Overview
- .bayern is a geographic top-level domain (GeoTLD). "Bayern" is the German word for Bavaria, the largest German state by area and the second most populous.
- The TLD is intended as a regional namespace for businesses, brands, organizations and individuals who wish to associate themselves with the Free State of Bavaria.
History
- Proposed as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- Multiple applicants initially vied for the string (notably Bayern Connect and dotBayern); Bayern Connect gained government support and succeeded.
- Minds + Machines (Minds + Machines Group Limited / MMX) was selected to run the registry and is the majority owner of Bayern Connect.
- A Registry Agreement with ICANN was signed on 23 January 2014.
- .bayern was delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 3 May 2014.
Usage and Audience
- Target audience: businesses, brands, organizations and individuals that want to identify with or market to the Bavaria (Bayern) region.
- Marketed to registrants who want a clear, region-specific online identity tied to the Free State of Bavaria.
- The applicant anticipated particular value for small and medium-sized enterprises in Bavaria.
Registration Rules
- There are no nexus requirements to register a .bayern domain name (registrations are not restricted to residents or organizations of Bavaria).
- The registry considered more restrictive policies (for example, limiting registrations to members of specific local organizations) but rejected them to encourage broader adoption.
- The registry positions .bayern as broadly available to any legal registrant wishing to associate with Bavaria.
SEO and Brand Impact
- The TLD is promoted as a tool to enhance regional recognition and identity for Bavaria online.
- The Free State of Bavaria endorsed the application, framing the TLD as a public benefit that can promote the region and create opportunities for local businesses and the population.
- Using .bayern signals a clear geographic and cultural association, which can help with local branding and audience targeting.
Notable Cases or Examples
- The Free State of Bavaria publicly supported the Bayern Connect application, and the registry committed to close cooperation with the state in operating the string.
- The TLD is primarily marketed rather than tied to specific named users; its notable attribute is the governmental endorsement and regional focus rather than individual flagship registrants.
Operator
Bayern Connect GmbH
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: BAYERN
organisation: Bayern Connect GmbH
address: Hansestr. 111
address: Köln 51149
address: Germany
contact: administrative
name: IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address: 2155 E GoDaddy Way
address: Tempe AZ 85284
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 480-505-8800
fax-no: +1 480-624-2546
e-mail: iana@registry.godaddy
contact: technical
name: ironDNS Support
organisation: Knipp Medien und Kommunikation GmbH
address: Martin-Schmeisser-Weg 9
address: Dortmund North Rhine-Westphalia 44227
address: Germany
phone: +49 231 9703 0
fax-no: +49 231 9703 200
e-mail: dnsmaster@irondns.net
nserver: ANYCAST10.IRONDNS.NET 195.253.64.12 2a01:5b0:4:0:0:0:0:c
nserver: ANYCAST23.IRONDNS.NET 195.253.65.11 2a01:5b0:5:0:0:0:0:b
nserver: ANYCAST24.IRONDNS.NET 195.253.65.12 2a01:5b0:5:0:0:0:0:c
nserver: ANYCAST9.IRONDNS.NET 195.253.64.11 2a01:5b0:4:0:0:0:0:b
nserver: ARI.ALPHA.TLDNS.GODADDY 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:2 37.209.192.2
nserver: ARI.BETA.TLDNS.GODADDY 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:2 37.209.194.2
nserver: ARI.DELTA.TLDNS.GODADDY 2001:dcd:4:0:0:0:0:2 37.209.198.2
nserver: ARI.GAMMA.TLDNS.GODADDY 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:2 37.209.196.2
ds-rdata: 27095 8 2 c8d5a25263ef9eaab175f1ca68623488aa7919e16814f516cc369e09f237623a
whois: whois.nic.bayern
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://nic.bayern
created: 2014-03-13
changed: 2023-06-13
source: IANA
Registrars
