This article is about the German state. For the historical territory of the Elector of the Palatinate, seeElectoral Palatinate. For the 19th-century territory, seeCircle of the Rhine. For the Rhenish Palatinate, seePalatinate (region).
Rhineland-Palatinate is currently the only federal state in Germany where nuclear weapons are stored extraterritorially under the responsibility and supervision ofUS forces atBüchel Air Base.
The state of Rhineland-Palatinate was founded shortly after theSecond World War, on 30 August 1946. It was formed mainly from the southern part of the PrussianRhine Province (theRegierungsbezirke ofKoblenz andTrier), fromRhenish Hesse, from the western part ofNassau and theBavarianRhenish Palatinate minus the county ofSaarpfalz. The Joint German-Luxembourg Sovereign Region (Gemeinschaftliches deutsch-luxemburgisches Hoheitsgebiet) is the only unincorporated area of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Thiscondominium is formed by the riversMoselle,Sauer, andOur, where they run along the border between Luxembourg and Rhineland-Palatinate or the Saarland.[5] The region has a vast history, from the control of theFranks, to the control of theHoly Roman Empire, and saw fighting during the First and Second World Wars.
The present state of Rhineland-Palatinate formed part of theFrench Zone of Occupation (1945–1949) after the Second World War. It comprised the former Bavarian Palatinate, theRegierungsbezirke ("government districts") of Koblenz and Trier (which formed the southern part of the PrussianRhine Province), the parts of the Province of Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) west of theRiver Rhine and belonged to thePeople's State of Hesse (Volksstaat Hessen), parts of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau (Montabaur), and the former Oldenburg region aroundBirkenfeld (Principality of Birkenfeld).
On 10 July 1945, theoccupation authority on the soil of the present-day Rhineland-Palatinate transferred from the Americans to the French. To begin with, the French divided the region provisionally into two "upper presidiums" (Oberpräsidien), Rhineland-Hesse-Nassau (for the hitherto Prussian government districts and regions ofKoblenz,Trier, andMontabaur) and Hesse-Palatinate (for the hitherto BavarianPalatinate and old Hessian-Darmstadt province ofRhenish Hesse). The formation of the state was ordained on 30 August 1946, the laststate in the Western Zone of Occupation to be established, by Regulation No. 57 of the Frenchmilitary government under GeneralMarie-Pierre Kœnig.[7] It was initially called Rhenish-Palatinate (Rheinpfälzisches Land orLand Rheinpfalz); the name Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) was first confirmed in the constitution of 18 May 1947.[8]
Theprovisional French government at that time wanted originally to leave the option open of annexing further areaswest of the Rhine after the Saarland was turned into aprotectorate. When the Americans and British, however had led the way with the establishment of German states, the French came under increasing pressure and eventually followed their example by setting up the states ofBaden, Württemberg-Hohenzollern, and Rhineland-Palatinate. However the French military government forbade theSaarland from joining Rhineland-Palatinate.Mainz was named as the state capital in the regulation; the "Mixed Commission" (Gemischte Kommission), named as the highest organ of state charged with the administration of the new state and with the preparation of an advisory state assembly, started its work in Mainz. However war damage and destruction meant that Mainz did not have enough administrative buildings, so the headquarters of the state government and parliament was provisionally established inKoblenz. On 22 November 1946, the constituent meeting of the Advisory State Assembly (Beratende Landesversammlung) took place there, and a draft constitution was drawn up. Previously, local elections had been held.Wilhelm Boden was (after a short term of office as theOberregierungspräsident of Rhineland-Hesse-Nassau) nominated on 2 December as theminister president of the new state by the French military government.
Adolf Süsterhenn submitted to the Advisory State Assembly a draft constitution, which was passed after several rounds of negotiation on 25 April 1947 in a final vote, with the absolute majority of theCDU voting for and theSPD andKPD voting against. A point of contention involved the draft constitution providing for separate schools based on Christian denomination. On 18 May 1947, 53% of the electorate adopted the Constitution for Rhineland-Palatinate in areferendum. While the Catholic north and west of the new state adopted the constitution by a majority, the majority in Rhenish Hesse and the Palatinate voted against it. On the same date the first elections took place for the state parliament, theLandtag of Rhineland-Palatinate. The inaugural assembly of parliament took place on 4 June 1947 in the large city hall atKoblenz. Wilhelm Boden was elected the first minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate. Just one month later,Peter Altmeier succeeded him.
The constitutional bodies – the Government (Landesregierung), the Parliament (Landtag) and the Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) – established their provisional seat in Koblenz. In the following period, Koblenz and Mainz each emphasized their suitability as the state capital in a public debate. From the beginning, Minister-President Altmeier pressed for Mainz as the capital because he knew that the south of the country, especially the Palatinate, would not accept Koblenz, which was far to the north and formerly Prussian. On 16 May 1950, theLandtag decided to relocate itself and theLandesregierung from Koblenz to Mainz.[9][10][failed verification]After the government and parliament moved to Mainz, many state authorities and courts remained in Koblenz, including the Constitutional Court and the State Archives. In addition, theGerman Federal Archives and Federal Office of Hydrology were established in Koblenz in 1952.
