74-684: The Spiegelbach is a river in the southern Palatinate . It arises as a diversion of the Queich , which rises in the Palatinate forest , and thus has no separate source. It flows into the Rhine at Sondernheim . After a devastating flood in 1745, in which the mills on the Altbach and Brühlgraben were flooded, it was decided to create a diversion from the Queich towards Bellheim , in order to provide
148-521: A treaty was signed between Austria and Bavaria in which the various territorial changes were agreed on. According to Article 2 of the treaty, Emperor Francis I of Austria 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: These changes took effect on 1 May 1816. In accordance with
222-800: 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 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). 49°26′N 7°46′E / 49.433°N 7.767°E / 49.433; 7.767 Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate ( German : Kurpfalz ) or
296-563: A cooperation project with Kutztown University ). 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 who founded
370-501: 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 , whose name gave rise to the popular Palatine nickname for Bavarians, Zwockel . In 1832
444-695: A number of Franconian territories on both sides of the Rhine formerly held by the Counts palatine ( Pfalzgrafen ) of Lotharingia . By the late 12th century, the Count palatine had achieved the status of a Prince-elector ( Kurfürst ), becoming one of the seven higher nobles with the privilege of electing the Emperor , as confirmed by the Golden Bull of 1356 . In 1214, the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach
518-661: A royal palace in Edenkoben , and by restoring Speyer Cathedral under the direct supervision of King Ludwig I. 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
592-736: 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 . By then, a treaty between Bavaria and the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission (the supreme council of the Allied occupation forces) of January 1924 recognised
666-622: Is one of the greatest wine-producing regions in Germany, and in the last two decades has become well known for its prize-winning white and reds of highest quality produced by a number of talented young winemakers. Major rivers include the Upper Rhine tributaries Lauter , Queich and Speyerbach , as well as Schwarzbach and Glan in the west. Historically the Electoral Palatinate and several other territories were part of
740-799: Is the Donnersberg with a height of 687 m (2,254 ft), situated in the North Palatine Uplands near Kirchheimbolanden . Most of the major Palatinate towns ( Ludwigshafen , Speyer , Landau , Frankenthal , Neustadt ) lie in the lower eastern part of the Upper Rhine Plain down to the River Rhine. Here the German Wine Route ( Deutsche Weinstraße ) passes through the Palatinate wine region . It
814-561: Is today the Palatinate region in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the adjacent parts of the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine (bailiwick of Seltz from 1418 to 1766) to the opposite territory on the east bank of the Rhine in present-day Hesse and Baden-Württemberg up to the Odenwald range and the southern Kraichgau region, containing the capital cities of Heidelberg and Mannheim . The counts palatine of
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#1732780050596888-587: The Amish , Mennonites , and Fancy Dutch in the United States, is derived primarily from the Palatine German language which many Mennonite refugees brought to Pennsylvania in the years 1717 to 1732. The only existing Pennsylvania German newspaper, Hiwwe wie Driwwe , was founded 1996 in the village of Ober-Olm , which is located close to Mainz, the state capital (and is published bi-annually as
962-552: The Bezirksämter : Speyer, Ludwigshafen, Frankenthal, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, and Zweibrücken. They remain separate 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
1036-633: The Ezzonid dynasty governed several counties on both banks of the river. The southernmost point was near Alzey . From about 1085/86, after the death of the last Ezzonian count palatine Herman II , Palatinate authority ceased to have any military significance in Lotharingia. In practice, the Count Palatinate's Palatine authority had collapsed, reducing his successor ( Henry of Laach ) to a mere feudal magnate over his own territories – along
1110-489: The H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , emigrated from Kallstadt , Palatinate, to the United States in 1840. Arguably the most famous dish in Palatinate is the saumagen , 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,
