page_title: Viking raids in the Rhineland
section_title: The Rhineland
hierarchical_section_title: Viking raids in the Rhineland / The Rhineland
caption_attribution_description: English: The Division of the Carolingian Empire: Verdun 843 and Mersen, 870 (Col)
context_page_description: The Viking raids in the Rhineland were part of a series of invasions of Francia by the Vikings that took place during the final decades of the 9th century. From the Rhineland, which can be regarded as the nucleus of Frankish culture, the Franks had previously conquered almost the whole of Central Europe and established a great empire.
  During these raids, the Vikings plundered the ancient Roman cities of Cologne, Bonn, Xanten, Trier and also the imperial city of Aachen, in which Charlemagne was buried and on whose throne the Frankish kings were crowned in Aachen Cathedral. In addition to these cities, numerous monasteries were also destroyed, together with entire libraries in which collections of writings from several centuries had been preserved. This shook the essence of Frankish culture.
  Similar raids affected the Scandinavian regions where the Vikings had originally settled: the British Isles, Baltic Sea region, Russia and the Mediterranean region. Many inhabitants of the affected regions were carted off as slaves.
context_section_description: The term Rhineland is used to describe areas on the Middle and Lower Rhine that are not defined in more detail. It was not designated as such until 1798, when French Revolutionary troops occupied this territory. Previously, this region was mostly named after towns or counties, for example, the Gelderland, or Land of Cleves (Klever Land).
  The area known today as the Rhineland begins at the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine and ends at Emmerich, where the Rhine divides into the Lek and the Waal to form a delta. In the east, the Rhineland ends close to the Rhine itself, being bounded by low mountain ranges such as the Siebengebirge or Bergisches Land. To the west its boundary is less well defined, but in general parlance it runs beyond the present state border with the Netherlands, i.e. east of the Meuse. Because the modern state of Rhineland-Palatinate lies south of the Moselle, the low mountain range of the Eifel north of the river is usually seen as belonging to the Rhineland. Areas south of the Moselle, such as the Hunsrück, are also considered to be part of the Rhineland.
caption: The Frankish realms after the Treaty of Meersen in 870 – the Rhineland was located in Lorraine (yellow)
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