Bavaria (; German and Bavarian: "Bayern" ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (German and Bavarian: "Freistaat Bayern" ) is a State ("Bundesland") of Germany. The territory of this state is the largest of the 16 German states. The state capital is Munich with 1.3 million people. About 12.5 million people live in Bavaria. Like many German states, Bavaria was once independent. Ludwig II of Bavaria was its last independent king. 