1184-595: The House of Salm (Count Otto I of Salm in 1040) and the House of Babenberg ( Henry Jasomirgott in 1140/41). The first hereditary Count Palatine of the Rhine was Conrad , a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and younger half-brother of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa . The territories attached to this hereditary office in 1156 started from those held by the Hohenstaufens in the Donnersberg , Nahegau , Haardt , Bergstraße and Kraichgau regions (other branches of
1258-582: The House of Wittelsbach provided the Counts Palatine or Electors. These counts palatine of the Rhine would serve as prince-electors ( Kurfürsten ) from "time immemorial", and were noted as such in a papal letter of 1261; they were confirmed as electors by the Golden Bull of 1356 . The territory stretched from the left bank of the Upper Rhine , from the Hunsrück mountain range in what
1332-739: The Palatinate ( Pfalz ), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate ( Kurfürstentum Pfalz ), was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire . The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of Lotharingia in 915; it was then restructured under the Counts Palatine of the Rhine in 1085. From 1214 until the Electoral Palatinate was merged into the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1805,
1406-450: The Pfalz (Palatinate). The historic Electorate of the Palatinate had spanned both sides of the Rhine with Heidelberg and Mannheim as its capitals on the eastern side, whereas the new "Palatinate" established in 1815–16 lay solely on the left bank of the Rhine. It included territories that had never been part of the historical Palatinate (e.g., territories of the former Bishopric of Speyer,
1480-548: 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 's romantic outlook gave rise to the adoption of new, historically evocative names for the administrative districts of Bavaria. As such, the Rheinkreis officially became
1554-504: The Rhenish Palatinate ( Rheinpfalz ), is a historical region of Germany . The Palatinate occupies most of the southern quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate ( Rheinland-Pfalz ), covering an area of 2,105 square miles (5,450 km ) with about 1.4 million inhabitants. Its residents are known as Palatines ( Pfälzer ). The Palatinate borders Saarland in the west, historically also comprising
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#17327800505961628-631: The Thirty Years' War . After the 1648 Peace of Westphalia , the ravaged lands were further afflicted by the Reunion campaigns launched by King Louis XIV of France, culminating in the Nine Years' War (1688–97). Ruled in personal union with the Electorate of Bavaria from 1777, the Palatinate was finally disestablished with the German mediatization and annexation by Baden on 27 April 1803 and
1702-696: The University of Heidelberg , the oldest University in Germany . In 1400, the Elector Palatine, Rupert III , was elected as King of the Romans , but he was never crowned as Holy Roman Emperor because he was defeated in Italy while attempting to travel to Rome for a coronation. Due to the practice of dividing territories among different branches of the family, by the early 16th century junior lines of
1776-631: The orb represented their position as Arch- Steward of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806, Baden was raised to a grand duchy and parts of the former Palatinate including Mannheim became part of it. At the Congress of Vienna in 1814 and 1815, southern parts of the left-bank Palatinate were restored and enlarged by mediatisation (consuming the former Prince-Bishopric of Speyer , the Free Imperial City of Speyer , and others) up to
1850-583: The Hohenstaufens received lands in the Duchy of Swabia , Franche-Comté , and so forth). Much of this was from their imperial ancestors, the Salian emperors, and apart from Conrad's maternal ancestry, the Counts of Saarbrücken . These backgrounds explain the composition of Upper and Rhenish Palatinate in the inheritance centuries onwards. About 1182, Conrad moved his residence from Stahleck Castle near Bacharach up
1924-563: The Left Bank of the Rhine the former French départements 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,
1998-596: The Middle Ages, most Count Palatine positions had been inherited by the duke of the associated province, but the importance of the Count Palatine of Lotharingia enabled it to remain as an independent position. In 985, Herman I , a scion of the Ezzonids , is mentioned as count palatine of Lotharingia (which by then had been divided into Upper and Lower Lotharingia ). While his Palatine authority operated over
