Rhenish Republic

Rhenish Republic Rheinische Republik (German) République rhénane (French)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: TBD (English: Speedart of the Rhenish Republic)
Map of the Rhine in Europe.
Capital	Essen
Largest city	Cologne
Official languages	French German
Ethnic groups (2020)	TBD
Demonym(s)	Rhenish
Government	Federal parliamentary republic
• President	Wilhelm Eggerath
• Prime Minister	Johanna Flesch
Legislature	States General
• Upper house	Legislative Council
• Lower house	National Assembly
Independence  from Wiemar Republic
• Declared	October 21, 1923
• Recognized	November 27, 1923
• First constitution	January 6, 1924
• Rhenish Social Republic under Nazi rule	June 10, 1940
• Current constitution	September 1, 1944
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+311
ISO 3166 code	RH
Internet TLD	.rh

The Rhine, officially the Rhenish Republic and colloquially known as Rhineland, is a federal semi-presidential republic located in Western Europe, bordered by Germany to the north and east, Switzerland to the south, and Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France to the west. The country's capital city is Essen and the largest city is Cologne.

Historically, the territories between the Ardennes and the Rhine were occupied by the Treveri, the Eburones and other Celtic tribes, who, however, were all more or less modified and influenced by their Germanic neighbors. The country was encountered by the Roman and Frankish conquest as Julius Ceasar conquered the Celtic tribes. It became a part of Holy Roman Empire during the time of Emperor Otto I, and in 959 the Rhenish territory was divided between the duchies of Upper Lorraine, on the Mosel, and Lower Lorraine on the Meuse. It was conquered by Napoleon during French Revolution and it became the Confederation of the Rhine. France took direct control of the Rhineland until 1814 and radically and permanently liberalized the government, society and economy. Then, it became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia as the Rhine Province.

The Rhenish Republic declared independence from Wiemar Republic in October 21, 1923 during the occupation of the Ruhr because of the economic hardship and the military occupation of the region. The independence was finally recognized in November 27, 1923 after the German troops lost at the November riots. The country was among the Allied powers of World War II but was soon occupied by the Axis in 1940. After the World Wars, the Rhine increased its economic growth and national defense.

Etymology

A "Rhineland" conceptualization can be traced to the period of the Holy Roman Empire from the sixteenth until the eighteenth centuries when the Empire's Imperial Estates (territories) were grouped into regional districts in charge of defence and judicial execution, known as Imperial Circles. Three of the ten circles through which the Rhine flowed referred to the river in their names: the Upper Rhenish Circle, the Electoral Rhenish Circle and the Lower Rhenish Circle. In the twilight period of the Empire, after the War of the First Coalition, a short-lived Cisrhenian Republic was established (1797–1802). The term covered the whole French conquered territory west of the Rhine (German: Linkes Rheinufer), but also including a small portion of the bridgeheads on the eastern banks. After the collapse of the French empire, the regions of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Lower Rhine were annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1822 the Prussian administration reorganized the territory as the Rhine Province.

When the Rhine Province declared independence from Weimar Republic in 1923, it became the Rhenish Republic, commonly known as the Rhine or colloquially known as Rhineland. The Rhine Province is recently preferred to the two current Rhenish provinces: North Rhine and South Rhine.

History

Early history

Roman and Frankish conquest

Roman and Barbarian parts of Rhineland.

Julius Caesar conquered the Celtic tribes on the West bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the East bank. As the power of the Roman empire declined the Franks pushed forward along both banks of the Rhine, and by the end of the 5th century had conquered all the lands that had formerly been under Roman influence. By the 8th century, the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germania and northern Gaul.

Confederation of the Rhine

On 12 July 1806, the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine was signed in Paris, 16 German states joined together in a confederation. The "Protector of the Confederation" was a hereditary office of the French Emperor, Napoleon. On 1 August, the members of the confederation formally seceded from the Holy Roman Empire, and on 6 August, following an ultimatum by Napoleon, Francis II declared the Holy Roman Empire dissolved. Francis and his Habsburg dynasty continued as emperors of Austria.

In return for their support of Napoleon, some rulers were given higher statuses. There are some states were made into grand duchies or kingdoms. Several member states were also enlarged with the absorption of the territories of Imperial counts and knights who were mediatized at that time. They had to pay a very high price for their new status. However, the Confederation was above all a military alliance; the member states had to maintain substantial armies for mutual defense and supply France with large numbers of military personnel. As events played out, the members of the confederation found themselves more subordinated to Napoleon than they had been to the Habsburgs when they were within the Holy Roman Empire.

