The Palatinate (german: Pfalz;
Palatine German: ''Palz'') is a region of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
it was known as the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') and Lower Palatinate (''Unterpfalz''), which strictly speaking designated only the western part of the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
(''Kurfürstentum Pfalz''), as opposed to the
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
(''Oberpfalz''). It occupies roughly the southernmost quarter of the German
federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
(''Rheinland-Pfalz''), covering an area of with about 1.4 million inhabitants. Its residents are known as
Palatines
Palatines (german: Pfälzer), also known as the Palatine Dutch, are the people and princes of Palatinates ( Holy Roman principalities) of the Holy Roman Empire. The Palatine diaspora includes the Pennsylvania Dutch and New York Dutch.
In 1709 ...
(''Pfälzer'').
Geography
The Palatinate borders
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
in the west, historically also comprising the state's
Saarpfalz
Saarpfalz (''Saar-Palatinate'') is a Kreis (district) in the south-east of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarbrücken, Neunkirchen, Kusel, Kaiserslautern, Südwestpfalz, district-free Zweibrücken, and the ...
District. In the northwest, the
Hunsrück mountain range forms the border with the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
region. The eastern border with
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
and the
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
region runs along the
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...
river, while the left bank, with
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
and
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
as well as the
Selz
The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and a left hand tributary of the Rhine. It flows through the largest German wine region, Rheinhessen (Rhenish Hesse).
It rises near the village of Orbis in the county of Donnersbergkrei ...
basin around
Alzey, belong to the
Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
region. In the south, the German-
French border separates the Palatinate from
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
.
One-third of the region is covered by the
Palatinate Forest (''Pfälzerwald''), including the
Palatinate Forest Nature Park
The Palatinate Forest Nature Park (german: Naturpark Pfälzerwald) lies in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and borders on France. The nature park covers an area of and some 76% of its area is under the woods of the Palatinate For ...
popular with hikers. With about , it is Germany's largest contiguous forested area, and is part of the Franco-German
Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve
The Franco- German Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve (german: Biosphärenreservat Pfälzerwald-Nordvogesen, french: Réserve de biosphère transfrontalière des Vosges du Nord-Forêt palatine) was created in 1998 as the first UNESCO ...
.
The western and northern part of the Palatinate is densely forested and mountainous. Its highest mountain is the
Donnersberg
The Donnersberg ("thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate (german: Pfalz) region of Germany. The mountain lies between the towns of Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden, in the Donnersbergkreis district, which is named after the ...
with a height of , situated in the
North Palatine Uplands
The North Palatine Uplands (german: Nordpfälzer Bergland), sometimes shortened to Palatine Uplands (''Pfälzer Bergland''), is a low mountain range and landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs mainly to the Palat ...
near
Kirchheimbolanden
Kirchheimbolanden (), the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, ''Ki ...
. Most of the major Palatinate towns (
Ludwigshafen,
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
,
Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990) ...
,
Frankenthal
Frankenthal (Pfalz) ( pfl, Frongedahl) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
History
Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, af ...
,
Neustadt) lie in the lower eastern part of the
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the ...
down to the River Rhine. Here the
German Wine Route
The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (german: Deutsche Weinstraße) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in th ...
(''Deutsche Weinstraße'') passes through the
Palatinate wine region
Palatinate (german: Pfalz) is a German wine-growing region (''Weinbaugebiet'') in the area of Bad Dürkheim, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Landau in Rhineland-Palatinate. Before 1993, it was known as Rhine Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz''). With un ...
. It is one of the greatest wine-producing regions in Germany, and in the last two decades has become well known for its numerous prizewinning white and reds of highest quality produced by a number of talented young winemakers.
![Medieval frame houses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Ilbesheim_-_Medieval_frame_houses.jpg)
Major rivers include the Upper Rhine tributaries
Lauter,
Queich and
Speyerbach
The Speyerbach is a left tributary of the Rhine in the Palatinate part of Rhineland-Palatinate. In Speyer, the river split into ''Gießhübelbach'' and ''Woogbach''. The Woogbach changes its name to ''Nonnenbach'', then flows into Gießhübe ...
, as well as
Schwarzbach and
Glan in the west.
Historically the
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
and several other territories were part of the Palatinate, but today belong to other German territories.