2072-669: The Palatinate married Philippe of Orléans , younger brother of Louis XIV ; on this basis, Louis claimed the Rhineland territories of the Palatinate for France. However, he was outmaneuvered by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , whose third wife was Eleonore-Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg , eldest daughter of Philip William , a Catholic who was the closest male heir in the direct line. Leopold installed his father-in-law as Elector Palatine, ensuring that his electoral vote and this strategic region remained in Imperial control. When France invaded
2146-469: The Palatinate in September 1688 to enforce its claim, these wider connections meant the conflict rapidly escalated, leading to the outbreak of the Nine Years' War . The French were forced to withdraw in 1689 but before doing so, destroyed much of Heidelberg, another 20 substantial towns and numerous villages. This destruction was systematically applied across a large section of the Rhineland but especially
2220-674: The Palatinate restored to her son Charles Louis and the Protestant cause. When the Peace of Westphalia ended the war in 1648, he regained the Lower Palatinate and the title 'Elector Palatine' but now ranked lower in precedence than the others. He was succeeded by Charles II, Elector Palatine , in 1680, but the Simmern branch became extinct in the male line after he died in 1685. In 1670, Charles II's sister Elizabeth Charlotte of
2294-654: The Palatinate territories until 1918. During a later division of territory among the heirs of Duke Louis II, Duke of Upper Bavaria , in 1294, the elder branch of the Wittelsbachs came into possession of both the Rhenish Palatinate and the territories in the Bavarian Nordgau (Bavaria north of the Danube river) with the centre around the town of Amberg . As this region was politically connected to
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2368-488: The Palatinate, but today belong to other German territories. The Palatinate is divided into four non-administrative sub-regions, comprising the following rural districts and independent towns and cities: Like most of Southwestern Germany, the Palatinate’s climate is either humid subtropical in areas below 300 meters or oceanic on higher ground. The average annual temperatures vary from around 11-14 degrees Celsius in
2442-586: 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 (adjacent state, i.e. the Palatinate). In May/June 1849, after the failed revolution of 1848 , and as part of the Imperial Constitution campaign , separatist elements wanted
2516-625: The Palatinate, was occupied by French revolutionary troops . As a result of the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797), the First French Republic annexed the region. In 1798, the French introduced a new administrative system with the establishment of departments. The area of the Palatinate largely became the Département of Mont Tonnerre , laying the cornerstone of its regional identity today. Minor parts of today's region were attached to
2590-402: The Palatinate, which was raided again in 1693; the devastation shocked much of Europe. France later renounced its claim to the region in the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick . Johann Wilhelm succeeded as elector in 1690, changing his residence first to Düsseldorf , then back to Heidelberg and finally Mannheim in 1720. Like his father, he was a Catholic, which under the 1555 Peace of Augsburg meant
2664-480: The Palatinate. By marriage, the Palatinate's arms also became quartered with those of Welf and later Wittelsbach. The arms of Bavaria were used with reference to the elector's holdings in Bavaria. This was extended to quartering of the lion and the Bavarian Arms upon the ascension of Maximilian I to the position of elector of the Palatinate in 1623, used concurrently with the arms shown. From 1356 onwards,
2738-722: The Palatine Wittelsbachs came to rule in Simmern , Kaiserslautern , and Zweibrücken in the Lower Palatinate, and in Neuburg and Sulzbach in the Upper Palatinate. The Elector Palatine, now based in Heidelberg, adopted Lutheranism in the 1530s; when the senior branch of the family died out in 1559, the electorate passed to Frederick III of Simmern, a staunch Calvinist , and the Palatinate became one of
2812-491: The Protestant majority in the Palatinate was theoretically obliged to convert to Catholicism. The 1705 'Palatine Church Division' compromised by allocating five-sevenths of public church property to the Reformed or Calvinist church and the remainder to Catholicism, while excluding the Lutheran Church, whose membership exceeded 40% of the population in some areas. In 1716, Charles Philip succeeded his brother as elector and in January 1742, helped his cousin Charles Albert become
