词条 | Rhineland-Palatinate |
释义 | Rhineland-Palatinate state, Germany Introduction German Rheinland-Pfalz ![]() ![]() Geography ![]() The state's southwestern portion, which is bordered on the north by the Nahe River, is broken by the Saar-Nahe Mountains and the escarpments of the Pfälzer Forest (Pfälzerwald). Open cultivated areas alternate with large wooded areas. In contrast, the southeast contains the treeless Rhein-Hesse Plateau and the Rhine River valley. The plateau is covered by loess, while the valley contains fertile alluvial soils. At Mainz the average annual temperature is in the low 50s F (about 10 °C), and the average yearly rainfall is about 20 inches (500 mm). Regional variations occur, however: the northwestern part of the Eifel has an average annual temperature in the low 40s F (about 6 °C) and an average annual rainfall of about 30 inches (750 mm). ![]() For much of the post-World War II period, Rhineland-Palatinate was one of the poorest states of West Germany. In the late 20th century, however, its rate of economic growth was higher than that of the rest of Germany. The total gross domestic product (GDP) of the state is derived from several sources, with manufacturing the largest source, followed by services, commerce, transportation, and agriculture. In the most fertile agricultural regions of the Neuwied Basin, Bitburg, Rheinhessen, and the eastern Palatinate, potatoes, cereals, and sugar beets are the primary crops. In the less fertile highlands, however, stock farming is more important. The state is known for the many specialized crops of its river valleys. Viticulture occupies a predominant place in the agriculture of the state, and the famous vineyards along the Rhine, Moselle, and Nahe rivers are the source of most of Germany's wines. The growing of fruit and tobacco is also of considerable importance. The state's largest industries are chemical manufacturing in Ludwigshafen, Ingelheim am Rhein, and Mainz and the machinery industry in Frankenthal and Kaiserslautern. A large proportion of the country's shoes are produced in Pirmasens, and most of Germany's trade in precious stones is carried on in the town of Idar-Oberstein. The Kannenbäcker region of the Westerwald is famous for its pottery (Westerwald stoneware). Mainz, situated on the west bank of the Rhine opposite the mouth of the Main River, is an important transportation junction. The most important transportation routes are the navigable waterways of the Rhine and the Moselle. The main railways follow the Rhine valley, and the primary highways also run from north to south. An improved road network in the Eifel upland, traditionally one of Germany's poorest and most remote regions, has increased tourism and made commuting to the fringes of the more industrialized areas possible. Representatives are popularly elected to the state parliament, the Landtag. The Landtag elects a prime minister. Under the state's judicial system, civil and criminal cases are tried by the provincial court of appeal and the county courts. ![]() History Rhineland-Palatinate has had a long history of division and possession by foreign powers; the modern state was created only after World War II. The oldest archaeological remains in the region are tools from the Stone Age that are at least 100,000 and may be as much as 300,000 years old. Between 3000 and 1800 BC, during the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age), large areas along the Rhine were settled by Celtic and Germanic peoples. Incorporated into the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC, Rhineland formed the northeastern border region of the Gallic provinces for about 500 years. The cities of Mogontiacum (Mainz) and Augusta Treverorum (Trier) were founded during the Roman period. From the 5th to the 9th century AD, Rhineland belonged to the Frankish kingdom of the Merovingians (Merovingian dynasty) and later the Carolingians (Carolingian dynasty). In 843 the kingdom was divided in half, and Rhineland became the western border region of the East Frankish, or German, kingdom. During this period the region was fractured into a large number of small independent states with temporal and religious governments. The most powerful of these states were the Rhenish Palatinate—which was ruled from the 13th century by the Bavarian Wittelsbach (Wittelsbach, House of) dynasty—and the archdioceses of Trier and Mainz. The Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries saw further territorial divisions that originated in the conflicts of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and Calvinism and led to the Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Foreign countries and principalities—particularly Bavaria, Spain, Austria, Sweden, and France—determined the political development of Rhineland. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Palatinate had close political and cultural ties with France. According to the Treaty of Campo Formio (Campo Formio, Treaty of) on Oct. 17, 1797, the lands to the west of the Rhine were incorporated into the French territories, the individual states were dissolved, and religious holdings were secularized. In 1815 Rhineland became a part of the newly founded German Confederation, and the region was divided by the Congress of Vienna (Vienna, Congress of) among Prussia, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Nassau. After World War II the region was again divided by order of the U.S., French, and British military governments, and the present-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate was created. |
随便看 |
|
百科全书收录100133条中英文百科知识,基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识,是一部内容开放、自由的电子版百科全书。