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Rhineland-Palatinate
In the middle of
Europe. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate was formed after the end of
World War II, on 30 August 1946, by the French military government.
Traditional structures were not taken into account; instead parts of
Germany were merged that had never before belonged together: parts of
the Prussian Rhine provinces, the territory of Hesse on the left bank
of the Rhine, and the strongly Bavarian-influenced Palatinate. These
regions have become closely knit over time, however, and Rhineland-Platinate
has acquired its own identity.
Rhineland-Palatinate
has profited greatly from its geographical location. The extensive modernized
network of autobahns and federal highways, the convenient rail connections
between the cities of Mainz, Kaiserslautern, Trier, Ludwigshafen and
Koblenz, the major waterways Rhine and Mosel, as well as the state’s
proximity to three economically powerful centers – the Rhine-Main,
Rhine-Neckar and Rhine-Ruhr regions – have created optimal framework
conditions for the development of Rhineland-Palatinate into one of Germany’s
most dynamic regions.
An old European
cultural heartland. The Rhineland was settled by Celts, Romans, Burgundians
and Franks. In Speyer, Worms and Mainz, all on the Rhine, stand the
great imperial cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Construction of the oldest
synagogue in Germany (built in the Romanesque style) began in Worms
in 1034. It was in Worms, too, at the Imperial Diet of 1521, that the
reformer Martin Luther refused to recant his theses. Three hundred years
later, in Koblenz, the liberal paper “Rheinischer Merkur“
inveighed against Napoleonic rule and censorship of the press. In 1832
Hambach Castle was the scene of the first democratic-republican assembly
in Germany. The worldfamous Gutenberg Museum displays its treasures
in Mainz, the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg (14001468), who invented
the art of printing books with movable type. The philosopher and father
of scientific socialism, Karl Marx (1818-1883), was born in Trier.
Viticulture and
industry. Products from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate are in high
demand on both domestic and international markets. With an export rate
of roughly 40 percent, it ranks first in this category among Germany’s
states. Its economy is remarkably diversified: Rhineland-Palatinate
is a wine-growing center (two thirds of the country’s wine comes
from here) and an important wood producer as well as a major center
of the chemical industry and a leading supplier of automobile components.
Distinctive regional industries include the gemstone industry in Idar-Oberstein,
ceramic and glass products from the Westerwald, and the leather industry
of the Hunsrück and the Palatinate. Small and medium-sized businesses
form the backbone of the Rhineland-Palatinate economy. The state’s
principal industrial employer is the chemical and plastics processing
industry: BASF in Ludwigshafen is Europe’s largest chemical factory
complex and Rhineland-Palatinate’s largest manufacturing firm.
Also situated on the Rhine are the state’s four next-largest companies:
Boehringer (pharmaceuticals) in Ingelheim, Joh. A. Benckiser (chemicals,
cosmetics) in Ludwigshafen, SGE Deutsche Holding (construction) in Ludwigshafen
and the Schott Glassworks in Mainz. Europe’s largest television
network, ZDF (Channel Two), has its headquarters in Mainz, the state
capital, as does the broadcasting company SAT.1.
Picturesque landscapes.
Rhineland-Palatinate lies in the center of the Rhenish Schist Massif.
One of the most beautiful landscapes in Germany – and the world
– is the stretch of the Rhine Valley between Bingen and Bonn. Dotted
with castles, it is steeped in legend, and its praises have been sung
by countless poets, painters and musicians. Here and in the valley of
the Mosel River grow wines which are prized by connoisseurs all over
the world. The other tributaries of the Rhine – the Nahe, Lahn
and Ahr rivers – are likewise very scenic wine-growing regions.
At the foot of the Palatinate Forest runs the “German Wine Route“.
The Rhine has been
the region’s economic artery since time immemorial. On it lie the
cities of Ludwigshafen (167,000 inhabitants), Mainz (185,000 inhabitants)
and Koblenz (109,000 inhabitants). Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa built
a castle in Kaiserslautern (102,000 inhabitants) in the 12th century.
The old Roman city of Trier (100,000 inhabitants) is 2,000 years old;
its buildings dating from Roman times appear on the UNESCO World Heritage
List, as do the cathedrals in Speyer, Worms and Mainz, the abbey church
Maria Laach in the Eifel, Eltz Castle, the town of Oberwesel on the
Rhine, St. Catherine’s Church in Oppenheim, the Church of St. Paulinus
in Trier and the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress at Koblenz.
Artists of yesterday
and today. The unusual light above the lovely hilly countryside of the
Palatinate was captured by the painters Max Slevogt (1868-1932) and
Hans Purrmann (1880-1966). Prominent contemporary artists from Rhineland-Palatinate
include the painters Heijo Hangen and Karl Otto Götz as well as
the sculptors Franz Bernhard, Erwin Wortelkamp and Michael Croissant.
Every year, between 1 May and 3 October, the “Rhineland-Palatinate
Summer of Culture“ features a wide variety of cultural events which
are held all over the state.
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