Oberpfalz
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Upper Palatinate Oberpfalz |
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|---|---|
| Regierungsbezirk | |
 Map of Bavaria highlighting the Regierungsbezirk of Upper Palatinate |
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| Country | Germany |
| State | Bavaria |
| Region seat | Regensburg |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,692.23 km2 (3,742.19 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2015) | |
| • Total | 1,092,339 |
| • Density | 110/km2 (290/sq mi) |
| Website | regierung |
The Upper Palatinate (German: Oberpfalz) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.
Major tourist attractions include the former ducal residences Regensburg with the Walhalla nearby and Amberg, the city of Weiden and Waldsassen Abbey. Scenic attractions include the river Danube and the Upper Palatine Forest.
At the beginning of the High Middle Ages the region now known as the Upper Palatinate was part of the Bavarian March of the Nordgau. The region took its current name no earlier than the early 14th century.
From the mid 13th century much of the region was controlled by the Wittelsbach dynasty and until 1329 was ruled by the Wittelsbach Elector Palatine as part of the larger County Palatine of the Rhine (German: Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein). By the 1329 Treaty of Pavia, the Wittelsbach territories were divided between two branches of the dynasty. The territory around the Rhine river in the west became known as the Rhenish Palatinate (German: Rheinpfalz) or Lower Palatinate, and is today usually known simply as the Palatinate (German: Pfalz); it is from this territory that the modern German state of Rhineland-Palatine derives its name. By contrast, the territory to the east centred Amberg became known as the Upper Palatinate (German: Oberpfalz), upper and lower in this case referring to the elevation of the territories (compare Low and High German, Upper and Lower Lusatia, Upper and Lower Lorraine, Low Countries, Lower Saxony).
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