2886-401: The Rhenish Palatinate, the name Upper Palatinate ( German : Oberpfalz ) became common from the early 16th century in contrast to the Lower Palatinate along the Rhine. With the Treaty of Pavia in 1329, the Wittelsbach Emperor Louis IV , a son of Louis II, returned the Palatinate to his nephews Rudolf and Rupert I . In the Golden Bull of 1356 , the Palatinate was recognized as one of
2960-468: The Rhine ) in a pre-arranged exchange for Tyrol , which Bavaria returned to Austria. Most of the area remained a part of Bavaria until after the Second World War (after 1918 the Free State of Bavaria ), with some western parts becoming part of the Territory of the Saar Basin after World War I. In September 1946 the territory was made part of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate , along with former left bank territories of Prussia (southern part of
3034-408: The Rhine held the office of imperial vicars in the territories under Frankish law (in Franconia , Swabia and the Rhineland ) and ranked among the most significant secular Princes of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1541 elector Otto Henry converted to Lutheranism . Their climax and decline is marked by the rule of Elector Palatine Frederick V , whose coronation as king of Bohemia in 1619 sparked
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3108-535: The Rhine river to Heidelberg . Upon Conrad's death in 1195, the Palatinate passed to the House of Welf through the (secret) marriage of his daughter Agnes with Henry of Brunswick . When Henry's son Henry the Younger died without heirs in 1214, the Hohenstaufen king Frederick II enfeoffed the Wittelsbach Duke Louis I of Bavaria , whose son, Otto II of Bavaria , married Agnes of the Palatinate , daughter of Henry of Brunswick and Agnes of Hohenstaufen , in 1222. The Bavarian House of Wittelsbach eventually held
3182-430: The Rhine'. The Palatine territories on the left bank of the Rhine were annexed by France in 1795, mainly becoming part of the Mont-Tonnerre department. In 1799 Elector Charles Theodore died and the territory was inherited by the Duke of Palatine Zweibrücken , uniting all the Wittelsbach lands. The loss of the left bank territories was accepted by the new Elector Maximilian Joseph in the Treaty of Paris . Those on
3256-427: The Rhine, and the southern part of the Prussian Rhine Province , to form the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate . The Palatinate formed the administrative district ( Regierungsbezirk ) of the Pfalz. This reorganisation came with smaller losses of former district territory to the Saarland, especially in the area of Sankt Wendel . As part of the 1969 administrative reform, some minor border changes were made in
3330-413: The Upper Rhine in south-western Franconia. From this time on, his territory became known as the County Palatine of the Rhine (not because Palatine authority existed there, but as an acknowledgement that the Count still held the title, if not the authority, of Count Palatine). Various noble dynasties competed to be enfeoffed with the Palatinate by the Holy Roman Emperor – among them the House of Ascania ,
3404-420: The area belonged to the eastern part of Frankish Austrasia , which—as Rhenish Franconia —became part of East Francia according to the 843 Treaty of Verdun . From the Middle Ages until 1792, the Palatinate was divided into 45 secular and ecclesiastical territories , some of which were very small. The largest and most important of these was the Electorate of the Palatinate ( Kurfürstentum Pfalz ), encompassing
3478-404: 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 in 1918. In 1910, the town of Landau
3552-404: The first non-Habsburg emperor in over 300 years. He died in December and the Palatinate passed to Charles Theodore , then Duke of Sulzbach , who also inherited the Electorate of Bavaria in 1777. The title and authority of the two electorates were combined, Charles and his heirs retaining only the vote and precedence of the Bavarian elector, although continuing to use the title 'Count Palatine of
3626-556: 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 arrondissements were continued as Kreisdirektion ("Circle", i.e. district, "direction") of Frankenthal, Kaiserslautern, and Zweibrücken. Kreisdirektion Landau was, however,
3700-446: 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
