- published: 15 Jun 2016
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Kaiserslautern (German: [kaɪzɐˈslaʊtɐn] ( listen)) is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland (State) of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) at the edge of the Palatinate forest (Pfälzer Wald). The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is 459 kilometres (285 mi) from Paris, 117 kilometres (73 mi) from Frankfurt am Main, and 159 kilometres (99 mi) from Luxembourg.
Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people. Approximately 50,000 NATO military personnel inhabit the city and its surrounding district (Landkreis Kaiserslautern), and contribute approximately $1 billion annually to the local economy. These are mainly Americans, who often call the city K-Town.
Prehistoric settlement in the area of what is now Kaiserslautern has been traced to at least 800 BC. Some 2,500-year-old Celtic tombs were uncovered at Miesau, a town about 29 kilometres west of Kaiserslautern. The recovered relics are now in the Museum for Palatinate History at Speyer.
Kaiserslautern received its name from the favorite hunting retreat of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa who ruled the Holy Roman Empire from 1155 until 1190. The small river Lauter made the old section of Kaiserslautern an island in medieval times. Ruins of Frederick's original castle, built 1152–1160, can still be seen in front of the Rathaus (city hall). A second castle, Nanstein Castle, was built at Landstuhl to guard the western approach to the city. Because of the influence Frederick Barbarossa had on the town, it is nicknamed a "Barbarossa town".