Rhineland-Palatinate State Attractions Rheinland-Pfalz

Situation and characteristicsThe Eifel, an upland region some 70km/45mi long and 30km/20mi wide between the Rhine, the Mosel and the Rur, is a residual range of hills averaging 600 m/2,000ft in height and reaching its highest point in the Hohe Acht (746 m/2,448ft) which was disrupted by more than 200 volcanoes. The lava flows from these extinct volcanoes can still be clearly distinguished in the present landscape pattern, particularly around the Laacher See, the Nürburgring and the towns of Daun and Manderscheid.MaareAlso of volcanic origin are the romantically beautiful maare so characteristic of the Eifel - old volcanic craters, mostly now filled by small lakes. A particularly fine example of a maar is the 52 m/170ft deep Laacher See, surrounded by more than forty lava vents. Equally beautiful are the maare around Daun, particularly the Gemündener Maar and the melancholy Totenmaar.DamsIn recent years a number of large dams have been constructed in the northwestern Eifel, forming artificial lakes and producing attractive new landscape patterns, such as the dam in the Urft valley and the Schwammenauel reservoir in the river Rur. The rivers, the maare and the lakes have great attractions for anglers and water sports enthusiasts, and the abundant snow of the Hocheifel and Schnee-Eifel offers excellent skiing.

Situation and characteristicsThe Hunsrück, the most southerly part of the Rhenish Uplands on the left bank of the Rhine, facing the Taunus on the right bank, lies between the Rhine, the Mosel, the lower Saar and the Nahe.LandscapeThe Hunsrück is an upland region between 400 m/1,300ft and 500 m/1,650ft high out of which rises a long ridge of quartzite hills reaching their highest point in the Erbeskopf (816 m/2,677ft), the highest peak in the left-bank Rhenish Uplands. While the gently rolling plateau has lost much of its forest cover and is dotted with little towns and villages, the hills are covered with one of the largest areas of forest in Germany (mainly conifers) - the Bingerwald and Soonwald to the east, the Idarwald and Hochwald to the west.

The Ahr valley (Ahrtal) in the northern Eifel is one of the most beautiful of the Rhine's tributary valleys. The river, 89km/55mi long, rises at Blankenheim and flows into the Rhine below Sinzig.In the narrow valley nestle a succession of towns and villages - Altenahr, Mayschoss, Rech, Dernau, Marienthal, Walporzheim, Bachem and Ahrweiler.The finest part of the valley is the romantic stretch between Altenahr and Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, where the river forces its way in a winding course between rugged slate crags. Particularly impressive is the high rock face known as the Bunte Kuh at Walporzheim. The hills are crowned by ruined castles, and their slopes are covered with woodlands.

Situation and characteristicsPirmasens, a town with a history going back to the eighth century, lies some 35km/22mi south of Kaiserslautern on the edge of the Pfälzer Wald Nature Park. The predominant element in its economy is the shoe industry. The heavy destruction suffered by the town during the Second World War has left it with few historic buildings.

Situation and characteristicsThe old "Barbarossa town" of Kaiserslautern, situated at the intersection of important traffic routes, is the cultural and economic center of the Palatinate Forest (Pfälzerwald), with a university (1970) and the Palatinate Theater (Pfalztheater).

The Pfalz, formerly the Rheinpfalz, is known in English as the Palatinate. Over the years its reputation has been that of a region with few superior-quality estates.