Rhineland

Historically, the Rhinelands refers (physically speaking) to a loosely defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe. More recently the Rhineland (Rheinland in German) has become the general name for areas of Germany along the middle and lower Rhine in Germany between Bingen and the Dutch border, or between the confluence with the Neckar and Cologne. To the west the area stretches to the borders with Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands; on the eastern side it only encompasses the towns and cities along the river. Except for the Saar this area more or less corresponds with the modern use of the term.