Altbayern (also written Altbaiern, English meaning: Old Bavaria) is a term used to describe the three oldest parts of the Free State of Bavaria, which were earlier known as Kurbayern. It also describes the people who live in the area (cf. Bavarii).
Altbayern mainly consists of the following Regierungsbezirke:
Since the term Altbayern targets above all the cultural difference compared with Franconia and Swabia, the areas surrounding the cities of Wunsiedel in Oberfranken as well as Aichach and Friedberg in the Administrative District of Swabia are counted as part of Altbayern, because they share the same dialect and culture as the three previously mentioned districts.
Strictly speaking, the now Austrian Innviertel also belongs to Altbayern, since it belonged to Niederbayern until the Treaty of Teschen (1779).
The State of "Baiern" has been called "Bayern" since the reign of King Ludwig I (1825-1848). During the reforms Minister Maximilian Josef Montgelas the official spelling of Bavaria was changed from "Baiern" to "Bayern" because of the king's love for Ancient Greek culture.
Ideally, the term "Baiern" would be a logical description for the "Altbayern" Region, but since there is no difference in sound between the words "Baiern" and "Bayern" and there is still a great danger of confusing them in writing, the term "Altbayern" is used.
The other territories of Bavaria, which were united after 1801 into the State of Bavaria and are not part of Altbayern, are:
These last two regions have strong cultural as well as linguistic differences from Altbayern because they have been a part of Bavaria for a relatively short period of time. Austro-Bavarian dialects are spoken in Altbayern, while East Franconian is spoken in Franconia and a Swabian dialect is spoken in Swabia.
On Bayerischer Rundfunk there is a regular program called "Schwaben & Altbayern" for Southern parts of the state, which discusses current political and cultural topics.