Neuschwanstein, wheat beer, pretzels and traditional dress – is this Bavaria? Reports of the G7 summit meeting in Elmau convey this impression. The American President, Barack Obama, with a beer glass on the table and eating Bavarian veal sausage, surrounded by locals – in traditional costume. Neuschwanstein Castle, immersed in the national colours of the participating nations. Picturesque Bavaria or cliche? The Tourist Managers of the Free State of Bavaria fight against people reducing Bavaria to these images. And: they have been extremely successful. The picture of Franz Keilhofer from Bischofswieden, that decorates our cover page, has appeared in almost all forms of communication media. It shows a young man whose occupation is a wood turner, who lives on a farm with a view of Mount Watzmann in the Bavarian Alps, who likes to wear traditional leather trousers but whose body is almost completely covered in tattoos...