A sense of community developed only very gradually in the "land of the retort", which had been established largely without regard to the historical affiliations of its inhabitants. It was given little chance of survival, especially as it had very few large industrial centres. However, the establishment of numerous military bases, both Allied andBundeswehr, helped to some extent to boost the economy. In 1956, under Article 29 of theBasic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, petitions were made in the regions of Koblenz, Trier, Montabaur, Rhenish Hesse, and Palatinate for their separation from the state and incorporation into the respective states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg. All petitions for areferendum except those in the administrative district of Palatinate won the necessary majority; however, almost 20 years passed before the referendums finally took place. On 19 January 1975, none of the regions concerned returned a majority for being transferred to another state. This put an end to decades of discussion. Only theAKK conflict, a dispute over the districts ofMainz-Amöneburg,Mainz-Kastel, andMainz-Kostheim, has continued to exercise politicians up to the present day.
With 42% of its area covered by forests, it is the most forested state along with Hesse.[11] The state's major rivers are the Rhine, including theUNESCO World Heritage SiteMiddle Rhine, and theMoselle. Several crater lakes of volcanic origin are in theEifel, the largest of which is theLaacher See.
Climatically, Rhineland-Palatinate can be divided into two areas:TheRhenish Massif with a typicallyhumid continental climate (Dfb). Summers here are usually warm with much precipitation and winters tend to be dry and cold. Snowfall is a common occasion.
The deep valleys ofRhine andMoselle with anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classification:Cfb). Summers are hot and moist, while winters are cool. Freezing temperatures are rare and snow usually melts within hours. The mild climate allowspalm trees,fig trees,stone pines,oleander shrubs,olive trees,almond trees and other exotic plants to be grown in this area.
The forests in this region are home to common pests such asMelolontha hippocastani, that cause damage to the foliage and soil.
The league ofShUM-cities in the later Rhineland-Palatinate comprised the Jewish communities of Mainz,Speyer, andWorms, which became the center ofJewish life during medieval times.[20] TheTakkanot Shum (Hebrew:תקנות שו"ם), or Enactments of ShU"M were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by their Jewish community leaders.[21][22] Today, there are approximately 20,000 Jews (0.5% of the population) living in the state.[23][24]
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 147.0 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 4.4% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 33,100 euros or 110% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 102% of the EU average.[25]
Rhineland-Palatinate is Germany's leading producer of wine in terms of grape cultivation and wine export. Its capital, Mainz, may be called the capital of the German wine industry, being the home of the German Wine Institute, the German Wine Fund in theHaus des Deutschen Weines (House of German Wine), and theVerband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) Wine Bourse, which brings together the top winemakers of Germany and the wine merchants of the world.[26]
Of 13 wine regions producing quality wine in Germany, six (Rheinhessen,Pfalz,Mosel,Nahe,Mittelrhein, andAhr) are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, with 65 to 70% of the production of wine grapes in Germany having their origin within the state.[27] About 13,000 wine producers generate 80 to 90% of the German wine export. The total estimated production from the six Rhineland-Palatinate regions was nearly 7 million hectoliters in 2018.[28][29]
Traditional grape varieties and a wide range of varieties developed during the last 125 years are characteristic for the region.
Classical white varieties are cultivated at 63,683 hectares (157,360 acres). These comprise the famousRieslings 14,446 hectares (35,700 acres),Müller-Thurgau (8,663 hectares (21,410 acres)),Silvaner (3,701 hectares (9,150 acres)), andKerner (3,399 hectares (8,400 acres)).
The share of red varieties grew constantly during the last decades and amounts to 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres).Dornfelder, a recentcultivar, is the leading red grape cultivated on 7,626 hectares (18,840 acres), which is more than a third.Blauer Portugieser (4,446 hectares (10,990 acres)) andSpätburgunder (3,867 hectares (9,560 acres)) show also appreciable cultivated shares.[30]
In addition,Pinot blanc,Pinot gris,Chardonnay as white varieties andRegent andSt. Laurent as red varieties have been increasing their share, as the growing conditions improve in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The state supports the wine industry by providing a comprehensive consultancy and education program in the service supply centers (German:DLR) of the land. TheGeilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding is fully financed by the state. Many well-known new varieties such asMorio-Muskat,Bacchus,Optima, andRegent have been created in these institutes.
The worldwide leader insparkling wine production, producing 224,4 million bottles in 2017/18, is the renownedSchloss Wachenheim Group. This company is headquartered in Trier, with operations in several locations in Rhineland-Palatinate and three sites in France (Compagnie Française des Grands Vins (CFGV)).[31]
Other renowned sparkling wine producers such asKupferberg,Deinhard, andHenkell also had their roots in the region, but now belong to companies outside the state as a result of business consolidation.
^"Statistisches Jahrbuch 2018"(PDF).Statistisches Jahrbuch Rheinland-Pfalz. Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz: 61. 2018.ISSN1863-9100.Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved20 February 2020.
