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State of Rhineland-Palatinate | |||
Capital | Mainz | ||
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Residents | 4.084.844 (2018) | ||
surface | 19,853.36 km² | ||
website | www.rlp.de/ | ||
no tourist info on Wikidata: ![]() | |||
location | |||
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The state Rhineland-Palatinate lies in the west Germany, surrounded by the federal statesNorth Rhine-Westphalia in the North, Hesse in the East, Baden-Wuerttemberg in the south East, Saarland in the southwest and borders the countries France, Luxembourg and Belgium in the south / west. The state capital is Mainz.
The country has many varied landscapes, for example the low mountain range Westerwald, Eifel, Hunsrück and Palatinate Forest and large river valleys such as those of the Rhine and Moselle. There is also a high density of cultural monuments, some of which are among the most important in Germany, if not Europe.
Regions
![](https://maps.wikimedia.org/img/osm-intl,8,50,7.53,422x450.png?lang=de&domain=de.wikivoyage.org&title=Rheinland-Pfalz&groups=Maske,Track,Aktivitaet,Anderes,Anreise,Ausgehen,Aussicht,Besiedelt,Fehler,Gebiet,Kaufen,Kueche,Sehenswert,Unterkunft,aquamarinblau,cosmos,gold,hellgruen,orange,pflaumenblau,rot,silber,violett)
Rhineland-Palatinate is part of the European Greater RegionLuxembourg, Lorraine (French Lorraine), Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate and Wallonia.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Speyer_Dom_pano.jpg/220px-Speyer_Dom_pano.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Liebfrauenkirche_(6406068355).jpg/220px-Liebfrauenkirche_(6406068355).jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Marksburg-Braubach.jpg/220px-Marksburg-Braubach.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Judenbad_Speyer_4_changing_alcove_in_first_room.jpg/220px-Judenbad_Speyer_4_changing_alcove_in_first_room.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Maria_Laach_de04.jpg/220px-Maria_Laach_de04.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Wierschem,_Burg_Eltz,_2012-08_CN-01.jpg/220px-Wierschem,_Burg_Eltz,_2012-08_CN-01.jpg)
In terms of tourism, Rhineland-Palatinate can be divided into the following regions (from north to south):
- Koblenz region at the intersection of Middle Rhine Valley, Moselle valley and Lahn valley, above the valleys the mountains of the Westerwald, Taunus, Hunsrück and Voreifel. That too Ahr Valley on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia belongs here.
- Trier region with the well-known wine-growing region Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, behind the mountains of the Eifel and des High forest.
- the Nahe valley as a border landscape between the Hunsrück and the Palatinate.
- Rheinhessen with its thousand hills and extensive vineyards between the Rhine and Nahe.
- the Palatinate with the climatically favored Front Palatinate as well as the rather rugged climatic North and West Palatinate, where also the largest contiguous German forest area, the Palatinate Forest is to be found.
Cities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Gutenberg-Museum_Mainz_585-vh.jpg/220px-Gutenberg-Museum_Mainz_585-vh.jpg)
The largest cities in the country are:
- 1 Mainz
- State capital on the Rhine
- 2 Ludwigshafen on the Rhine
- important chemical location
- 3 Koblenz
- at the mouth of the Moselle and the Rhine - in 2011: Bungee garden show
- 4 trier
- one of the oldest cities in Germany
- 5 Kaiserslautern
- one of the five German "Barbarossa cities"
- 6 Worms
- Cathedral city - Lutherstadt - Nibelungenstadt
Other larger and touristic important cities are:
- 7 Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler
- 8 Bad Ems
- on the Lahn
- 9 Bad Kreuznach
- in the Nahe valley
- 10 Bingen am Rhein
- at the confluence of the Nahe and the Rhine, gateway to the Middle Rhine Valley
- 11 Bitburg
- Bitburger Pils brewery
- 12 Cochem
- on the Moselle
- 13 Diez
- on the Lahn
- 14 Idar-Oberstein
- Location of the German Diamond and Gemstone Exchange
- 15 Lahnstein
- at the confluence of the Lahn into the Rhine
- 16 Landau in the Palatinate
- 17 Neustadt an der Weinstrasse
- 18 Speyer
- famous Romanesque cathedral (world cultural heritage)
Other goals
In Rhineland-Palatinate, you can discover charming low mountain ranges, dreamy river valleys, sun-drenched vineyards, historic towns and romantic castles - on foot, by bike, on four wheels or eight rollers.
