LudwigshafenLudwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (ˈluːtvɪçsˌhaːfn̩ ʔam ˈʁaɪn; meaning "Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area. Known primarily as an industrial city, Ludwigshafen is home to BASF, the world's largest chemical producer, and other companies. Among its cultural facilities are the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.
Palatinate ForestThe Palatinate Forest (Pfälzerwald ˈpfɛltsɐvalt), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a designated nature park (Naturpark Pfälzerwald) covering 1,771 km2 and its highest elevation is the Kalmit (672.6 m). Together with the northern part of the adjacent Vosges Mountains in France it forms the UNESCO-designated Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve.
Pennsylvania DutchThe Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania Dutch: Pennsylvanisch Deitsche), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania and other American states. They descend from Germans who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, primarily from the Palatinate, and other German-speaking areas, including Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Saxony, and Rhineland in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France's Alsace-Lorraine region.
Congress of ViennaThe Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Participants were representatives of all European powers and other stakeholders, chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815.
HeidelbergHeidelberg (ˈhaɪdl̩bɛʁk; Palatine German: Heidlberg) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students. Located about south of Frankfurt, Heidelberg is the fifth-largest city in Baden-Württemberg. Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany's oldest and one of Europe's most reputable universities.
AlzeyAlzey (ˈaltsaɪ) is a Verband-free town – one belonging to no Verbandsgemeinde – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein and Bingen. Alzey is one of the Nibelungenstädte – towns associated with the Nibelungenlied – because it is represented in this work by the character Volker von Alzey. Hence, Alzey is also known as Volkerstadt. Alzey lies in Rhenish Hesse on the western edge of the northern part of the Upper Rhine Plain.
RhinelandThe Rhineland (Rheinland; Rhénanie; Rijnland; Rhingland; Latinised name: Rhenania) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Historically, the term "Rhinelands" refers (physically speaking) to a loosely defined region embracing the land on the banks of the Rhine in Central Europe, which were settled by Ripuarian and Salian Franks and became part of Frankish Austrasia. In the High Middle Ages, numerous Imperial States along the river emerged from the former stem duchy of Lotharingia, without developing any common political or cultural identity.
Protestant Church in GermanyThe Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD), formerly known in English as the Evangelical Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in Germany, collectively encompassing the country's vast majority of Protestants. In 2020, the EKD had a membership of 20,236,000 members, or 24.3% of the German population. It constitutes one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world.
AlsaceAlsace (ælˈsæs, USalsoælˈseɪs,_ˈælsæs; alzas; Low Alemannic German/Elsàss ˈɛlsɑs; Elsass ˈɛlzas; Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2023, it had a population of 1,921,014. Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of Germanic and French influences. Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort, which formed its southernmost part.
KaiserslauternKaiserslautern (ˌkaɪzɐsˈlaʊtɐn; Palatinate German: Lautre) is a town in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 miles) from Berlin, and from Luxembourg. Kaiserslautern is home to about 100,000 people. Additionally, approximately 45,000 NATO military personnel are based in the city and its surrounding district (Landkreis Kaiserslautern), contributing approximately US$1 billion annually to the local economy.
