By 2016 all Bavarian official buildings should have free wifi, he said.

A third step to the plan would have free wifi access points in every municipality by 2020.

But Söder doesn’t mean that the entire area of Bavaria – including forests, fields, and mountains – should be blanketed with free wifi.

With most routers having a range of around 12 metres, that would be impossibly expensive.

The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) nevertheless mocked the plan, saying that people needed wifi more in city centres than in castles.

Söder also announced eight “BayernLabs”, regional IT centres with the fastest-available internet access, to be opened to schools, businesses and municipalities.