The LVermGeo created tour suggestions, also for download, years ago. The original has since been taken offline. Parts are in the web archive archived.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Tourism-Gesellschaft offers a lot of information about nature and culture as well as the different regions in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Also not to be forgotten for tourism are:
- Traben-Trarbach - on the Moselle
- Bernkastel-Kues - on the Moselle
- Dernau - Red wine and tourist town on the Mittelahr
- Boppard - on the Middle Rhine
- Oppenheim - on the Upper Rhine
background
The state of Rhineland-Palatinate has only existed in its current form since 1945, when various territories, predominantly left of the Rhine, were combined to form the French occupation zone. The areas formerly belonged to Prussia (Rhine Province), Hesse (Rheinhessen, Westerwald), Oldenburg (Birkenfeld area) and Bavaria (Rheinpfalz).
These small states led to great cultural diversity with a high level of local identification. It is still clearly reflected in the country today. There is a common Rhineland-Palatinate identity at most on the 3rd level, depending on their origin, people see themselves first regionally as Wäller (Westerwälder), Eefeler (Eifelaner), Muuseler (Moselaner), Hunsrücker etc, then only as Rhinelander, Rheinhesse or just Palatinate. Even today, the Rhine is not infrequently viewed as a demarcation from the barbarians in the east, and it is only crossed in an emergency (the same applies in the Cologne-Bonn area, where the right bank of the Rhine is considered to be "peeled sick"), not only because Düsseldorf is on the right bank of the Rhine ).
Rhineland-Palatinate is particularly known for its viticulture. There are four different German wine-growing regions in this state alone. Due to its rural character, the wooded country offers a lot of nature.
language
A large number of dialects are spoken in Rhineland-Palatinate, most of which can be assigned to the Rhine and Moselle Franconian language group. The border between these languages lies a little north of the Nahe, and north of the mouth of the Nahe the dialect turns more into Rhenish. To the south of it there is more "Palatine babble". Many words are spoken in abbreviated form, letters are omitted or pronounced differently. examples are Palz for Pfalz or Peif for pipe: “In de Palz, de Parre goes to the Käich with de Peif”. “De Bu is de häm” is Palatine and means “our boy is at home”. Wake up woscht un woi are the basic food of the Palatinate.
getting there
By plane
The most important airport for Rhineland-Palatinate is outside the country itself: the intercontinental one Frankfurt am Main airport(IATA: FRA), 30 km east of Mainz with direct train connections with IC to Koblenz, with RE to Mainz, Bingen, Boppard, Bad Kreuznach.
The former US military airfield Hahn, today despite its distance to Frankfurt as Frankfurt Hahn Airport(IATA: HHN) is run by a Chinese company. The airport is located in the Hunsrück and is served by low-cost airlines, especially Ryanair. There are bus connections to nearby cities.
Neighboring airports are also: Luxembourg Airport(IATA: LUX), 40 km southwest of Trier, direct bus connection to Trier), Cologne Bonn Airport
(IATA: CGN), 100 km north of Koblenz, direct rail connection to Neuwied, Koblenz), Stuttgart Airport
(IATA: STR), 120 km southeast of Landau or Speyer).
By train
ICE and Intercity trains run Koblenz, Mainz, Kaiserslautern, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Montabaur, And afterwards, Remagen and Worms at. Apart from Mainz and Koblenz, the number of times is low and you usually have to switch to regional trains.
