The Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the east 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 ...

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 ...

. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) the district-free city

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 ...

, the district Bergstraße, district-free

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 ...

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 ...

and Ludwigshafen, Rhein-Neckar, district-free

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 ...

, the districts

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

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 ...

, Südliche Weinstraße and

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 ...

History

The district was created in 1886 under the name ''Bezirksamt Ludwigshafen'', one of the last acts of king

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

. The population in the area around Speyer had grown significantly, which made the splitting of the ''Bezirksamt Speyer'' necessary. In 1969, the Speyer and Ludwigshafen districts and parts of the Frankenthal and Neustadt districts were merged again to form the new Ludwigshafen district. On May 19, 2003, the district parliament passed a resolution to rename the district "Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis" starting in 2004.

Partnerships

The district started its first partnership in 1964 with the municipalities

Schnals Schnals (; it, Senales ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the autonomous province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria. The municipality includes large parts of the Schnalst ...

and

Naturns Naturns (; it, Naturno ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 31 December 2015, it had a population of 5,739 and an area of .All demogra ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The Speyer district had a partnership with

Schlanders Schlanders (; it, Silandro ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about west of the city of Bolzano. Overview Schlanders borders the following municipalities: Latsch, Laas, Mals, Martell, Schnals. Schl ...

and Martell, also in Italy, which were taken over after the merging of the district. As part of the partnership of Rhineland-Palatinate with Rwanda the district has a partnership with the municipality of Kinyami starting in 1983. After the German reunification the district supported the

Saalkreis Saalkreis was a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Neighboring districts were (from west clockwise) Mansfelder Land, Bernburg, Köthen, Bitterfeld, the district Delitzsch in Saxony, and the district Merseburg-Querfurt. T ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

in modernising the administration to western standard, which resulted in a friendship between the two districts. In 1991 a partnership with the district Radviliskis in Lithuania was started, and in 2002 with the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

district Opole in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

Geography

The district is located in the valley of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

river, both the actual river valley and the ''Vorderpfälzer Tiefland'', formed by the sediments of the rivers of the Palatinate hills. The district has a very warm climate, together with the fertile loess soil it makes the area favourable for growing vegetable. However the rainfall is comparatively low, thus

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

is needed.

Coat of arms

The wavy line from the bottom-right to the top-left symbolizes the

river. The lion in the left is the lion 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 ...

, to which the largest part of the district belonged historically. The silver cross in the right part is taken from the State of

, taken from the coat of arms of the Speyer district. The shield in the middle show water lily leaves, a typical symbol for the district, as this plant grows in the old arms of the Rhine river.

Towns and municipalities

''Verband''-free municipalities

Verbandsgemeinden

^*seat of the Verbandsgemeinde

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{Coord, 49.42, 8.33, display=title, format=dms Districts of Rhineland-Palatinate Anterior Palatinate 1886 establishments in Germany