| The Confederation of the Rhine Der Rhinebund | ||||||
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| Motto: Für das Flussland |
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| Anthem: Die Wacht am Rhine |
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| Capital (and largest city) | Cologne | |||||
| Official languages | Rhenish and German | |||||
| Ethnic groups | Rhenish and German | |||||
| Religion | Luthern | |||||
| Demonym | Rhenish | |||||
| Government | ||||||
| - | President | Anke Rehlinger (RLP) | ||||
| - | President of the Rhinestag | Henriette Reker (RCP) | ||||
| Legislature | Rhinestag | |||||
| Establishment | 1948 | |||||
| - | Treaty of Antwerp | 13th of the February, 1948 | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | 1.302 Trillion | ||||
| Currency | Rhinemark (RM) |
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| Time zone | UTC+1 | |||||
| Date formats | yyyy-mm-dd | |||||
| Drives on the | Right | |||||
| Calling code | +48 | |||||
The Confederation of the Rhine (German: Der Rheinbund) is a country Northern Europe. Located along the Rhine River, it borders The Netherlands, Belgium, Baden, Germany, France and Luxembourg. The country, a Federal Presidential Republican, consists of 6 administrative regions, these include 3 states: Northern Rhine, Saarland, Rhine-Palatinate and 2 Grand Cities: Düsseldorf and Mainz along with the capital city of Cologne.
History[]
Pre-War History[]
Die Französischen Jahre[]
Following the Antwerp Conference in 1948 the unification of the American and British Occupation zones into the Confederation of the Rhine was complete, the country's largest city, Köln, was selected as its capital. The nation was under heavy influence from France and the countries first President, Johannes Hoffmann had close ties the the country. He would be formally elected President in 1950 under the banner of the Christian Rhenish Union, Hoffmann would oversee the rebuilding of the nation and began establishing a Rhenish culture distinct from the German one. In 1951 Hoffmann was credited with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community which later, after the signing of the Treaty of Saarbrucken of 1955, became the European Union. Hoffmann would serve 2 terms as President until 1963.
Following Hoffmann as President was Karl Arnold who was not as tied to France but did continue Hoffmann's policy of Rhenish Cultural development. Arnold secured Rhenish hosting rights for the 1968 Summer Olympics, created welfare programs to help kids with extracurricular activities and established the Rhenish Film Fund. In 1964 the first Rhenish film "Von Dalberg" was released to much acclaim winning an Academy Award for best Foreign picture. During the early years of Rhineland many German refugees decided to flee to Baden as they did not discourage the German identity.
1970s[]
By the beginning of the 1970s Rhineland had established themselves and a strong country within Europe, they had helped in creating last unity and were among the more developed nations. They hosted the 1972 European Football Championship and the 1976 Winter Olympics. The car brand Opel had moved to Mainz following the end of WWII and became the car of the decade in Europe during this time. In 1972 and 1974 Rhineland would win the European Song Contests and the respected Köln Film Festival film festival would be established in 1977.
In 1972 the Rhenish National Party would win a shock majority in the Rhinestag which was followed by a victory in the following Presidential election in 1974 leading to Moritz Von Hesse taking the Presidency. This coincided with Carl von Württemberg's elected as Chancellor of Baden and fears of further monarchic restorations in the new states arose. Concerns over his royal heritage were quelled at his Presidential inauguration where he said "Ich wurde gewählt, nicht gekrönt." The Rhenish National Party would slowly overtake the Rhenish Christian Party in numbers as some moved to the former whilst some joined the Labor Party.
Latter half of the 20th century[]
Norbert Burger
During the mid 1980s the Labor Party was able to rid themselves of the leftist stigma and in 1986 Norbert Burger became the 5th President of the Rhenish Confederation. In 1989 Burger would make a historic state visit to Dresden where he addressed his host nation as The Republic of Germany further solidifying the separation of the Rhenish and Swabian culture. During the 1990s some within the European Union called for a united currency for the member states, but rather than debasing the strong individual currencies of the nations they decided on a tax exemption on the conversion of currency.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union the German Confederation would offer the Rhineland and Baden the option of unification but after 40 years of separation and identity building both nations declined. In 2000 Austria, Germany, Baden and Rhineland would sign the Aachen Accords which increased cooperation between those nations. Saarbruckenb born singer Nicole would win the 1982 European Song Contest with her song "Ein bißchen Frieden". In 1984, under the coaching of Otto Rehhagel, the Rhenish National Team would win the European Football Championship hosted in Baden.