palatinate

Palatinate is a historical region in southwestern Germany and, in modern usage, a geographic and cultural area within the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The name derives from the office of the Count Palatine (Pfalzgraf), rulers who governed a palatinate, an imperial or princely territory with authority over justice, administration, and ecclesiastical matters.

Historically, the Electorate of the Palatinate (Kurpfalz) was one of the prince-electorates of the Holy Roman Empire. For much of its early history its urban centers included Heidelberg, with later prominence in Mannheim and other towns. The electors were influential in imperial politics, and the region was a major center during the Protestant Reformation. The territory suffered extensive destruction during the wars of the 17th and early 18th centuries, and after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire it was reorganized into various successor states.

In 1803, secularization redistributed its lands among Bavaria, Baden, and Hesse-Darmstadt. The Rhenish Palatinate on the left bank of the Rhine was incorporated into Bavaria in 1816, while other portions were absorbed by neighboring states; after World War II, the area became part of the modern state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1946.

Today, the Palatinate (Pfalz) is known as a major wine region within Rhineland-Palatinate, noted especially for Riesling and other white wines. It includes the Palatinate Forest (Pfälzerwald), one of Germany’s largest contiguous forests, and towns such as Speyer, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Ludwigshafen am Rhein. The people are called Palatines (Pfälzer), and the local dialect is Palatine German (Pfälzisch).