The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (German: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind of count palatine. Since 1261 (formally 1356), the title holder had become a member of the small group of prince-electors who elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Since then, the title had been also called as Elector Palatinate