The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind of

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

. Since 1261 (formally 1356), the title holder had become a member of the small group of

prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the princ ...

s who elected the

emperor of the Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperator ...

. Since then, the title had been also called as Elector Palatinate

Counts palatine of Lotharingia 915–1085

The Palatinate emerged from the County Palatine of

Lotharingia Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

which came into existence in the 10th century. * Wigeric of Lotharingia, count of the Bidgau ( 915/916–922) *

Godfrey Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, an ...

, count of the Jülichgau (c. 940)

House of Ezzonen

During the 11th century, the Palatinate was dominated by the Ezzonian dynasty, which governed several counties on both banks of the Rhine. These territories were centered around

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, but extended south to the rivers

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

and Nahe. The southernmost point was near

Alzey Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein and Bingen. ...

. * Hermann I of Lotharingia 945–996 * Ezzo of Lotharingia 996–1034 * Otto I of Lotharingia 1034–1045 (

Duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable famil ...

1045–1047) * Henry I of Lotharingia 1045–1060/1061 * Hermann II of Lotharingia 1061/1064–1085 (in tutelage to Anno II, archbishop of Cologne until 1064)

Counts palatine of the Rhine 1085–1214

From 1085, after the death of the last Ezzonian count palatine, Herman II of Lotharingia, the Palatinate lost its military importance in Lotharingia. The territorial authority of the count palatine was reduced to his counties along the Rhine, henceforth called the County Palatine of the Rhine. * Heinrich II of Laach 1085–95 * Siegfried of Ballenstedt 1095–1113 * Gottfried of Kalw 1113–29 * William of Ballenstedt 1129–39 * Henry IV Jasomirgott 1139–42 * Hermann III of Stahleck 1142–55

Hohenstaufen counts palatine

The first hereditary count palatine of the Rhine was Conrad of Hohenstaufen, who was the younger brother of Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

. The territories attached to this hereditary office began with those held by the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynas ...

s in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper ...

and Rhineland. (Other branches of the Hohenstaufen dynasty received territories including lands in

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

and

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

). Part of this land derived from their imperial ancestors, the Salian Emperors, and part from Conrad's maternal ancestors, the

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is ...

. This explains the composition of the inheritance that comprised the Upper and Rhenish Palatinate in the following centuries. * Conrad of Hohenstaufen 1156–95

Welf counts palatine

In 1195, the Palatinate passed to the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meus ...

through the marriage of Agnes, heir to the Staufen count. *

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

of Welf 1195–1213 * Henry VI of Welf 1213–14

The Palatinate under the Wittelsbach: the Electoral dignity (1214–1803)

On the marriage of the Welf heiress Agnes in the early 13th century, the territory passed to the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

dukes of Bavaria, who were also counts palatine of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. During a later division of territory among the heirs of Duke Louis II of Upper Bavaria in 1294, the elder branch of the Wittelsbachs came into possession of both the Rhenish Palatinate and the territories in Bavaria north of the Danube river (the ''Nordgau'') centred around the town of

Amberg Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town. History The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under ...

. As this region was politically connected to the Rhenish Palatinate, the name Upper Palatinate (''Oberpfalz'') became common from the early 16th century, to contrast with the Lower Palatinate along the Rhine. The

Golden Bull of 1356 The Golden Bull of 1356 (, , , , ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz ( Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the con ...

, in circumvention of inner-Wittelsbach contracts and thus bypassing

, the Palatinate was recognized as one of the secular electorates. The count was given the hereditary offices of archsteward (''Erztruchseß'') of the Empire and

Imperial Vicar An imperial vicar (german: Reichsvikar) was a prince charged with administering all or part of the Holy Roman Empire on behalf of the emperor. Later, an imperial vicar was invariably one of two princes charged by the Golden Bull with administerin ...

('' Reichsverweser'') of

, the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

and southern Germany. From that time forth, the Count Palatine of the Rhine was usually known as the Elector Palatine (''Kurfürst von der Pfalz''). The position of prince-elector had existed earlier (for example, when two rival kings of Germany were elected in 1257: Richard of Cornwall and

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

), though it is difficult to determine exactly the earliest date of the office. By the early 16th century, owing to the practice of dividing territories among different branches of the family, junior lines of the Palatine Wittelsbachs came to rule in

Simmern Simmern (; officially Simmern/Hunsrück) is a town of roughly 7,600 inhabitants (2013) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Simmern-Rheinböllen. In the Rhin ...

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfu ...

and

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; old ...

in the Lower Palatinate, and in Neuburg and Sulzbach in the Upper Palatinate. The Elector Palatine, now based in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

, adopted Lutheranism in the 1530s and

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

in the 1550s.