Subdivision
The Palatinate is divided into four non-administrative sub-regions, comprising the following rural
districts and independent towns and cities:
*
North Palatinate (''Nordpfalz''), i.e. the sparsely inhabited
North Palatine Uplands
The North Palatine Uplands (german: Nordpfälzer Bergland), sometimes shortened to Palatine Uplands (''Pfälzer Bergland''), is a low mountain range and landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs mainly to the Palat ...
, made up of
**
Donnersbergkreis
The Donnersbergkreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel.
History
The district was created in 1969 by merging the dis ...
(KIB), including the small towns of
Eisenberg,
Kirchheimbolanden
Kirchheimbolanden (), the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, ''Ki ...
and
Rockenhausen
Rockenhausen is a town in the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Alsenz, approx. north of Kaiserslautern.
Rockenhausen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Nordpfälzer ...
*
Anterior Palatinate (''Vorderpfalz'') between Upper Rhine and the
Haardt range of the Palatinate Forest
**
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
Bad Dürkheim lies at the edge of Palatinate Forest on the German Win ...
(DÜW)
**
Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis
The Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) the district-free city Worms, the district Bergstraße, district-free Mannheim, Frankenthal and Ludw ...
(RP)
**and the towns and cities of
Frankenthal
Frankenthal (Pfalz) ( pfl, Frongedahl) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
History
Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, af ...
(FT),
Ludwigshafen (LU),
Neustadt an der Weinstraße (NW) and
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
(SP)
*
South Palatinate
The Palatinate (german: Pfalz; Palatine German: ''Palz'') is a region of Germany. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') and Lower Palatinate (''Unterpfalz''), which strictly speaking designated only the wes ...
(''Südpfalz'').
**
Germersheim
Germersheim () is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth.
Coat ...
(GER)
**
Südliche Weinstraße (SÜW)
** and the town of
Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990) ...
(LD)
*
West Palatinate
Western Palatinate or West Palatinate (german: Westpfalz) is a sub-region in the west of the Palatinate (region), Palatinate, a German cultural and historic region in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It includes the western part of the Palatine ...
(''Westpfalz'') up to the western part of the
North Palatine Uplands
The North Palatine Uplands (german: Nordpfälzer Bergland), sometimes shortened to Palatine Uplands (''Pfälzer Bergland''), is a low mountain range and landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs mainly to the Palat ...
**
Kaiserslautern (district)
Kaiserslautern is a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Kusel, Saarpfalz-Kreis, Donnersbergkreis, Bad Dürkheim and Südwestpfalz. The city of Kaiserslautern is almos ...
(KL)
**
Kusel
Kusel (; written ''Cusel'' until 1865) is a town in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat.
The well-known operatic tenor Fritz Wunderlich was ...
(KUS)
**
Südwestpfalz
Südwestpfalz is a district (''Kreis'' or more precise ''Landkreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarpfalz, the district-free city Zweibrücken, the districts Kaiserslautern and ...
(PS)
**and the towns of
Kaiserslautern (KL),
Pirmasens
Pirmasens (; pfl, Bärmesens (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Lan ...
(PS) and
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
(ZW).
Climate
Like most of Southwestern Germany, the Palatinate’s climate is either
humid subtropical
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
in areas below 300 meters or
oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
with influenced by the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
in higher regions of the mountains. The average annual temperatures vary from around 11-14 degrees
Celsius in the valleys and 8-10 degrees in the mountains. Wet air from the prevailing westerly and southwesterly winds leads to precipitation in the
Mittelgebirge
A ''Mittelgebirge'' (German: ''Mittel'', "middle/medium"; ''Gebirge'', "mountain range") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germany; it refers to ...
ranges, while it warms up on its way further down to the Rhine Valley. That’s why the valleys have a considerable drier climate than the surrounding
Palatine Forest.
History
Formerly a
Celtic region, this area was conquered by the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
under Emperor
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
in about 12 BCE, whereafter it was part of the
Germania Superior province. During the decay of the Empire,
Alamanni tribes settled here; their territory was conquered by
Francia
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
under King
Clovis I about 496. From 511 onwards the area belonged to the eastern part of Frankish
Austrasia, that—as
Rhenish Franconia
Rhenish Franconia (german: Rheinfranken) or Western Franconia () denotes the western half of the central Kingdom of Germany, German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms, Germany, Worms. The ...
