Circle of the Rhine

The Circle of the Rhine, also known in German as the Rheinkreis and later as the Rhenish Palatinate, was a historical administrative district of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It occupied much of the Palatinate on the west bank of the Rhine and was governed from Speyer. Although it was not a commercial brand, the designation functioned as the official name of a territorial and administrative unit during a period of major political reorganization in central Europe. The territory had previously been divided among numerous secular and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Before the French Revolutionary Wars, its most important political components included the Electoral Palatinate, the Duchy of Zweibrücken and the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer. These territories were connected in different ways to the Wittelsbach dynastic system. The Electoral Palatinate and Bavaria entered a personal union in 1777, while Palatinate-Zweibrücken represented another Wittelsbach branch. French revolutionary expansion transformed the region after 1792. French forces occupied the Left Bank of the Rhine in 1794, and the area was subsequently incorporated into the First French Republic. French administration reorganized much of the territory through departments, principally Mont-Tonnerre, with smaller portions connected to the Sarre and Bas-Rhin departments. This period introduced administrative structures that continued to influence the region after the end of French rule. Following Napoleon's defeat, the area passed through several transitional authorities. It was placed under the provisional General Government of the Middle Rhine in early 1814 and later administered jointly by Austrian and Bavarian authorities. The Congress of Vienna initially assigned broad sovereignty over much of the Left Bank of the Rhine to Austria. A subsequent Austro-Bavarian treaty signed on 14 April 1816 transferred the principal western Rhine territories to King Maximilian I of Bavaria, with the territorial changes taking effect on 1 May 1816. Bavaria organized the newly acquired territory as the Rhine Circle. Its boundaries broadly corresponded to the modern Palatinate region of Rhineland-Palatinate, although the historical district also included areas that later became part of the Saarland and the Saar Basin. The Bavarian administration retained elements of the former French framework, including the subdivision into cantons, mayoralties and municipalities. Franz Xaver von Zwackh was appointed the first provincial governor, and his name later contributed to the Palatinate nickname for Bavarian officials, “Zwockel.” In 1837, the Bavarian government renamed the Circle of the Rhine as the Palatinate, or Pfalz. The territory nevertheless continued to be administered as part of Bavaria. The Bavarian period lasted, with territorial modifications, until 30 August 1946. After the First World War, portions around Homburg and Sankt Ingbert were detached and incorporated into the Territory of the Saar Basin. Further minor changes occurred after the Second World War in connection with the Saar Protectorate. On 30 August 1946, the former Palatinate became part of the newly established German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Later administrative reforms altered some boundaries, but the historical territory remains reflected in regional institutions, including the Diocese of Speyer and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate. The Circle of the Rhine therefore survives primarily as a historical designation for a Bavarian-administered Rhine territory rather than as a current political entity or consumer-facing brand.

The area later called the Circle of the Rhine had a highly fragmented political history before the nineteenth century. Prior to the French Revolutionary Wars, its territory was divided among approximately 45 secular and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. The largest were the Electoral Palatinate, the Duchy of Zweibrücken and the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer. Dynastic relationships among these territories and Bavaria were strengthened by the Wittelsbach succession system, including the personal union between the Electoral Palatinate and Bavaria from 1777. French revolutionary troops occupied the Left Bank of the Rhine in 1794. The First French Republic subsequently annexed the region and replaced its former political structure with a centralized administrative system. The later Rhine-related French administration included much of the département of Mont-Tonnerre, together with smaller sections of the départements of the Sarre and Bas-Rhin. This reorganization reduced the influence of the former territorial states and introduced departments, cantons, mayoralties and municipalities as the principal administrative framework. After Napoleon's defeat at Leipzig, Allied forces regained the Left Bank of the Rhine. From 2 February 1814, the territory was administered by the General Government of the Middle Rhine. On 16 June 1814, responsibility moved to a joint Austrian-Bavarian land administration commission. The Congress of Vienna settlement of 1815 initially placed much of the Left Bank under Austrian sovereignty, although the joint administration continued while the territorial settlement was implemented. Austria and Bavaria concluded a treaty on 14 April 1816. Under its terms, Austria transferred to Bavaria a group of territories west of the Rhine, including most of the districts of Zweibrücken, Kaiserslautern and Speyer; the Landau area and associated territory; several cantons from the former Sarre department; and additional areas near the Lauter. The transfer became effective on 1 May 1816. Bavaria then created the Rhine Circle, with Speyer as its capital, and appointed Franz Xaver von Zwackh as its first provincial governor. The new district broadly covered the Palatinate west of the Rhine. It retained much of the French administrative subdivision, even though sovereignty and political authority had changed. The region was strategically important because of its position along the Rhine and because Landau served as a federal fortress under the post-Napoleonic settlement. Its integration into Bavaria also created a geographically separated Bavarian territory on the western bank of the Rhine, distinct from the main Bavarian lands east of the river. In 1837, the government renamed the Rhine Circle as the Palatinate, or Pfalz. The alternative expression Rhenish Palatinate was also used. The name change did not end the territory's Bavarian affiliation. The Palatinate remained within the Kingdom of Bavaria and, after 1918, the Free State of Bavaria, subject to changes imposed by international settlements and later German territorial reforms. The first major postwar territorial change followed the First World War. Areas around Homburg and Sankt Ingbert were removed from the Bavarian Palatinate and incorporated into the Territory of the Saar Basin. These changes reduced the historical district's extent, although the remaining Palatinate continued to be associated with Bavaria. After the Second World War, further minor losses occurred in the vicinity of the Saar Protectorate. On 30 August 1946, the Palatinate was incorporated into the newly created federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. This ended its Bavarian political status. Subsequent reforms, including the 1969 land reform in Rhineland-Palatinate and changes to Saarland districts in 1974, modified some historical boundaries. Nevertheless, religious and regional institutions such as the Diocese of Speyer and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate retain boundaries that substantially reflect the former Circle of the Rhine and its successor territory.

• 1946

  Integration into Rhineland-Palatinate

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  On 30 August, the former Palatinate ceased to be Bavarian territory and became part of the newly formed federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

• 1919

  Post-First World War territorial detachment

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  Areas around Homburg and Sankt Ingbert were separated from the Bavarian Palatinate and incorporated into the Territory of the Saar Basin.

• 1837

  Renaming as the Palatinate

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  The Bavarian administrative district was renamed the Palatinate, or Pfalz, and was also known as the Rhenish Palatinate.

• 1816

  Creation of the Circle of the Rhine

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  An Austro-Bavarian treaty transferred the principal territory to Bavaria, effective 1 May, and Bavaria established the Rhine Circle with Speyer as its capital.

• 1815

  Congress of Vienna settlement

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  The Congress of Vienna assigned broad sovereignty over parts of the Left Bank of the Rhine to Austria, pending further territorial implementation.

• 1814

  Transition to Allied and joint administration

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  After Napoleon's defeat, the territory passed first to the General Government of the Middle Rhine and then to a joint Austrian-Bavarian administration.

• 1797

  Treaty of Campo Formio

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  The treaty confirmed French control over the Left Bank territories and preceded their integration into the French administrative system.

• 1794

  French occupation of the Left Bank of the Rhine

  [1]Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org

  French revolutionary troops occupied the region, beginning a period in which the former Palatinate territories were reorganized under French rule.

Historical territorial and administrative designation; not a commercial brand.

1. 1Circle of the Rhineen.wikipedia.org