Of all the German Länder, the Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) is the one most overlaid by legend. The River Rhine is seen here at its majestic best, and there's hardly a town, castle or rock along this stretch which hasn't made a distinctive contribution to its mythology. This is the land of the national epic, the Nibelungenlied , an extraordinary tale of heroism, chicanery, dynastic rivalry, vengeance and obsession, which bites deep into the German soul. It's also the land of the deceptively alluring Lorelei, of the robber barons who presided over tiny fiefs from lofty fortresses and of the merchant traders who used the natural advantages of the river to bring the country to the forefront of European prosperity.

Nowadays, the Rhine's once treacherous waters have been tamed, enabling pleasure cruisers to run its length, past a wonderful landscape of rocks, vines, white-painted towns and ruined castles. Everything conforms perfectly to the image of Germany promoted by the tourist office; visitors swarm in, and people living on the trade do very nicely. Although the Rhine gorge is the bit most people want to write home about, the rest of the Land has plenty to offer. The Mosel valley , running all the way from France to its confluence with the Rhine at Koblenz , scores highly for scenic beauty and is not quite as over-subscribed and spoilt. Further north, the valley of the River Ahr , which flows into the Rhine near Remagen , rivals both of the larger rivers for spectacular scenery. Only in the Hunsrück and the Eifel , the Rhineland-Palatinate's "mountain" ranges, do the otherwise ever-present vines give way to bare heathland and forest, creating landscapes that are at times almost desolate.

Industry exists only in isolated pockets, and Mainz , the state's capital and chief city, only just ranks among the forty largest in Germany. Its monuments, together with those of the two other Imperial cathedral cities of Worms (the font of Germany's once-rich Jewish culture) and Speyer , are of major importance, though the number one destination from the point of view of sights is Trier , which preserves the finest buildings of classical antiquity north of the Alps.

Trier's Roman survivals are a potent reminder of the area's illustrious history . The Rhine itself marked the effective limit of Roman power, and from that period onward the settlements along its western bank dominated national development. Throughout the duration of the Holy Roman Empire, the importance of this area within Germany can be gauged by the fact that two of the seven Electors were the archbishops of Mainz and Trier, while another was the Pfalzgraf , or Count Palatine of the Rhine. The last-named has provided the present Land, an artificial postwar construct, with its name, though the heart of his territory lay in the north of what is now Baden-Württemberg. Like the Romans, the French have often regarded the Rhine as the natural limit of their power, and their designs on the region - ranging from the destructive War of the Palatinate Succession launched in 1689, via the Napoleonic grand design, to the ham-fisted attempts to foster an independent state there after World War I - have had a profound impact on European history.

Adjoining Rhineland-Palatinate to the southwest is the miniature province of the Saarland . Long disputed between Germany and France because of its natural mineral wealth, it's predominantly an industrial region. From a tourist point of view, it's the least rewarding of all the German Länder, though it does have a few beauty spots, and a vibrant capital in Saarbrücken .

As far as getting around is concerned, this is one part of Germany where having your own transport is a definite benefit. Otherwise, buses tend to have the edge over trains for seeing the best of the scenery. Despite their associations with over-organized tour groups, the pleasure steamers which glide down the great rivers throughout the summer are certainly worth sampling. Accommodation , whether in hotels, youth hostels or campsites, is plentiful, but is best reserved in advance during the high season in the most popular areas.

Back to Explore Germany