Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate was established in 1946 after World War II from territory of the historically separate regions of the Free State of Prussia, People's State of Hesse, and Bavaria, by the French military administration in Allied-occupied Germany. Rhineland-Palatinate became part of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, and shared the country's only border with the Saar Protectorate until it was returned to German control in 1957. Rhineland-Palatinate has since developed its own identity built on its natural and cultural heritage, including the extensive Palatinate winegrowing region, its picturesque landscapes, and many castles and palaces.
Gollenberg, Rhineland-Palatinate
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna assigned the "Birkenfelder Land" to the Grand Duke of Oldenburg, who took charge of his new holding on 16 April 1817, naming it the Principality of Birkenfeld. On 1 April 1937, under the Greater Hamburg Act, the old principality was absorbed into Prussia, which was still a distinct entity during the Third Reich. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.