By bus
The Rhineland-Palatinate regional centers of Mainz, Kaiserslautern, Ludwigshafen, Koblenz and Trier have long-distance bus stations and bus stops close to the center, which are operated by the long-distance bus companies Eurolines and Flixbus approached. In addition, long-distance buses sometimes also run to conveniently located medium-sized centers, such as the central bus station at Montabaur train station. The online portals provide information on long-distance bus routes, prices and the search for stops Long-distance bus guide and Bus line search.
In the street
Important road connections that run through Rhineland-Palatinate are the motorways (Cologne – Trier – Saarbrücken),
(Cologne – Frankfurt a. M.),
(Mannheim – Kaiserslautern – Saarbrücken),
(Neunkirchen – Zweibrücken – Pirmasens),
(Montabaur – Koblenz – Daun),
(Malmedy – Bitburg – Wittlich),
(Cologne – Koblenz – Ludwigshafen – Speyer),
(Mainz – Kaiserslautern) and
(Ludwigshafen – Neustadt a. D. W. – Karlsruhe).
By boat
The Rhine, the old main traffic axis of the region, is used by large excursion and cabin ships. The passenger ships in Rhineland-Palatinate offer scheduled trips on the Rhine between Bonn and Mainz, on the Lahn between Lahnstein and Limburg, and on the Moselle between Koblenz and trier far beyond the border with Luxembourg.
mobility
Transport associations
- Rheinhessen (excluding Mainz) and Nahe region: Rhine-Nahe public transport network (RNN), transition tariff to the Hessian RMV.
- Rhine-Moselle: Rhein-Mosel transport association (VRM)
- Trier region: Transport association Trier region (VRT)
Parts of the state are integrated into transnational transport associations:
- City of Mainz: Rhein-Main transport association (RMV),
- Rhine-Neckar (Ludwigshafen): Rhein-Neckar transport association (VRN)
- southern front Palatinate: Karlsruhe Transport Association (KVV)
By train
The Rhineland-Palatinate has had the since 1994 Rhineland-Palatinate clock. Regional trains open up the regions of the country every day at hourly or 2-hour intervals. In metropolitan areas they run every half hour, at peak times even more often on working days.
- Rhineland-Palatinate ticket for 1-5 people on all local transport lines, trams and almost all buses in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It costs € 24 for the first person at the machine. Each additional person costs € 5 more (maximum of four passengers).
- The Rhineland-Palatinate Ticket Lux applies in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It costs € 30 for the first person and € 5 per passenger (a maximum of four passengers). (As of 01/01/2016)
- The Across the country tickets are also valid on all local trains in Rhineland-Palatinate.
- That also applies in Mainz Hessen ticket at € 35, including trams and buses.
The tickets are valid Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. the following day, and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The Rhineland-Palatinate tickets are also valid in a transition area in Wiesbaden (including all buses), as well as with the train to Wissembourg (Alsace), Lauterbourg, Bonn Hbf (NRW), on the left bank of the Rhine Remagen, Wins (NRW), Limburg on the Lahn (Hessen), on the Rheingau route in Hessen, Mannheim and Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg) as well as on the victory route to Au an der Sieg (North Rhine-Westphalia).
Bicycles can be taken from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. the following day and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays on all local trains (Regional Express (RE), Regionalbahn (RB) and S-Bahn trains in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland). You can only buy one from Monday to Friday before 9 a.m. Bike map necessary. On long-distance trains (IC / EC / EN / NJ) you can take your bike with you for € 9, but you have to reserve a parking space in any case.
By bus
City and regional buses complement the network where there is no rail infrastructure. These also run in Rhineland-Palatinate clock.
There are RegioRadler in the Rhineland-Palatinate cycle. These are special buses with space for bicycles. They are set up along particularly beautiful cycle paths on the Moselle and Sauer, in the Vulkaneifel and in the Hunsrück. During the leisure season from April to November, they connect the river valleys through which the railway lines run with the cycle path networks on the heights. Important: you have to make a reservation!