—became part of
East Francia according to the 843
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and ...
.
Holy Roman Empire
![Wappen Rheinpfalz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Wappen_Rheinpfalz.svg)
From the Middle Ages until 1792, the Palatinate was divided into 45 secular and ecclesiastical
territories
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
, some of which were very small. The largest and most important of these was the Electorate of the Palatinate (''Kurfürstentum Pfalz''), a number of
Franconian territories on both sides of the Rhine formerly held by the
Counts palatine
A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...
(''Pfalzgrafen'') of
Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
. By the late 12th century, the Count palatine had achieved the status of a
Prince-elector
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
From the 13th century onwards, the prin ...
(''Kurfürst''), becoming one of the seven higher nobles with the privilege of electing the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, as confirmed by the
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 (, , , , ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz ( Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the con ...
. In 1214 the Bavarian
House of Wittelsbach was
enfeoffed
In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...
with these estates, which they ruled until 1918, together with the collateral branch of
Palatine Zweibrücken from 1410. They lost control (need for stronger protection) with the reunification with
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
under Elector
Charles Theodore in 1777.
The major ecclesiastical territory in the region was the
Bishopric of Speyer
The Prince-Bishopric of Speyer, formerly known as Spires in English, (German: ''Hochstift Speyer, Fürstbistum Speyer, Bistum Speyer'') was an ecclesiastical principality in what are today the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Würt ...
. The
Imperial city
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
of
Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990) ...
joined the Alsacien
Décapole in 1521 to preserve its status. Nevertheless, it was seized by
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
after the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
.
Other larger regional entities included the
Duchy of Zweibrücken and the
Prince-Bishopric of Speyer
The Prince-Bishopric of Speyer, formerly known as Spires in English, (German: ''Hochstift Speyer, Fürstbistum Speyer, Bistum Speyer'') was an ecclesiastical principality in what are today the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Würt ...
. The Prince-Bishopric held possessions on both sides of the Rhine. For centuries, the Electoral Palatinate and Bavaria maintained dynastic links because both were ruled by members of the Wittelsbach family.
French rule
In 1794 the
Left Bank of the Rhine, including the Palatinate, was occupied by
French revolutionary troops. As a result of the
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
(1797), the
First French Republic annexed the region. In 1798 they introduced a new administrative system with the establishment of departments. Basically, the area of the Palatinate became the
Département of Mont Tonnerre, laying the cornerstone of its regional identity today. Minor parts of today's region belonged to the neighbouring departments of
Sarre and
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...
. The French further subdivided the department into cantons, mayoralties and municipalities, and introduced their legal system (
Napoleonic Code) and the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Interna ...
.
Bavarian rule
Following the defeat of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
at the
Battle of Leipzig in 1813, and the capture of the Left Bank of the Rhine by the Allies in January 1814; from 2 February 1814, the region was initially under the provisional authority of the ''General Government of the Middle Rhine'', but, from 16 June of the same year, it was placed under the administration of the ''
Imperial-Royal ("k.k.") Austrian and Royal Bavarian Joint Land Administration Commission'' (''k. k. östreichischen und k. bairischen gemeinschaftliche Landes-Administrations-Kommission'').
[F. W. A. Schlickeysen: ''Repertorium der Gesetze und Verordnungen für die königl. preußischen Rheinprovinzen'', Trier: Leistenschneider, 1830, pp. 8 ff.]
Online
In the main treaty agreed at the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
in 1815, and dated 9 June 1815, Article 51 stated that (''inter alia''), on the Left Bank of the Rhine the former French ''departements'' of the Sarre and Mont Tonnerre, except where set forth in the same treaty, were to fall "with full sovereignty" and ownership rights within the overlordship of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria (''Herrschaft Sr. Maj. des Kaisers von Oesterreich''). Initially, however, joint Austro-Bavarian administration was retained.
