Rhineland-Palatinate

I

Introduction

Rhineland-Palatinate (German, Rheinland-Pfalz), state in south-western Germany, bounded on the north by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the east by the states of Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, on the south by France and the state of Saarland, and on the west by Luxembourg and Belgium. The state has an area of 19,847 sq km (7,663 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

Much of Rhineland-Palatinate is upland, with the Eifel range to the north-west and the Hunsrück Mountains further to the south dominating the upper half of the state. Below the Hunsrück the country is a wooded lowland that rises in the south to the Hardt upland. In the north-east is the Westerwald region, bordering the Taunus Mountains to the south. The state is cut by the River Rhine, which flows south to north, and by the Mosel, which flows south-west to north-west. Other prominent rivers include the Ahr, the Lahn, the Nahe, the Prüm, the Saar, and the Wied. River valleys constitute a major landscape feature of the state.

About 42 per cent of the state’s area is forested. The Vosges du Nord-Pfälzerwald Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 1998, covers an area of about 1,800 sq km (695 sq mi) in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate (3,105 sq km/1,199 sq mi in total, including the French part of the reserve). Six nature parks are located in the state, including the German-Belgian Nature Park in the west (extending to North Rhein-Westphalia); the Südeifel Nature Park, also in the west, located partly in Luxembourg; the Nassau Nature Park and the Rhine-Westerwald Nature Park, in the north; the Saar-Hunsrück, in the south, partly located in Saarland; and the Pfälzerwald, part of the Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve, also in the south.

III

Population

In 2004 Rhineland-Palatinate had a population of an estimated 4,059,000. The population density is relatively low; in 2004 there were 204 people per sq km (528 people per sq mi). Mainz is the capital (population, 2005 estimate, 186,100). Other important towns and cities include Bad Ems (1997, 10,118); Bingen (2005 estimate, 24,800); Kaiserslautern (2005 estimate, 99,200); Koblenz (2005 estimate, 107,000); Ludwigshafen (2005 estimate, 163,400); Pirmasens (2005 estimate, 43,600); Speyer (2005, 50,501); Trier (2005 estimate, 100,200); Worms (2005 estimate, 81,300); and Zweibrücken (2005, 35,219).

The state experienced a period of rapid demographic growth and change after World War II, when several hundred thousand refugees migrated there. The Rhine valley and other river valleys are most densely populated. In 2001, almost 300,000 foreigners lived in Rhineland-Palatinate, out of which almost 26 per cent were people from other states of the European Union (EU), mostly from Italy; almost 26 per cent came from Turkey; about 13 per cent were refugees from the former Yugoslavia; and about 12.5 per cent came from Asia.

IV

Education and Culture

Rhineland-Palatinate has four universities: the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz (founded in 1477, closed in 1816, and reopened in 1946); the Trier University (established in 1473, reopened in 1970); the Kaiserslautern University (founded in 1970 and separated from the Trier University in 1975); and the Koblenz-Landau University (founded in 1990). There is also a postgraduate College for Administrative Sciences in Speyer (1947) and colleges in Bingen, Koblenz, Ludwigshafen, Kaiserslautern, Mainz, Trier, and Worms. Mainz is the seat of several research institutions, including the Mainz Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Literature (1949); the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities (founded in 1973 and coordinating the work of academies in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Mainz, and Munich); the Union of German Historians (1893, re-founded in 1949); the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (1983); the Gutenberg Society (1901); and the Institute for European History (1950). State archives are located in Koblenz and Speyer. Notable libraries (other than university libraries) include the State Library in Koblenz and the City Library in Mainz; the Palatinate Provincial Library is in Speyer.

The Rhine and Mosel valleys are well known as tourist destinations; the celebrated Lorelei rock is near St Goarshausen. Most of the cities in the state have Romanesque cathedrals: the cathedrals at Speyer, Mainz, and Worms are particularly famous. Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in the state: the Speyer Cathedral (named in 1981); the Roman ruins, St Peter’s Cathedral, and the Church of Our Lady in Trier (designated in 1986); and the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, whose 65-km (40-mi) stretch was inscribed in 2002 (this site extends to the state of Hesse). Notable museums include the State Museum in Mainz; the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer; The Museum Heylshof in Worms; and the State Museum of the Rhine in Trier. The capital also houses the World Museum of the Art of Printing (otherwise known as the Gutenberg Museum); the Roman-Germanic Central Museum; and the Natural History Museum. The State Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1919, is based in Ludwigshafen. Among eminent personalities born in or otherwise associated with the state are Hildegard of Bingen, Johann Gutenberg, Prince Klemens Metternich, Clemens Maria Brentano, Karl Marx, Anna Seghers, and Helmut Kohl.