By boat
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Loreley_rhine_valley_wp_d_schmidt_08_07.jpg/220px-Loreley_rhine_valley_wp_d_schmidt_08_07.jpg)
A trip by ship on the Moselle, the Lahn and of course through that Middle Rhine Valley is one of the most beautiful excursion routes in Germany. The passenger ships in Rhineland-Palatinate offer scheduled trips on the Rhine between Bonn and Mainz, on the Lahn between Lahnstein and Limburg and on the Moselle between Koblenz and trier far beyond the border with Luxembourg.
A selection of Rhineland-Palatinate businesses by river:
- Moselle: Kolb, MS gold piece
- Lahn: Lahntal shipping, Lahn pride
- Rhine: Shipping Nikolay, Merkelbach, Hoelzenbein, Collee, www.marksburgschiffahrt-vomfell.de, Gilles, Loreley line, Bingen-Ruedesheimer, Cologne-Düsseldorfer, www.roesslerlinie.de.
The main and Neckar tributaries near the border are also important, and the Nahe and Lahn are also navigable for pleasure craft (at least small boats).
Bike paths
Some well developed Cycle routes in Rhineland-Palatinate invite you to tours.
Tourist Attractions
- World Heritage in Rhineland-Palatinate
- 1 Speyer Cathedral
- 2 Roman monuments, cathedral and Church of Our Lady in Trier
- 3 Cultural landscape of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley
- Upper German-Raetian Limes.
- More top sights
- Jewish heritage in the ShUM citiesSpeyer, Worms and Mainz (Candidate for admission to the world cultural heritage)
- 9 Maria Laach Abbey
at Glees in the Eifel
- 10 Eltz Castle
above the Moselle near Wierschem, one of the best-preserved, most romantic and best-known high-medieval castles in Germany
- 11 Worms Cathedral
activities
Provides a comprehensive overview of the cultural offerings in Rhineland-Palatinate and a search function for event dates Cultivated land RLP. Those interested can find theaters, museums, stages, orchestras, archives, libraries and many other cultural institutions across the country.
In the wine-growing regions, the annual wine festivals are an attractive magnet for visitors. Strauss taverns invite you to a regional dish such as onion cake with wine from their own winery.
The national festival takes place annually Rhineland-Palatinate Day instead of.
kitchen
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Saumagen_Sauerkraut_Bratwurst_Homburg.jpg/220px-Saumagen_Sauerkraut_Bratwurst_Homburg.jpg)
The Palatinate Saumagen is widespread in the Palatinate, but difficult to find outside this region. This dish became known throughout Germany as the favorite dish of former Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl, especially since the meal with Gorbatschow in Deidesheim. Pictures of this feast can still be found in the "Deidesheimer Hof" restaurant. The Saumagen is filled with a mixture of meat and potatoes, is cooked for about two to three hours and then served in thick slices, often in combination with sauerkraut.
The Rhineland-Palatinate is quite pleasure-oriented and leaves for a good meal and a good bottle - similar to its Saarland neighbor (The main thing is good, I made it quickly!) - work can sometimes be work. Visitors notice again and again that there is not only a willingness to enjoy, but also an ability to enjoy in the wine-growing regions. Despite all the good mood, one should not forget that every winegrower knows where his own advantage lies when in doubt ...
Not to be despised are the Rhineland-Palatinate beers, Bitburger for the more delicate, Kirner for the men.
In Rhineland-Palatinate restaurants, smoking is prohibited with exceptions. If a company identifies itself as a "smoker's bar", it is not allowed to serve young people or children in its guest rooms. Many snack bars and pubs make use of this option. This significantly limits the choice for families. You should therefore find out beforehand whether a restaurant is an option.
to buy
accommodation
- The type "winery with guest house" is very common in the wine-growing regions. The accommodations are often rather inexpensive. The innkeepers are primarily winemakers and may not have completed any marketing training (in which, among other things, you train artificial politeness). But everything is available what the guest needs. Especially wine.
- In the wine-growing regions, especially the German Wine Route, the peak season is late August to October (in other regions it is more of the off-season).