3774-586: The imperial city of Speyer or Kirchheimbolanden , which had formerly belonged to the Weilburg branch of Nassau ). To avoid confusion of the new Palatinate and the former one (and with the Upper Palatinate ), 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
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#17327800505963848-507: The major centers of Calvinism in Europe, supporting Calvinist rebellions in both the Netherlands and France . Elector Frederick IV became the leader of the Protestant Union in 1608. In 1619, the Protestant Frederick V , Elector Palatine, accepted the throne of Bohemia from the Bohemian Diet . This initiated the 1618–1648 Thirty Years' War , one of the most destructive conflicts in human history; it caused over eight million fatalities from military action, violence, famine, and plague in
3922-432: The neighbouring departments of the Sarre and Bas-Rhin . The French further subdivided the department into cantons, mayoralties and municipalities, and introduced their legal system ( Napoleonic Code ) and the metric system . Following the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and the capture of the Left Bank of the Rhine by the Allies in January 1814, the region was, from 2 February 1814, initially under
3996-440: The new border with France, and given (temporarily) to the Habsburg Austrian Empire ; after this time, it was this new region that was principally known as "the Palatinate". The right-bank Palatinate remained with Baden while northern parts became part of Prussia ( Rhine Province ) and Hesse ( Rhenish Hesse ). In 1816, the Palatinate became a formal part of the Wittelsbach Kingdom of Bavaria (the Rheinkreis or Circle of
4070-456: The newly built mills with a steady supply of water. From the weir on the boundary of the districts Ottersheim and Knittelsheim , the Spiegelbach flows 9.2 kilometres (5.7 mi) before reaching the Old Rhine at Sondernheim. This article related to a river in Rhineland-Palatinate is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Palatinate (region) The Palatinate ( German : Pfalz ; Palatine German : Palz ), or
4144-584: The north. The Diocese of Speyer and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate 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 to form the district of Rheinhessen-Pfalz . On 1 January 2000, all administrative districts of Rheinland-Pfalz were dissolved. Many Pennsylvania Dutchmen are descendants of Palatine immigrants. The Pennsylvania Dutch language , spoken by
4218-440: The period 1621–1622, the Palatinate was occupied by Spanish and Bavarian troops and Frederick was exiled to the Dutch Republic . His territories and electoral rights were transferred to the distantly related but Catholic Maximilian I of Bavaria , Duke of Bavaria and now Prince Elector Palatine After his death in 1632, Frederick's daughter Princess Elizabeth and wife Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia , worked tirelessly to have
4292-406: The position had been a purely appointed one, but by the Middle Ages had evolved into an hereditary one. Up to the tenth century, the Frankish empire was centered at the royal palace ( Pfalz ) in Aachen , in what had become the Carolingian kingdom of Lotharingia . Consequently, the Count Palatine of Lotharingia became the most important of the Counts Palatine. Marital alliances meant that, by
4366-407: The prevailing Bavarian administrative structure, the region became one of eight Bavarian districts ( Kreise ). From 1808, Bavaria 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 as its capital. Of
4440-489: The provisional authority of the General Government of the Middle Rhine . However, 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 ). In the main treaty agreed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and dated 9 June 1815, Article 51 stated ( inter alia ) that on
4514-424: The region is covered by the Palatinate Forest ( Pfälzerwald ), including the Palatinate Forest Nature Park popular with hikers. With about 1,771 km (684 sq mi), it is Germany's largest contiguous forested area, and is part of the Franco-German Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve . The western and northern part of the Palatinate is densely forested and mountainous. Its highest mountain
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#17327800505964588-413: The reorganisation of German states during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II . 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 ( Rheinhessen ), the former parts of the People's State of Hesse west of
4662-407: The rest eventually to the Kingdom of Bavaria as the Circle of the Rhine . The comital office of Count Palatine at the Frankish court of King Childebert I was already mentioned about 535. The Counts Palatine were the permanent representatives of the king in particular geographic areas, in contrast to the semi-independent authority of the dukes (and their successors). Under the Merovingian dynasty ,