On 14 April 1816 a
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...
was signed between
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, in which the various territorial changes were agreed on. According to Article 2 of the treaty, Emperor
Francis I of Austria
Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...
ceded various regions to King
Maximilian I of Bavaria. These included, in addition to various regions east of the Rhine, the following regions west of the Rhine:
[Treaty of Munich dated 14 April 1816 in G. M. Kletke: ''Die Staats-Verträge des Königreichs Bayern ... von 1806 bis einschließlich 1858'', Regensburg, Pustet, 1860, p. 310]
Online
: ''In the Departement of Mont Tonnerre (Donnersberg):''
:# ''the districts of Zweibrücken, Kaiserslautern, and Speier; the latter with the exception of the cantons of Worms and Pfeddersheim;''
:# ''the canton of Kirchheim-Bolanden, in the district of Alzei.''
: ''In the Sarre Departement:''
:#
''the cantons of Waldmohr, Blieskastel, and Kusel, the latter with the exception of several villages on the road from Sankt Wendel to Baumholder, for which there was to be compensation, by another territorial transfer, with the agreement of the assembled plenipotentiaries of the allied powers at Frankfurt.''
: ''In the Departement of Bas Rhin'':
:# ''the canton, town, and fortress of Landau, the latter as a federal fortress in accordance with the regulations of 3 November 1815;''
:# ''the cantons of Bergzabern, Langenkandel, and the whole part of the Departement of Bas Rhin on the left bank of the Lauter, which had been ceded in the Paris Tractat of 20 November 1815''.
These changes took effect on 1 May 1816.
In accordance with the prevailing Bavarian administrative structure, the region became one of eight Bavarian districts (''Kreise''). From 1808, Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
embarked on the administrative reorganisation of its territory, creating districts which, as in France, were named after the main local rivers. Thus the new district along the Rhine was given the name Rheinkreis (i.e. the Rhine district), with Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
as its capital. Of the former French administrative structure, the subdivision of the district into arrondissements, cantons, mayoralties, and municipalities was, in large measure, retained. The Bavarian government also preserved the French legal system (Code Napoléon), giving the Palatinate a distinct legal status within the Bavarian kingdom.
At the next lower level, the three former French arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...
s were continued as ''Kreisdirektion'' ("Circle", i.e. district, "direction") Frankenthal, Kaiserslautern, and Zweibrücken. ''Kreisdirektion'' Landau was, however, a new creation. In 1818 the cantons were merged into 12 administrative districts called ''Landkommissariat''. In 1862 these were designated individually as ''Bezirksamt''. In 1939 each one became a ''Landkreis'' (rural district).
As his first provincial governor, King Maximilian selected the Privy Councillor (''Hofrat'') Franz Xaver von Zwack Franz may refer to:
People
* Franz (given name)
* Franz (surname)
Places
* Franz (crater), a lunar crater
* Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada
* Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...
, whose name gave rise to the popular Palatine nickname for Bavarians, '' Zwockel''.
In 1832 the ''Rheinkreis'' became the focal point of liberal movements. The Hambach Festival, a large gathering near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, proved fertile ground for what came to be considered a milestone in German history.
In 1835, King Ludwig I of Bavaria
en, Louis Charles Augustus
, image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg
, caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825
, succession=King of Bavaria
, reign =
, coronation ...
's romantic outlook gave rise to the adoption of new names for the administrative districts of Bavaria by a system of historical allusion. As such, the Rheinkreis officially became the ''Pfalz'' (Palatinate). The historic Electorate of the Palatinate was on both sides of the Rhine with Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
and Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
as its capitals on the eastern side, whereas the new "Palatinate" established in 1815/16 was solely on the left bank of the Rhine. It included territories that were never part of the historical Palatinate (e.g., territories of the former Bishopric of Speyer, the imperial city of Speyer or Kirchheimbolanden
Kirchheimbolanden (), the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, ''Ki ...
, which had formerly belonged to the Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.
Geography
Location
The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Wester ...
branch of Nassau). To avoid confusion of the new Palatinate and the former one (and with the Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
), the name Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') became common and is still used today, but was never made its official name. Another term, that of Rhenish Bavaria (''Rheinbayern''), though used occasionally, never gained great currency, but can, nonetheless, be found sometimes on older maps.
The Bavarian Royal Family tried to encourage Palatine unity with Bavaria by erecting a royal palace in Edenkoben
Edenkoben () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies approximately halfway between Landau and Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Edenkoben is one of the towns situated along the German Wine R ...
