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| Flag | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Capital: | Mainz |
| Area: | 19,846 km² |
| Inhabitants: | 3,880,000 (2000) |
| pop. density: | 196 people/km² |
| Homepage: | http://www.rlp.de/ |
| ISO 3166-2: | DE-RP |
| Politics | |
| Minister-President: | Kurt Beck ( SPD) |
| Ruling party: | SPD/ FDP coalition |
| Map | |
Rhineland-Palatinate (German Rheinland-Pfalz) is one of 16 Bundesländer of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 km² and 3.88 million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz.
Rhineland-Palatinate borders on (from the north and clockwise) North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, France, Saarland, Luxembourg and Belgium.
The main axis of the state is the RhineAt 1,320 km (820 miles), the Rhine River ( German Rhein French Rhin Dutch Rijn is one of the longest rivers in Europe. Its name is derived from the Celtic word renos (meaning "raging flow"). Together with the Danube it formed most of the northern frontier river, that forms the border with Baden-Württemberg and Hesse in the southeast before running across the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Rhine Valley is bounded by mountain chains and forms a fascinating landscape with some of the historically most significant places of Germany.
In the northwest there are the southern parts of the EifelThe Eifel is a hilly region in Germany. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia and northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate. The Eifel is bordered by the Moselle river in the south and the Rhine in the east. In the north it is continued by the mountains. Further south there is the HunsrückThe Hunsruck is a mountain chain in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle (north), the Nahe (south) and the Rhine (east). The Hunsruck is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the mountain chain, which is continued by the TaunusTaunus seen from Frankfurt/Main The Taunus is a mountain chain in Hesse, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of Rhine, Main and Lahn. On the opposite side of the Rhine the mountains are continued by the Hunsruck. The highest peak is the Grosser Fe mountains on the opposite side of the Rhine. The hilly lands in the south of the state are called the Palatine Forest (Pfälzerwald).
These mountain chains are separated from each other by the tributaries of the Rhine: the MoselleThe Moselle ( French Moselle German Mosel is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany, joining the Rhine river at Koblenz. Major affluents are the Ruwer and the Saar. The Moselle valley is famous for its beautiful scenery and the excellent w (Mosel), the LahnThe Lahn is a river in Germany. It has its source at the Ederkopf mountain in the Rothaargebirge the highest part of the Sauerland. After 242 km it meets the Rhine at Lahnstein. Important cities at the Lahn include Marburg, Giessen and Limburg. Lahn was a and the Nahe .
See also List of places in Rhineland-PalatinateThis is a list of geographical features in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mountains Eifel Hunsruck Palatine Forest Taunus Westerwald Rivers Ahr Lahn Moselle Rhine Ruwer Sieg Miscellaneous Palatinate Cities see List of cities in Germany Rhinel.