The southeast is inhabited by an old Bavarian stock, the southwest by people of Bavarian-Swabian descent, and the north by descendants of the Franks. Traditional differences are still visible in their villages. The Franks built large village clusters and laid out their farms in narrow strips. The houses are partly sandstone, partly half-timbered. Row houses with paved floors appear in some areas. In old Bavaria and Swabia there are both village clusters and one-street villages; most of the houses have wooden floors. The cities show even more marked differences. In the Swabian and, particularly, the Frankish areas, religious and secular landholders established a large number of towns, most of which remained small and were referred to as dwarf towns. These medieval towns were built compactly within protective walls. The churches, public buildings, and homes were lavishly decorated; the examples that remain are a constant delight to the tourist, notably in Rothenburg, Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl, and sections of Nürnberg and Regensburg.
      While the majority of Bavaria's inhabitants still live in small towns, about one-fifth live in towns of 100,000 or more. Munich is the third largest city in Germany and the largest city in Bavaria.
       After World War II there was an influx of refugees from the Sudetenland and eastern Europe, where many Germans had lived for centuries. A significant proportion of Bavaria's population in the late 20th century was composed of these refugees. Beginning in the 1960s the industrial areas received large numbers of migrant workers from southern Europe.
       Great changes took place in the religious composition of the population after the war, with a heavy influx of Protestants. In the late 20th century the vast majority of the Bavarians were Roman Catholics, having bishoprics in Munich-Freising, Augsburg, Regensburg, Passau, Bamberg, Eichstätt, and Würzburg. A substantial proportion were of Evangelical Lutheran faith, with centres in Munich, Augsburg, Regensburg, Nürnberg, Bayreuth, and Ansbach. The proportion of the population engaged in farming declined steadily since 1882, from a majority of the work force to less than one-fifth in the late 20th century. Industry and service sectors employ the largest number of workers.