The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerousponds andlakes in its lowland regions. By contrast with other regions of Germany it is more rural in character and more sparsely settled. It borders (clockwise from the north) onUpper Franconia, theCzech Republic,Lower Bavaria,Upper Bavaria andMiddle Franconia.
At the beginning of theHigh Middle Ages the region now known as the Upper Palatinate was part of theBavarianMarch of the Nordgau. The region took its current name no earlier than the early 14th century.
From the mid-13th century, much of the region was controlled by theWittelsbach dynasty and until 1329 was ruled by the WittelsbachElector Palatine as part of the largerCounty Palatine of the Rhine (German:Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein). By the1329 Treaty of Pavia, the Wittelsbach territories were divided between two branches of the dynasty. The territory around the Rhine river in the west became known as the Rhenish Palatinate (German:Rheinpfalz) or Lower Palatinate, and is today usually known simply asthe Palatinate (German:Pfalz); it is from this territory that the modern German state ofRhineland-Palatinate derives its name. By contrast, the territory to the east centred onAmberg became known as the Upper Palatinate (German:Oberpfalz), upper and lower in this case referring to the elevation of the territories (compareLow andHigh German,Upper andLower Lusatia,Upper andLower Lorraine,Low Countries,Lower Saxony).
Cadet branches of the Wittelsbach dynasty also ruled over smaller territories inNeuburg andSulzbach. As a result of the Elector PalatineFrederick V's abortive claim to theBohemian throne in 1619–1620, the Upper Palatinate, along with the rest of his lands, were declared forfeit to the Emperor and, along with the Electoral title, given to theDuke of Bavaria. Although the Lower Palatinate was restored to Frederick's son by thePeace of Westphalia in 1648, the Upper Palatinate remained under the Elector of Bavaria, and has remained a part of Bavaria ever since. The smaller territories ofNeuburg andSulzbach came to Bavaria in 1777 whenCharles Theodore, Elector Palatine inherited the Bavarian lands of his Wittelsbach cousinMaximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria. The city ofRegensburg, anImperial Free City, was not joined with the rest of the region until the end of theHoly Roman Empire in 1806 and the end of the short-livedPrincipality of Regensburg underCarl von Dalberg, which existed from 1803 to 1810.
After the founding of theKingdom of Bavaria, the state was totally reorganised and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative districts (German:Regierungsbezirke; singularRegierungsbezirk) calledKreise (literally "Circles", singular:Kreis). They were created in the fashion of theFrench departments, quite even in size and population, and named after their main rivers. In the following years, due to territorial changes (e.g. the loss ofTyrol, the addition of the Palatinate), the number ofKreise in the kingdom was reduced to 8. One of these was theRegenkreis (Regen District). In 1837, kingLudwig I of Bavaria renamed theKreise after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps. Thus, the district name of Regenkreis was changed to Upper Palatinate.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €47.3 billion in 2018, accounting for 1.4% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €39,200 or 130% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 103% of the EU average.[4]
