often with religious murals. Modern housing, in contrast, is functional in design and Usually plain.