PALATINATE,
In German history, name of two imperial regions not related geographically, the western Rhenish, or lower, Palatinate (Ger. Rheinpfalz or Niederpfalz) and upper Palatinate (Ger. Oberpfalz) of northeastern Bavaria. The Rhenish Palatinate which historically comprised territory for the most part west of the Rhine River in central Germany, was in 1947 incorporated into the west German State of the Rhineland-Palatinate. The Upper, or Bavarian, Palatinate is the region west of Bohemia and north of the Danube River. The name Palatainate is derived from the ancient and medieval office of count palatine, a nobleman who held judical powers and had charge of the various imperial castles where Holy Roman emperors stayed while traveling; hence the term became associated with the districts where the counts palatine were sovereign representatives. The two palatinates bicame politically united at the end of the 18th century. Return to top
The following was taken from, German Genealogy: Rheinland-Pfalz/Rhineland-Palatinate.
There was a major freeze in the winter of 1708/09 in the Palatinate. On 10 January 1709 the Rhine River froze and was closed for five weeks. Wine froze into ice. Grapevines died. Cattle died in their sheds. Many Palatines traveled down the Rhine to Rotterdam in late February and March. In Rotterdam they were housed in shacks covered with reeds. The ones who made it to London were housed in 1,600 tents surrounding the city. Londoners were resentful. Other Palatines were sent to other places, such as Ireland, the Scilly Isles, the West Indies, and New York.