Independence

The country declared independence from Wiemar Republic and it was proclaimed at Aachen in October 21, 1923 during occupation of the Ruhr and subjected itself to French protectorate. The country was only recognized by France and Belgium, but the independence was informally recognized by Germany. Josef Friedrich Matthes proclaimed as the first president while he appointed Hans Adam Dorten as the prime minister. The November riots began in November 22, 1923 that led to killings in clashes between the pro and anti-separatists. The riots was ended in November 26, 1923 as the separatists seize of the city of Koblenz in a putsch and the independence was finally recognized the next day. The capital of the Rhine was transferred from Aachen to Koblenz.

The first constitution was ratified in January 6, 1924 and the first presidential election was held two weeks after the ratification. Josef Friedrich Matthes and prime minister Hans Adam Dorten had both ran for presidency due to their ideological differences. Matthes had represented the Democratic Worker's Party while Dorten had represented the Centrist Union. At the end of the election, Matthes proclaimed the winner and his party secured 56% of votes.

Geography

Rheinische Eck, Koblenz

The Rhine is a landlocked country and it is located in the Western Europe but it sometimes considered as a part of the Central Europe. The country borders Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France in the west, Germany in the north and east, and France and Switzerland in the south. Rhenish territory covers TBD km² (TBD sq mi), consisting of TBD km² (TBD sq mi) of land and TBD km² (TBD sq mi) of water.

The five main mountain ranges in the Rhine are Westerwald, Hunsrück, Siebengebirge, Taunus and Eifel. These mountain ranges are located in the southern and eastern parts of the country, cut by river valleys, principally the Middle Rhine up to Bingen and its Ahr, Moselle and Nahe tributaries. The main natural resources in the country are iron and coal.

Demography

Languages

The Rhine is one of the bilingual countries in the world. German and French are two official languages in the country as these two are equal in status and guaranteed promotion by the state. These two official languages are used in both social, political, media and educational purposes. Some of the common non-official languages are Romany, Low Saxon, Limburgish, Luxembourgish, Alemmanic, and Franconian.

Every states have their own official languages depending of their language population but it doesn't mean that they don't know how to speak on the country's official languages. German is the official language of the states of Darmstadt, Essen, Koblenz, Palatinate, North Rhine, and South Rhine while French is the official language of the state of Moselle. Baden and Saarland are only states that both German and French are the official languages due to its French occupation of these states after the Second World War. Luxembourgish is also the official language of Saarland.

Religion

Christianity is the largest religion in the Rhine, with 66.1% of respondents identifying as Christian. 42.8% declared themselves as Roman Catholics while 21.3% are Protestants (which encompasses Lutheran, Reformed, etc.) and the remaining 2.1% are members of other Christian groups. 13.2% of the population are not members of any religious organization or denomination, Islam is the second largest religion in the country, with 11% of the population and Judaism is the third largest religion, with 2% of the population. The remaining 7.6% are members of other religion.

Government and politics

Government

Wilhelm Eggerath President	Johanna Flesch Prime Minister

The Rhine is a representative democracy organized as a federal, semi-presidential republic. The executive branch has two leaders. The current President, Wilhelm Eggerath, is the head of state, elected directly by the people for a four-year term. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the Rhenish Armed Forces and it has the power to dissolve the parliament. The current Prime Minister, Johanna Flesch, is the head of government, also elected directly by the people to lead the Government of the Rhenish Republic. The prime minister is also the head of the cabinet and responsible for appointing the cabinet members.

The States General is bicameral and the executive brance of the country. It is divided into two chambers: Legislative Council (upper house) and National Assembly (lower house). The Legislative Council consists of 4 councilors per state, with the total of 36 councilors, they are elected for a three-year term. The National Assembly has TBD legislators, each local constituties have one deputy on where they represent and are also directly elected for three-year terms.

The Rhine have three major political parties named: Democratic Worker's Party, Popular Unity Movement, and Liberal Progresssive Party. Centrist Union became the major political party before the Second World War.. Unfortunately, it decreased its popularity in 1950's but remained active in politics. However, the Environment Alliance and National Rally had been emerged in the legislative as these parties have also been a junior partner in coalition governments. Since 2007, Radical Socialist Party had elected few seats in both chambers of the States General.

Administrative divisions

The Rhine is a federation and comprises of seven federal states and two city-states. Like in the United States, each states has its own legislature.

No	Flag	State	Coat of Arms	Capital
1		Baden		Karlsruhe
2		Darmstadt		Kassel
3		Essen		Essen
4		Koblenz		Koblenz
5		Moselle		Straßburg
6		Palatinate		Speyer
7		North Rhine		Düsseldorf
8		South Rhine		Trier
9		Saarland		Saarbrücken