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Rhineland-Palatinate

Rheinland-Pfalz
Flag of Rhineland-Palatinate
Flag
Coat of arms of Rhineland-Palatinate
Coat of arms
Position of the Rhineland-Palatinate within Germany
Position of the Rhineland-Palatinate within Germany
Country Germany
Capital Mainz
Area
 • Total 19,854.21 km2 (7,665.75 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2016)
 • Total 4,073,280
 • Density 205.15951/km2 (531.3607/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Website rlp.de

Rhineland-Palatinate (German: Rheinland-Pfalz) is one of 16 states (German: Bundesländer) of Germany. It has an area of 19,854 km2 (7,665.7 sq mi) and 4.073 million people living in it. The capital is Mainz.

History

Rhineland-Palatinate was created on 30 August 1947. It was formed from the northern part of the French Occupation Zone (the Rhenish Palatinate or German: pfalz which had been a part of Bavaria) as well as the southern parts of the Prussian Rhine Province, Birkenfeld which formerly belonged to Oldenburg, parts of the Prussian Province of Nassau (see Hesse-Nassau), and parts of Hesse-Darmstadt as well as Rheinhessen on the western banks of the Rhine.

The people of the new state voted to accept the boundary changes in a referendum on 18 May 1947.

Geography

Rhineland-Palatinate borders on (from the north and clockwise) North Rhine-Westphalia (another German state), Hesse (another German state), Baden-Württemberg (another German state), France, Saarland (another German state), Luxembourg, and Belgium.

The main axis of the state is the Rhine river, that forms the border with Baden-Württemberg and Hesse in the southeast before running across the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Rhine Valley is bounded by mountains with some of the historically most significant places of Germany.

In the northwest there are the southern parts of the Eifel mountains. Farther south there is the Hunsrück mountain, which is continued by the Taunus mountains on the opposite side of the Rhine. The hilly lands in the south of the state are called the Palatine Forest (Pfälzerwald).

These mountains are separated from each other by the tributaries of the Rhine: the Moselle (Mosel), the Lahn and the Nahe.

Government

Rhineland-Palatinate is a parliamentary democracy. Every five years, all Germans over the age of 18 elect the members of the Rhineland-Palatinate Parliament, German: Landtag. This regional parliament or legislature then elects the premier and confirms the cabinet members. Rhineland-Palatinate is the only German Bundesland (state) to have a cabinet minister for winegrowing.

Castles

This is only some of the castles in Rhineland-Palatine:

Marksburg
Marksburg zu Braubach
Schloss Stolzenfels 01 Koblenz 2015
Schloss Stolzenfels
Name Place
Burg Arras Alf
Alte Burg Boppard
Reichsburg Cochem Cochem
Dahn Dahn
Festung Ehrenbreitstein Koblenz, Ehrenbreitstein district
Ehrenburg Brodenbach
Burg Eltz Münstermaifeld
Burg Falkenstein Falkenstein
Frauenburg Frauenberg
Hambacher Schloss Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Hambach district
Burg Hohenfels Imsbach
Burg und Schloss Idar-Oberstein Idar-Oberstein
Burg Lahneck Lahnstein
Burg Altleiningen Altleiningen
Marksburg Braubach
Burg Nassau Nassau
Nürburg Nürburg
Burg Olbrück Niederdürenbach
Burg Pfalzgrafenstein on an island in the Rhine, by Kaub
Burg Reichenstein Trechtingshausen
Burg Rheinfels Sankt Goar
Rheinstein Trechtingshausen
Schloss und Burg Sayn Bendorf
Schloss Bürresheim Sankt Johann, Mayen-Koblenz, Bürresheim district
Schloss Neuwied Neuwied
Schloss Stolzenfels Koblenz, Stolzenfels district
Schmidtburg Schneppenbach
Schönburg Oberwesel
Burg Sooneck Niederheimbach
Burg Stahleck Bacharach
Trifels Annweiler am Trifels
Schloss Montabaur Montabaur
Thurant Alken

Universities

There are 7 universities and 13 "Fachhochschulen".

FH-LU-Spiegel
Fachhochschule Ludwigshafen
  • Fachhochschule Bingen
  • Fachhochschule Kaiserslautern – locations: Kaiserslautern I and II, Pirmasens and Zweibrücken
  • Fachhochschule Koblenz – locations: Koblenz, Höhr-Grenzhausen, Remagen
  • Fachhochschule Ludwigshafen
  • Evangelische Fachhochschule Ludwigshafen
  • Fachhochschule Mainz
  • Fachhochschule Trier – locations: Trier, Idar-Oberstein, Birkenfeld
  • Fachhochschule Worms
  • Katholische Fachhochschule Mainz
  • Fachhochschule für Finanzen Edenkoben
  • Fachhochschule der Deutschen Bundesbank, Hachenburg
  • Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Mayen
  • Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Unternehmensführung Otto-Beisheim-Hochschule (private university)
  • Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Vallendar (church university)

Politics

The Ministers President since 1947:

  • 1947–1947: Wilhelm Boden, CDU
  • 1947–1969: Peter Altmeier, CDU
  • 1969–1976: Helmut Kohl, CDU
  • 1976–1988: Bernhard Vogel, CDU
  • 1988–1991: Carl-Ludwig Wagner, CDU
  • 1991–1994: Rudolf Scharping, SPD
  • 1994–2013: Kurt Beck, SPD
  • 2013–present: Malu Dreyer, SPD

Partnerships

Administration

Rhineland-Palatinate is divided into 24 districts, grouped into the three administrative regions: Koblenz, Trier and Rheinhessen-Pfalz.

Districts

(with county code car plate)

Karte der Landkreise in Rheinland-Pfalz
  1. Ahrweiler (AW)
  2. Altenkirchen (AK)
  3. Alzey-Worms (AZ)
  4. Bad Dürkheim (DÜW)
  5. Bad Kreuznach (KH)
  6. Bernkastel-Wittlich (WIL)
  7. Birkenfeld (BIR)
  8. Cochem-Zell (COC)
  9. Donnersbergkreis (KIB)
  10. Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm (BIT)
  11. Germersheim (GER)
  12. Kaiserslautern (KL)
  1. Kusel (KUS)
  2. Mainz-Bingen (MZ)
  3. Mayen-Koblenz (MYK)
  4. Neuwied (NR)
  5. Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (SIM)
  6. Rhein-Lahn-Kreis (EMS)
  7. Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis (formerly LU, now RP)
  8. Südliche Weinstraße (SÜW)
  9. Südwestpfalz (PS)
  10. Trier-Saarburg (TR)
  11. Landkreis Vulkaneifel (DAU)
  12. Westerwaldkreis (WW)

Big cities

  1. Mainz
  2. Koblenz
  3. Kaiserslautern
  4. Ludwigshafen
  5. Neuwied
  6. Landau
  7. Pirmasens
  8. Mayen
  9. Bad Kreuznach

Related pages


Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Renania-Palatinado para niños

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Rhineland-Palatinate Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.