New ground, new ideas

The County of Westerwald with its area of around 1,000 square kilometres, 192 towns and parishes, and nearly 205,000 inhabitants is one of the biggest counties in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The people of Westerwald profit from the past because Westerwald, a region of natural beauty and cultural interest, has rich supplies of basalt and clay.

In recent decades, Westerwald has developed into a prospering economic region between the business centres in the Rhine/Main and Rhein/Ruhr areas, with high growth rates and extremely low unemployment figures. At the intersection of important European transport routes businesses and the economy flourish, because here the conditions are right. Industrial and commercial premises for a good price, low rates of trade tax, skilled workers, and the transfer of know-how and technology from a whole number of reputable universities and institutions in the immediate vicinity provide good conditions for starting up and a good business climate.

Westerwald is easily reached. In addition to the good access provided by the motorways A3 (Cologne-Frankfurt), A48 (Coblenz-Trier) and A45 (Gießen-Siegen), the region has had one of the most modern rail connections since 01.08.2002. The newly built intercity express route Cologne-Frankfurt with the new ICE station in Montabaur provides a rapid link between the region and European cities. The conurbations in the Rhine/Main and Rhine/Ruhr areas are just half an hour’s journey by intercity, and Frankfurt Airport is just 24 minutes away.

The federal state Rhineland-Palatinate lies in the west of the Federal Republic of Germany. To the north it borders on North Rhine-Westphalia, to the east on Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, in the south on Saarland and France, and in the west on Luxembourg and Belgium. The state capital is Mainz. Rhineland-Palatinate covers 19,839 square kilometres and has over 3.9 million inhabitants.

The area used agriculturally covers about 37% of the state. Rhineland-Palatinate is also famous for its grapes and wine.

With its wine-growing areas Rhine-Hessen, Ahr, Middle Rhine, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Nahe and Rhine-Palatinate, Rhineland-Palatinate is the biggest wine-growing region in Germany. Rhineland-Palatinate is also popular with tourists due to its varying landscapes, the famous rivers Rhine and Mosel, its castles, and its great cultural and recreational diversity.