The Palatinate occupies most of the southern quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), covering an area of 2,105 square miles (5,450 km2) with about 1.4 million inhabitants.

With about 1,771 km2 (684 sq mi), it is Germany's largest contiguous forested area, and is part of the Franco-German Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve.

It is one of the greatest wine-producing regions in Germany, and in the last two decades has become well known for its prize-winning white and reds of highest quality produced by a number of talented young winemakers.

Major rivers include the Upper Rhine tributaries Lauter, Queich and Speyerbach, as well as Schwarzbach and Glan in the west.

[3] Formerly a Celtic region, this area was conquered by the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus in about 12 BC; thereafter, it was part of the province of Germania Superior.

By the late 12th century, the Count palatine had achieved the status of a Prince-elector (Kurfürst), becoming one of the seven higher nobles with the privilege of electing the Emperor, as confirmed by the Golden Bull of 1356.

Austrian and Royal Bavarian Joint Land Administration Commission (k. k. östreichischen und k. bairischen gemeinschaftliche Landes-Administrations-Kommission).

[5] In the main treaty agreed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and dated 9 June 1815, Article 51 stated (inter alia) that on the Left Bank of the Rhine the former French départements of the Sarre and Mont-Tonnerre, except where set forth in the same treaty, were to fall "with full sovereignty" and ownership rights within the overlordship of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria (Herrschaft Sr. Maj. des Kaisers von Oesterreich).

From 1808, Bavaria embarked on the administrative reorganisation of its territory, creating districts which, as in France, were named after the main local rivers.

Of the former French administrative structure, the subdivision of the district into arrondissements, cantons, mayoralties, and municipalities was, in large measure, retained.

At the next lower level, the three former French arrondissements were continued as Kreisdirektion ("Circle", i.e. district, "direction") of Frankenthal, Kaiserslautern, and Zweibrücken.

As his first provincial governor, King Maximilian selected the Privy Councillor (Hofrat) Franz Xaver von Zwack, whose name gave rise to the popular Palatine nickname for Bavarians, Zwockel.

The Hambach Festival, a large gathering near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, proved fertile ground for what came to be considered a milestone in German history.

Another term, that of Rhenish Bavaria (Rheinbayern), though used occasionally, never gained great currency, but can, nonetheless, be found sometimes on older maps.

In May/June 1849, after the failed revolution of 1848, and as part of the Imperial Constitution campaign, separatist elements wanted the district to secede from Bavaria and establish its own "Palatine Republic".

In 1920, the western Bezirksämter of Sankt Ingbert and Homburg (Saarpfalz) were separated from the Bavarian Palatinate, and became part of the newly established Saarland, which, according to the peace treaty, was governed by the League of Nations.

That same year, seven more towns were declared independent of the Bezirksämter: Speyer, Ludwigshafen, Frankenthal, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, and Zweibrücken.

Under Nazi rule, from 1933 to 1945, the Palatinate officially remained part of Bavaria, but was otherwise totally reorganised—it was merged with the Saarland into the Gau Westmark, with headquarters in Saarbrücken.

The union with Bavaria was finally dissolved following the reorganisation of German states during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II.

The Diocese of Speyer and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate still exist today largely based on the historic boundaries of the old Bavarian district.

[10] The only existing Pennsylvania German newspaper, Hiwwe wie Driwwe, was founded 1996 in the village of Ober-Olm, close to Mainz, the state capital (and is published bi-annually as a cooperation project with Kutztown University).

Other traditional meat dishes of the region include bratwurst, Palatinate liverwurst, a blood pudding sausage called grieweworscht ("griewe" are speck (bacon) cubes, so lit.