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

Partitions of Palatinate under Wittelsbach rule

Table of rulers

}, la, Comes Palatinus Rheni). Left no descendants, and the Electorates passed to Zweibrücken line. , - style="background:#eee" , rowspan="3", Charles Theodore
''(Karl IV Theodor)'' , rowspan="3", Workshop of Batoni - Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria

Workshop of Batoni - Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria

, rowspan="3", 11 December 1724 , style="background:#cfc", 1733-1742 , rowspan="3", 16 February 1799 , style="background:#cfc", Palatinate-Sulzbach , rowspan="3", Elisabeth Auguste of Palatinate-Sulzbach
17 January 1742

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

one child

Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este
15 February 1795

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

no children , - style="background:#eee" , , 31 December 1742 - 30 December 1777, ,

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

, - style="background:#eee" , , 30 December 1777 - 16 February 1799, ,

and Electorate of Bavaria , - style="background:#f99" , Charles August, , Charlesaugustzweibruecken

, , 29 October 1746, , 1775–1795, , 1 April 1795, , Palatinate-Zweibrücken, , Maria Amalia of Saxony
12 February 1774

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

no children, , Son of

Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (Ribeauvillé, Alsace, 27 February 1724 – 15 August 1767 in Schwetzingen) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty. He was the son of Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and ...

, brother of Christian IV. Succeeded his uncle, but left no descendants. He was succeeded by his brother. , - style="background:#cbf" , Charles John, , , , 13/18 September 1745, , 1780–1789, , 31 March 1789, ,

Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen was a state of the Holy Roman Empire seated in Gelnhausen in the south of modern Hesse, Germany. Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen was partitioned from Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler in 1654. It was a mediate s ...

, , ''Unmarried'', , Left no male descendants. He was succeeded by his brother William. , - style="background:#cbf" ,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, ,

, , 10 November 1752, , 1789–1799, , 8 January 1837, ,

, , Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
30 January 1780

three children, , In 1799 his lands were annexed to Bavaria. , - style="background:#cbf" , colspan="8" style="text-align:center;", ''Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen definitely annexed to the Electorate of Bavaria'' , - style="background:#eee" , rowspan="3", Maximilian Joseph
''(Maximilian I. Joseph)'' , rowspan="3", Hornöck Maximilian I von Bayern um 1810

, rowspan="3", 27 May 1756 , style="background:#f99", 1795-1799 , rowspan="3", 13 October 1825 , style="background:#f99", Palatinate-Zweibrücken , rowspan="3", Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
30 September 1785

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

five children

Caroline of Baden Caroline of Baden (german: Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine von Baden; 13 July 1776 – 13 November 1841) was by marriage an Electress of Bavaria and later the first Queen consort of Bavaria by marriage to Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. Life E ...

9 March 1797

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

eight children , rowspan="3", Charles Theodore's heir, Maximilian Joseph, Duke of

(on the French border), brought all the Wittelsbach territories under a single rule in 1799. The Palatinate was dissolved in the Wars of the French Revolution. First, its left bank territories were occupied (and then annexed) by France starting in 1795; then, in 1803, its right bank territories were taken by the Margrave of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

. The Rhenish Palatinate, as a distinct territory, disappeared. In 1806, the

was abolished, and all the rights and responsibilities of the electors with it. , - style="background:#eee" , , 16 February 1799 - 27 April 1803, ,

and Electorate of Bavaria , - style="background:#eee" , , 27 April 1803 - 1 January 1806, , Electorate of Bavaria , - style="background:#f99" , colspan="8" style="text-align:center;", ''Palatinate-Zweibrücken was definitely annexed to the Electorate of Bavaria'' , - style="background:#eee" , colspan="8" style="text-align:center;", ''Electoral Palatinate was definitely annexed to the Electorate of Bavaria''

Electors of Bavaria and Counts Palatine of the Rhine, 1777–1803

Later history

Following the great restorations of 1815, the Lower Palatinate (albeit without any

role) was restored as one of eight Bavarian Districts. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the American Military Government of Germany took the Lower Palatinate from Bavaria and merged it with neighbouring territories to form a new state called

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

(German: ''Rheinland-Pfalz'') with Mainz as the state capital. The people had felt neglected by the governments in Munich for generations and later approved the merger in a plebiscite. The present head of the House of

Franz, Duke of Bavaria Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933), commonly known by the courtesy title Duke of Bavaria, is the head of the House of Wittelsbach, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His great-grandfather Ki ...

(born 1933), is still traditionally styled as ''His Royal Highness the

Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

, Duke of

and in

, Count Palatine of the Rhine''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Counts Palatine of the Rhine Lists of counts Lists of German nobility Lists of office-holders in Germany Holy Roman Empire-related lists et:Pfalzi kuurvürstkond#Pfalzi kuurvürstkonna valitsejate loend