The North and West Palatinate is in the southern Rhineland-Palatinate. The region borders on: Hunsrück (north of the Nahe) in the north, Rheinhessen (with the Nahe valley below the confluence of the Glan), in the east, the Front Palatinate with the German Wine Route and the Palatinate Forest in the south as well as the French department Moselle (Lorraine) and the Saarland in the West. There is no clear natural border with Saarland and France.
Regions
Sub-regions are:
- the Palatinate highlands, also called North Palatinate Bergland
- the Thunder Mountain, Special landscape of volcanic origin
- the Westrich with the sub-regions (not nationwide):
- the Sickinger height with the Wallhalbe valley
- the Zweibrücker hill country
- the West Palatinate moorland
places
![](https://maps.wikimedia.org/img/osm-intl,9,49.48,7.72,422x420.png?lang=de&domain=de.wikivoyage.org&title=Nord- und Westpfalz&groups=Maske,Track,Aktivitaet,Anderes,Anreise,Ausgehen,Aussicht,Besiedelt,Fehler,Gebiet,Kaufen,Kueche,Sehenswert,Unterkunft,aquamarinblau,cosmos,gold,hellgruen,orange,pflaumenblau,rot,silber,violett)
Map of North and West Palatinate
- 1 Bruchmühlbach-Miesau
- 2 Kirchheimbolanden
at the Thunder Mountain
- 3 Kusel
in the Palatinate highlands
- 4 Lauterecken
at the confluence of the Lauter and Glan rivers
- 5 Mehlingen
- 6 Meisenheim
- 7 Otterberg
- 8 Ramstein-Miesenbach
- 9 Rockenhausen
at the Thunder Mountain
- 10 Thallichtenberg
- 11 Wolfstein
at the Lauter
- 12 Zweibrücken
Other goals
(Distances and travel times from Bruchmühlbach)
- Landstuhl (12 km, 10 minutes by train)
- Kaiserslautern with the Reichswald, the Siegelbach Zoo and the Horticultural show in Kaiserslautern (25 km, 45 minutes by train)
- Pirmasens (30 km, 1 1/2 hours via Kaiserslautern)
- Homburg, Saarland (20 km, 10 minutes' drive)
- Idar-Oberstein (55 km, 1 1/2 hours via Homburg and Neunkirchen)
- Mehlinger Heath (30 km, 1 hour)
- Waldfischbach castle albums with the place of pilgrimage Maria Rosenberg (30 km, 1 1/4 hour)
- Bostalsee (Saarland, on the upper reaches of the Nahe) (50 km)
background
- The article describes the part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate that is the large landscape Lorraine layer countrybut not that Palatinate Forest can be assigned. The allocation to the individual regions can differ depending on the perspective.
- The regions in the North and West Palatinate are somewhat overshadowed by the better-known neighboring regions Palatinate Forest, German Wine Route or Nahe valley. But they are only sparsely populated, poorly industrialized and only crossed by a few heavily traveled highways. This makes them ideal as a holiday destination, especially for families. They are supplemented by some attractive cities in the region itself or on the outskirts of the region.
language
- Palatinate
- possibly other German dialects (Rhenish Hessian, Rhenish and Moselle-Franconian dialects)
getting there
- The airports are nearby Rooster and Saarbrücken
- Can be reached by train, for example
- Bruchmühlbach-Miesau (directly from Mannheim or Saarbrücken)
- Zweibrücken (directly from Saarbrücken or Pirmasens)
- Kusel (directly from Kaiserslautern)
- Rockenhausen (directly from Bingen or Kaiserslautern)
- From Mainz the A63 leads into the region, from Trier the A62, from Mannheim and Saarbrücken the A6, from Merzig the A8.
mobility
Tourist Attractions
- Donnersberghaus with exhibition about the Celts (see also www.donnersbergverein.de)
- Falkenstein castle ruins - The ruin sits enthroned on a cliff near the village of the same name that is west of the Donnersberg.
- Imsbach mining adventure world with the "White Pit" visitor mine and the Palatinate Mining Museum info
- Celtic village in Steinbach - Experience the history of the Celts with all your senses.
- rose Garden Zweibrücken
- Wallhalbe valley with the Kneispermühle
- Potzberg Wildlife Park at Foeckelberg (25 km, 1 hour via Landstuhl and Altenglan)
- Meisenheim am Glan with a late Gothic castle church and, as an ensemble under monument protection, a historically interesting old town.
activities
kitchen
nightlife
security
climate
- 2 degrees colder than in Kaiserslautern