Kaiserslautern in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz which was formed as recently as 1946 from parts of Bavaria, Hessen and Prussia which had previously never joined together. The Pfalz borders on Luxembourg, France, and Belgium ad contains two-thirds of the wine growing area in Germany. The Mosel and Rhein Rivers flow through much of the Rheinland-Pfalz and their valleys comprise the main wine regions. ------- Kaiserslautern itself received the name from the favorite hunting retreat of Emporer (Kaiser) Frederick Barbarossa who ruled the diverse lands of the Holy Roman Empire from 1155 until 1190. The Lauter was then an important river that made the old section of Kaiserslautern an island in medieval times. ---------- The symbol of the city is a red and white shield-shaped coat of arms, with an open-mouthed carp on it. This was reportedly the favorite dish of Frederick Barbarossa. He was a powerful ruler, controlling lands from the North Sea to Sicily, and under his rule, medieval European knighthood experienced its golden age. Ruins of his original castle can still be seen in front of the Rathaus (City Hall). --------------- Although Kaiserslautern's name and city symbol came out of the 12th Century, its history dates back much further. As early as 800 BC, a prehistoric settlement can be traced to this area. Some 2,500 year old Celtic tombs were uncovered in Miesau, a small town about 18 miles west of kaiserslautern. The recovered relics are now in the Museum for Palatinate History at Speyer. ----------- When Frederick Barbarossa built his castle in the are now called Kaiserslautern (1152-1160), he also built one in Landstuhl to guard the western approach to Kaiserslautern. This second castle was built atop the sheer nanstein cliff and is still called Nanstein Castle. --------- The Stiftkirche (the oldest church in Kaiserslautern) was constructed from 1250-1350, long after the death of Barbarossa. As the population of Kaiserslautern grew, Emporer Rudolph von Habsburg gave the town its charter in 1276. St. Martin's Kirche (church) was built from 1300-1350 for an order of Monks. Today, in the courtyard of the church a section of the original city wall still stands.