Learn
Work
public holidays
Next appointment | Surname | importance |
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Saturday 1st January 2022 | New Year | New Years Day |
Friday April 15, 2022 | Good Friday | highest Christian holiday, commemoration of the crucifixion of Christ |
Sunday April 17th 2022 | Easter Sunday | Easter, commemoration of the resurrection of Christ |
Monday April 18, 2022 | Easter Monday | Easter, commemoration of the resurrection of Christ |
Saturday 1st May 2021 | May Day | International Labor Day |
Thursday May 13th 2021 | Ascension of Christ | 40 days after Easter, commemoration of the Ascension of Christ |
Sunday 23 May 2021 | Pentecost Sunday | 7 weeks after Easter, commemoration of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit |
Monday, May 24, 2021 | Whit Monday | 1 day after Pentecost Sunday, commemoration of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit |
Thursday 3rd June 2021 | Corpus Christi | Catholic solemnity of the bodily presence of Christ in the Eucharist |
Sunday 3rd October 2021 | Day of German unity | National holiday |
Monday 1st November 2021 | All Saints Day | Christian festival at which all saints are remembered |
Saturday 25 December 2021 | 1st Christmas Day | Christmas, commemoration of the birth of Christ |
Sunday 26 December 2021 | 2nd Christmas Day | Christmas, commemoration of the birth of Christ |
Christmas Eve (December 24th) and New Year's Eve (December 31st) are not public holidays. Nevertheless, many businesses are closed all day and many shops and leisure facilities are closed from midday on these days. Depending on the city, local public transport can be severely restricted or even stopped from the afternoon onwards. Most of the restaurants are also closed on Christmas Eve.
School holidays
vacation | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
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winter | 17.02.-21.02. | - | 21.02.-25.02. | - | - |
Easter | 09.04.-17.04. | 29.03.-06.04. | 13.04.-22.04. | 03.04.–06.04. | 25.03.–02.04. |
Pentecost | - | 25.05.-02.06. | - | 30.05.–07.06. | 21.05.–29.05. |
summer | 06.07.-14.08. | 19.07.-27.08. | 25.07.-02.09. | 24.07.–01.09. | 15.07.–23.08. |
autumn | 12.10.-23.10. | 11.10.-22.10. | 17.10.-31.10. | 16.10.–27.10. | |
Christmas | 21.12.-31.12. | 23.12.-31.12. | 23.12.-02.01. | 27.12.–05.01. |
Furthermore, there are six flexible vacation days in Rhineland-Palatinate, which are determined locally. The long-term summer vacation dates can be found at the Conference of Ministers of Education can be read.
security
No particular risks or dangers are known.
Rescue points in the forest
Particularly in the large forest areas, it can be difficult to describe the exact position in emergencies. By setting up rescue points in the forest, the state forest of Rhineland-Palatinate has set up a company-wide rescue system that can also be used by private individuals. Rescue points were originally developed as starting points in the event of accidents that occur during dangerous forest work by employees of the forest administration, but they can also be used to find people who have had accidents in the forest or who have lost their way through civil joint use. In this way, the rescue points can develop a life-saving function in life-threatening situations. Rescue points are marked by a dark green board with a white cross, the identification of the rescue point and a reference to the emergency number 112. However, it cannot be guaranteed that the own mobile network will actually work at any rescue point. The Rhineland-Palatinate forest administration provides information on their websitethat a free app is also available.
health
The area in the southwest of the Hunsrück around Idar-Oberstein is classified as a TBE risk area. These are areas in which at least five diseases occurred between 1985 and 2004 Early summer meningoencephalitis or at least two TBE diseases were registered within one year.
climate
respect
literature
- There are official topographic maps State Office for Surveying and Basic Geographic Information Rhineland-Palatinate out. Hiking and cycling maps are no longer produced again. The existing leisure cards (as of around 2012) will be sold off (as of 2019).
Web links
- http://www.rlp.de/ - Official website of Rhineland-Palatinate
- Rhineland-Palatinate Tourism
- Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate too Castles and palaces.