RHEINLAND-PFALZ - Geography and history
The landscape of Rheinland-Pfalz is shaped by the four low mountain ranges of the Eifel, Westerwald, Hunsrück and Taunus, and by the Moselle and Rhine rivers. It borders the Länder of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen, and the countries of Luxembourg, Belgium and France.
There are marked regional variations in the climate, from the warm, sheltered low-lying areas (e.g. the river valleys and much of Rheinhessen) to the much harsher conditions of the uplands. The land is farmed more or less intensively depending on location and soil type (some of the land is volcanic in origin). The Vorderpfalz and parts of Rheinhessen in particular are well suited to arable farming (particularly special crops). The valleys of the Rhine, Moselle, Saar and Ahr, together with much of Rheinhessen and the Vorderpfalz, are well situated and produce wines that have achieved a widespread reputation. The tourist industry also takes full advantage of the Land's varied countryside and numerous castles.
Challenges for the future
Rheinland-Pfalz is positioned in the middle of Europe's major supply and distribution markets. One indicator of the intensity of its economic links is its extremely high export ratio, which is well above the average for Germany as a whole. The growing-together of Europe and increasing globalisation are opening up new horizons for Rheinland-Pfalz. A well developed infrastructure, a start-up-friendly climate and future-oriented investment in research and development make Rheinland-Pfalz an attractive location.
Viewed in terms of economic geography, there is a major structural difference within the Land: the centres of activity lie along the Rhine, which is one of Europe's longest inland waterways and flows through the Land for 290 kilometres. Those areas further away from the Rhine, however, suffer from structural weaknesses of varying magnitude. The tighter interlocking of international relationships presents a particularly good opportunity to the structurally weaker regions. Rheinland-Pfalz used to be the Land with the biggest concentration of military facilities, with up to 7.6% of the surface area being used by US, French and German forces. For a number of regions, military bases represented a major economic factor: consumer spending, investment and demand for labour had a positive impact on the mostly structurally weak and rural regions concerned. The economic problems associated with the conversion of military sites following the massive reduction in the numbers of both Allied and German forces personnel mean that the Land continues to face major challenges.
The Rhine, the main artery of the Land
Rheinland-Pfalz is divided into 24 Landkreise and Kreisfreie Städte. The individual Landkreise break down into Verbandsfreie Gemeinden and Verbandsgemeinden, which in turn comprise various Ortsgemeinden. The Rheinland-Pfalz Land administration is made up of the Struktur- und Genehmigungsdirektionen Nord (Koblenz) and Süd (Neustadt an der Weinstrasse) and the Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion in Trier. The seat of the Land government is Mainz.
The economic situation in Rheinland-Pfalz is closely bound up with the history of the area, since as a border region it tended to be neglected by distant political and administrative centres. As a result, the transport situation remained poor for a long time, which in turn had a very negative effect on the industrialisation process. In the early days after its establishment, the predominantly agricultural Rheinland-Pfalz was thus one of the economically weakest Länder. Today, with a surface area of almost 20 000 km2 and a population of more than four million, it is no longer a border region perceived as being largely off the beaten track, but has grown into a central location in European terms. In 2002, Rheinland-Pfalz's GDP growth of 0.9% in real terms exceeded the average for Germany as a whole (0.2%), and its economic output last year amounted to a nominal €91.8 billion.
Even nowadays the distribution pattern of business structures varies widely throughout the Land, with clear structural differences as one moves away from the Rhine corridor on the one hand and from south-east to north-west on the other.
Rheinland-Pfalz does not have any out-and-out conurbations and only a few biggish cities. The two largest ones are Mainz and Ludwigshafen, with populations in 2002 of 186 100 and 162 400 respectively, followed by Koblenz and then Trier, each with a population topping 100 000. Kaiserslautern fell just short of that figure in 2002. These five main centres accounted in that year for nearly one-sixth of Rheinland-Pfalz's population.
The structures within the Land, however, tell only part of the story as regards the true economic circumstances, as Rheinland-Pfalz is surrounded by a number of industrial agglomerations. These are situated in the Rhine-Main and Rhine-Neckar areas, which extend over into Rheinland-Pfalz. The city of Mainz and its hinterland and the Ludwigshafen-Frankenthal area are Rheinland-Pfalz's gates to these zones of economic concentration. The industrial regions of southern Luxembourg, the Ruhrgebiet and the Saarland are also within easy reach.
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