Historic division of Germany, dating from before the 8th century. It was ruled by a
count palatine (a count with royal prerogatives) and varied in size.
When the Palatinate was attached to Bavaria in 1815 it consisted of two separate parts: Rhenish (or Lower) Palatinate on the Rhine (capital Heidelberg), and Upper Palatinate (capital Amberg on the Vils) 210 km/130 mi to the east. In 1946 Rhenish Palatinate became an administrative division of the
Land (German region) of Rhineland-Palatinate, with its capital at Neustadt; Upper Palatinate remained an administrative division of Bavaria, with its capital at Regensburg.
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