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 Geschichte Bayerns > Economics > Trade and Banking
Trade and Banking

Ever since the Early Middle Ages, long-distance trade has been one of the most important sources of income in the transit land of Bavaria. During the 15th and 16th centuries, two international enterprises were active in Augsburg and Nuremberg: the Fuggers and the Welsers.

Salt, the so-called "white gold", was one of the most important mineral resources of Bavaria. Until recently, the mining and marketing of salt lay in the hands of the Bavarian state, which gained profits from it.

In 1806 the Bavarian State Bank was founded in Munich for debt repayment purposes. The first bank in the modern sense was the Bavarian Hypotheken- and Wechsel-Bank, founded in 1835. From 1972 onwards the Bavarian Landesbank functioned as the private bank of the Bavarian Free State. It is half owned by the Free State, and half by the Savings Bank Association of Bavaria.

The most important trade fair city in Bavaria today is Munich, followed by Nuremberg.