, and through the restoration of Speyer Cathedral
, native_name_lang = German
, image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg
, imagesize = 280px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption =
, pushpin ma ...
under the direct supervision of King Ludwig I himself. The new town of Ludwigshafen was named after the king. Despite these attempts, the Palatinate's representatives to the Bavarian Parliament always prided themselves on the claim that they came from a more progressive region. Indeed, they tried to promote their liberalism, which the French had introduced to the Palatinate, to the whole Bavarian kingdom. German historian Heiner Haan described the special status accorded the Palatinate within Bavaria as being one of a ''Hauptstaat'' (main state, i.e. Bavaria) with a ''Nebenstaat'' (alongside state, i.e. the Palatinate).
In May/June 1849, after the failed revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
, and as part of the Imperial Constitution campaign, separatist elements wanted the district to secede from Bavaria and establish its own "Palatine Republic". A separatist uprising was suppressed by Prussian military intervention. The Palatinate's union with Bavaria persisted after it became part of the German Empire in 1871, and, indeed, after the Wittelsbach dynasty was deposed, and Bavaria became a free state of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
in 1918.
In 1910 the town of Landau was declared independent from the Bezirksamt.
After World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, French troops occupied the Palatinate under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
. In 1920 the western Bezirksämter of Sankt Ingbert
St. Ingbert (also ''Sankt Ingbert''; pfl, Dingmert or ''Dimbert'') is a town in the Saarpfalz district in Saarland, Germany with a population of 35,213 (2020). It is situated approximately 10 km north-east of Saarbrücken and 10 km s ...
and Homburg (''Saarpfalz
Saarpfalz (''Saar-Palatinate'') is a Kreis (district) in the south-east of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarbrücken, Neunkirchen, Kusel, Kaiserslautern, Südwestpfalz, district-free Zweibrücken, and the ...
'') were separated from the Bavarian Palatinate, and became part of the newly established Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
which, according to the peace treaty, was governed by the League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. That same year, seven more towns were declared independent from the Bezirksämter: Speyer, Ludwigshafen, Frankenthal, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, and Zweibrücken. They remain independent to this day.
Between 1919 and 1923, during the occupation, there were French-backed attempts at separating the Palatinate from Bavaria and the Empire. On 1 June 1919, Eberhard Haaß, founder of the "Free Palatine Association" (1918), proclaimed the "Palatine Republic", but failed to occupy the government building in Speyer.
On 23 November 1923, Franz Josef Heinz proclaimed the "Government of the Autonomous Palatinate in the Association of the Rhenish Republic" at Speyer, after gaining control of the towns of Kaiserslautern, Neustadt, and Landau, and after the capitulation of the Palatine government. In the following days, several more towns fell into his group's hands. The Bavarian government reacted sharply. It organised a squad under the command of Edgar Julius Jung. On 9 January 1924, Heinz was assassinated while dining at the Wittelsbacher Hof in Speyer. Other leading members of the separatist movement were killed on 12 February, in a shooting in Pirmasens
Pirmasens (; pfl, Bärmesens (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Lan ...
. By then, a treaty between Bavaria and the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission
The Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission was created by the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, to supervise the occupation of the Rhineland and "ensure, by any means, the security and satisfaction of all the needs of the Armies of Occupation" ...
(the supreme council of the Allied occupation forces) of January 1924 recognised the status quo and guaranteed that the Palatinate would remain a part of Bavaria, thereby putting an end to separatist attempts.
Under Nazi rule, from 1933 to 1945, the Palatinate officially remained part of Bavaria, but was otherwise totally reorganised–it was merged with the Saarland into the Gau Westmark
The Gau Westmark (English: ''Western March'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. From 1925 to 1933, it was a regional subdivision of the Nazi Party.
History
The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was established at a part ...
, with headquarters in Saarbrücken.
Rhineland-Palatinate
The union with Bavaria was finally dissolved following the reorganisation of German states during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. While Bavaria itself was part of the U.S. occupation zone, the Palatinate was occupied by French forces. The French reorganised their occupation zone by founding new states, so that in 1947 the Palatinate was combined with Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
(''Rheinhessen''), the former parts of the People's State of Hesse
The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German Empire in World W ...
west of the Rhine, and the southern part of the Prussian Rhine Province, to form the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
. The Palatinate formed the administrative district (''Regierungsbezirk'') Pfalz.
