Electoral Palatinate of the Rhine

The Palatinate of the Rhine (German: Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein), later the Electoral Palatinate (German: Kurpfalz), was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire, a palatinate administered by a count palatine. Its rulers served as prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356. The Electoral Palatinate was a much larger territory than what later became known as the Rhenish Palatinate (Rheinpfalz), on the west bank of the Rhine, and is n... more

The Palatinate of the Rhine (German: Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein), later the Electoral Palatinate (German: Kurpfalz), was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire, a palatinate administered by a count palatine. Its rulers served as prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356. The Electoral Palatinate was a much larger territory than what later became known as the Rhenish Palatinate (Rheinpfalz), on the west bank of the Rhine, and is now the contemporary region of the Palatinate in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate and parts of the French region of Alsace (bailiwick of Seltz from 1418 to 1766). The Electoral Palatinate also included territory that lay on the east bank of the Rhine, containing the cities of Heidelberg and Mannheim. In 1156 Conrad of Hohenstaufen, brother of emperor Frederick Barbarossa became count palatinate. The old coat of arms of the House of Hohenstaufen, the single lion, became coat of arms of the palatinate. By marriage, the Palatinate... less