Regions and Cities of Germany

Rhineland-Palatinate consists of an area of 19,846 km² and about four million inhabitants. Situated in western Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate borders North Rhine Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland, as well as the European neighbors France, Luxembourg and Belgium. The federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate was established on 30 August 1946 and is actually a conglomeration of the historic regions of southern Rheinland Province, Rheinhessen and the Palatinate.

Rhineland-Palatinate's cities, such as Mainz, Kaiserslautern, Trier or Coblenza each possess interesting features and one will come across one of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscapes in Germany: the romantic Rhine Valley nestled between Bingen and Bonn, with its castles and vineyards. The Rhine is the largest river in the state. The Rhine Valley is bounded by the Eifel, Hunsrück, Westerwald and Taunus mountain chains and forms a fascinating landscape containing some of the most historically significant places in Germany.

This region has a high rate of export in Germany given the demand for its goods: ceramics, leather, glass and especially the renowned wines. Rhineland-Palatinate is Germany's leading producer of wine, in terms of grape cultivation and wine export. Two thirds of the country's total wine production comes from this region; half of the wine regions producing quality wine in Germany are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, including Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Mosel, Nahe, Mittelrhein and Ahr. The state's capital, Mainz, may be called the capital of the German wine industry, being the home of the German Wine Institute, the German Wine Fund and many of the top winemakers of Germany.