This reorganisation came with smaller losses of former district territory to the Saarland, especially in the area of Sankt Wendel
Sankt Wendel is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According to a survey by the German Association for Ho ...
. As part of the 1969 administrative reform, some minor border changes were made in the north. The Diocese of Speyer
The Diocese of Speyer (lat. Dioecesis Spirensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's ...
and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (german: Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz (Protestantische Landeskirche)) is a United Protestant church in parts of the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, endorsing both Lutheran and Calvinist o ...
still exist today largely based on the historic boundaries of the old Bavarian district.
The Pfalz was initially one of five districts in Rhineland-Palatinate; however in 1968 the district was merged with the neighbouring district of Rheinhessen
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
to form the district of Rheinhessen-Pfalz. On 1 January 2000, all administrative districts of Rheinland-Pfalz were dissolved.
The Pennsylvania Dutch and other German Americans
Many Pennsylvania Dutchmen are descendants of Palatine
A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times. . The Pennsylvania Dutch language
Pennsylvania Dutch (, or ), referred to as Pennsylvania German in scholarly literature, is a variety of Palatine German, also known as Palatine Dutch, spoken by the Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Fancy Dutch, and other descendants ...
, spoken by the Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...
, Mennonites
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
, and Fancy Dutch
The Fancy Dutch, also known as the Church Dutch, Gay Dutch (old-fashioned), or Church people, are the Pennsylvania Dutch who do not belong to the Plain Dutch Anabaptist churches. Unlike the Amish, the conservative Dunkards, or Old Order ...
in the United States, is derived primarily from the Palatine German language which many Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radi ...
refugees brought to Pennsylvania in the years 1717 to 1732.[Astrid von Schlachta: ''Gefahr oder Segen? Die Täufer in der politischen Kommunikation.'' Göttingen 2009, p. 427.] The only existing Pennsylvania German newspaper, ''Hiwwe wie Driwwe
, which means "Hither like thither" (compare german: Hüben wie Drüben), is the title of the only existing Pennsylvania German-language newspaper.
Publication
Since 1997, the publication is distributed twice a year. More than 100 Pennsylvani ...
'', was founded 1996 in the village of Ober-Olm
Ober-Olm is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Neighbouring municipalities
Ober-Olm's neig ...
, which is located close to Mainz, the state capital (and is published bi-annually as a cooperation project with Kutztown University
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Kutztown University or KU) is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on High ...
). In the same village one can find the headquarters of the German-Pennsylvanian Association.
Many more Palatines emigrated in the course of the 19th century, and the great majority of them to North America, so that in the US temporarily "Palatine" was a common designation for German Americans. Johann Heinrich Heinz (1811–1891), the father of Henry John Heinz
Henry John Heinz (October 11, 1844 – May 14, 1919) was an American entrepreneur of Palatines, Palatine descent who, at the age of 25, co-founded a small horseradish Concern (business), concern in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. This business faile ...
who founded the H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, emigrated from Kallstadt, Palatinate, to the United States in 1840.
Cuisine
Arguably the most famous dish in Palatinate is the saumagen
Saumagen (, " sow's stomach") is a German dish popular in the Palatinate. The dish is similar to a sausage in that it consists of a stuffed casing; however, the stomach itself is integral to the dish. It is not as thin as a typical sausage casin ...
, literally "sow's stomach", a dish that consists of a thick, crispy-fried casing (sow stomach) stuffed with a mixture of pork, potatoes, and seasonings. Other traditional meat dishes of the region include bratwurst, Palatinate liverwurst, a blood pudding sausage called ''grieweworscht'' ("griewe" are speck (bacon) cubes, so lit. "sausage with bacon bits"), ''lewwerknedel'' (Leberknödel) (or ''lewwerknepp'', liver dumplings), and ''fleeschknepp'' (Fleischknödel: meat dumplings). Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...
is the typical side dish in all seasons, but especially in winter, as are mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Also eaten are dampfnudels, which can be served with either sweet sauces or side dishes (such as wine, vanilla sauce or canned fruit such as plums, prunes, or pears) or with savory side dishes (such as potato soup, vegetable soup, goulash, or pepper pork).
References
{{Authority control
Former government regions of Germany
Geography of Rhineland-Palatinate
Regions of Rhineland-Palatinate
Historical regions