diversified: Rhineland-Palatinate is a wine-growing center (two thirds of the country’s wine comes from here) and an important wood producer as well as a major center of the chemical industry and a leading supplier of automobile components. Distinctive regional industries include the gemstone industry in Idar-Oberstein, ceramic and glass products from the Westerwald, and the leather industry of the Hunsruck and the Palatinate. Small and medium-sized businesses form the backbone of the Rhineland-Palatinate economy. The state’s principal industrial employer is the chemical and plastics processing industry: BASF in Ludwigshafen is Europe’s largest chemical factory complex and Rhineland-Palatinate’s largest manufacturing firm. Also situated on the Rhine are the state’s four next-largest companies: Boehringer (pharmaceuti-cals) in Ingelheim, Joh. A. Benckiser (chemicals, cosmetics) in Ludwigshafen, SGE Deutsche Holding (construction) in Ludwigshafen and the Schott Glassworks in Mainz. Europe’s largest television network, ZDF (Channel Two), has its headquarters in Mainz, the state capital, as does the broadcasting company SAT.1.

Picturesque landscapes.

Rhineland-Palatinate lies in the center of the Rhenish Schist Massif. One of the most beautiful landscapes in Germany - and the world -’s the stretch of the Rhine Valley between Bingen and Bonn. Dotted with castles, it is steeped in legend, and lts praises have been sung by countless poets, painters and musicians. Here and in the valley of the Mosel iver grow wines which are prized by connoisseurs over the world. The other tributaries of the Rhine the Nahe, Lahn and Ahr rivers - are likewise very scenic wine-growing regions. At the foot of the Palatinate Forest runs the “German Wine Route”. The Rhine has been the region’s economic artery since time immemorial. On it lie the cities of Ludwigshafen (167,000 inhabitants), Mainz (184,000 inhabitants) and Koblenz (109,000 inhabitants).