Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is located in western Germany covering an area of and a population of 4.05 million inhabitants, the seventh-most populous German state. Mainz is the state capital and largest city, while other major cities include Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Koblenz, Trier, Kaiserslautern, and Worms. Rhineland-Palatinate is surrounded by the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg, and Hesse. It also borders three foreign countries: France, Luxembourg and Belgium.
Rhenish nationalism
In the postwar reorganization of German states, the Rhineland was divided among the new states of North Rhine–Westphalia, Rhineland–Palatinate and the Saarland, while the exclaved district of Wetzlar became part of Hesse. The districts of Eupen and Malmedy had been incorporated into Belgium in 1925.