4736-410: The right were taken by the Elector of Baden , after the 1805 Peace of Pressburg dissolved the Holy Roman Empire; the remaining Wittelsbach territories were united by Maximilian Joseph as the Kingdom of Bavaria . In 1156 Conrad of Hohenstaufen , brother of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, became Count Palatine. The old coat of arms of the House of Hohenstaufen , the single lion, became coat of arms of
4810-439: The secular electorates, and given the hereditary offices of archsteward ( German : Erztruchseß , Latin : Archidapifer ) of the Empire and imperial vicar ( Reichsverweser ) of Franconia, Swabia, the Rhine, and southern Germany. From that time forth, the Count Palatine of the Rhine was usually known as the Elector Palatine ( German : Kurfürst von der Pfalz , Latin : Palatinus elector ). In 1386, Rupert I helped establish
4884-442: The state's Saarpfalz District. In the northwest, the Hunsrück mountain range forms the border with the Rhineland region. The eastern border with Hesse and the Baden region runs along the Upper Rhine river, while the left bank, with Mainz and Worms as well as the Selz basin around Alzey , belong to the Rhenish Hesse region. In the south, the German- French border separates the Palatinate from Alsace . One-third of
4958-406: 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 , with headquarters in Saarbrücken . The union with Bavaria was finally dissolved following
5032-478: The valleys and 8-10 degrees in the highlands. Wet air from the prevailing westerly and southwesterly winds leads to precipitation in the Mittelgebirge ranges, while it warms up on its way further down to the Rhine Valley; giving the valleys a considerably drier climate than the surrounding Palatine Forest . During the Holy Roman Empire prior to World War II , it was also referred to as Rhenish Bavaria and Lower Palatinate ( Unterpfalz ), which designated only
5106-406: The vast majority in the German states of the Holy Roman Empire. In terms of proportional German casualties and destruction, it was surpassed only by the period January to May 1945 and remains the single greatest war trauma in German memory. Frederick was evicted from Bohemia in 1620 following his defeat by the forces of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor , at the Battle of the White Mountain . Over
5180-475: The western part of the Electorate of the Palatinate ( Kurfürstentum Pfalz ), as opposed to the Upper Palatinate ( Oberpfalz ). Formerly a Celtic region, this area was conquered by the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus in about 12 BCE; thereafter, it was part of the province of Germania Superior . During the decline of the Empire, Alamannic tribes settled here; their territory was conquered by Francia under King Clovis I about 496. From 511 onwards,
5254-409: The whole of Upper Lorraine , the feudal territories of his family were instead scattered around south-western Franconia, including parts of the Rhineland around Cologne and Bonn , and areas around the rivers Moselle and Nahe . In continual conflicts with the rivalling Archbishops of Cologne , he changed the emphasis of his rule to the southern Eifel region and further to the Upper Rhine, where
5328-582: Was enfeoffed with these estates, which they ruled until 1918, together with the collateral branch of Palatine Zweibrücken from 1410. Needing stronger protection, they lost control with the reunification with Bavaria under Elector Charles Theodore in 1777. The major ecclesiastical territory in the region was the Bishopric of Speyer . The Imperial city of Landau joined the Alsatian Décapole in 1521 to preserve its status. Nevertheless, it
5402-658: Was declared independent of the Bezirksamt . After World War I , French troops occupied the Palatinate under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles . In 1920, the western Bezirksämter of Sankt Ingbert and Homburg ( Saarpfalz ) were separated from the Bavarian Palatinate, and became part of the newly established Saarland , which, according to the peace treaty, was governed by the League of Nations . That same year, seven more towns were declared independent of
5476-600: Was seized by France after the Thirty Years' War . Other larger regional entities included the Duchy of Zweibrücken and the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer . 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. In 1794, the Left Bank of the Rhine , including
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