Introduction to Bavaria: Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle are about 4 kilometers away from the town of Fussen, not far from the border between Germany and Austria, and belong to the foothills of the Alps. The Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern), also often called Bayern, Bayern or Bayern, is the largest federal state in Germany, with its capital in Munich. "Bavaria" comes from the transliteration of its Latin name Bavaria.