| Palatinate | prop. n. Either of two regions in Germany, formerly divisions of the Holy Roman Empire; the Lower Palatinate or Rhine Palatinate is now within the Rhineland-Palatinate; the Upper Palatinate is now within Bavaria. It is usually referred to as the Palatinate. [ PJC ] ☞ Palatinate The [ F. Palatinat, G. Pfalz, ML. Palatinatus, the province of count palatine, from palatinatus, palatine. ] A former German State. Its territories were originally in the region of the Rhine, and from the 14th century to 1620 embraced two separate regions, the Rhine (or Lower) Palatinate (distinctively the Palatinate), and the Upper Palatinate (see below). The palsgraves on the Rhine, whose original seat was at Aix-la-Chapelle, were important princes of the empire as early as the 11th century. Early in the 13th century the Palatinate passed to the Bavarian dynasty of Wittelsbach, which soon after branched off into the Bavarian and palatine lines. The Palatinate was enlarged early in the 14th Century with a part of Bavaria (the Upper Palatinate). The Golden Bull of 1356 designated the Palatinate as one of the seven electorates. In the 16th century Heidelberg, the capital of the electors palatine, became a great center of Calvinism. The elector Frederick V., having accepted the Bohemian crown in 1619, and having been overthrown in 1620, was stripped of his dominions. The electoral dignity was transferred to Bavaria in 1623, and the Upper Palatinate was annexed to it. By the treaty of 1648 the Rhine Palatinate was restored to its former rulers, and an eighth electorate created for it, the Upper Palatinate being confirmed to Bavaria. The Rhine palatinate was terribly ravaged by the French in 1674 and 1689. The Palatinate and the Bavarian lands were united in 1777. In 1801 the Rhine Palatinate was divided: all west of the Rhine was ceded to France; Baden received Heidelberg, Mannheim, etc.; and the rest fell to Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, etc. By the treaties of 1814-15 the French portion west of the Rhine was restored to Germany: Prussia and Hesse-Darmstadt received portions, but the greater portion fell to Bavaria. This part is the present Rhine Palatinate, or Lower Palatinate (G. Rheinpfalz or Unterpfalz): it is bounded by the Rhine on the east, and borders on Hesse, Prussia, and Alsace-Lorraine. It forms a "Regierungs-bezirk" of Bavaria, with Spires as Capital. It is traversed by the Hardt Mountains, and produces grain, wine, coal, etc. Area, 2, 289 square miles. Population (1890), 728, 339. The Upper Palatinate (9. Oberpfalz) forms a "Regierungs-bezirk" of Bavaria under the title Upper Palatinate and Ratisbon (Regensburg). It borders on Bohemia. Capital, Ratisbon. It has extensive forests and flourishing industries. Area, 3, 729 square miles. Population (1890), 537, 954. [ Century Dict., 1906 ] |
