Aschaffenburg (

Low Franconian Low Franconian, Low Frankish, NetherlandicSarah Grey Thomason, Terrence Kaufman: ''Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics'', University of California Press, 1991, p. 321. (Calling it "Low Frankish (or Netherlandish)".)Scott Shay ...

: ''Ascheberg'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of

Darmstadt-Dieburg Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds. Histor ...

, Offenbach, Main-Kinzig (all in the state of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

), the districts Main-Spessart and

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old town lies on the Mai ...

, and the town of

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the Aschaffenburg (district), district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative sea ...

History

The Aschaffenburg history goes back to as far as the year 957. Initially, being a Roman settlement, it came under the authority of the electors of Mainz in 982 and was chartered in 1173. Remains of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

settlements were found on the river

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

. There was a Roman

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

in what is today the municipality of Stockstadt am Main. After the Roman retreat the region became subject to Alemanni and

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

before eventually being a part of the

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

. While the banks of the Main were populated all these centuries, the hills of the

Spessart Spessart is a '' Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres above sea level. Ety ...

were virtually unsettled until the 13th century. The districts of Aschaffenburg and Alzenau were established in 1862, half a century after the region was annexed by the state of

. These districts were merged in 1972 in order to form the present district.

Geography

The district is located in the extreme northwest of

and bounded by

on two sides. The

river forms the western border, though southwest of the town of Aschaffenburg there are also parts on the western river banks incorporated in the district. The south and east of the district extends into the ''

Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (German: ''Mittel'', "middle/medium"; ''Gebirge'', "mountain range") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germany; it refers to ...

'' Spessart. The town of Aschaffenburg is not included in the district ( ''kreisfrei'' ), but is nonetheless its administrative seat. The geographic centre of the European Union is located in the District of Aschaffenburg.

Economy

In 2017 (latest data available) the

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

per inhabitant was €33,109. This places the district 60th out of 96 districts (rural and urban) in Bavaria (overall average: €46,698).

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * an acorn symbolising the Spessart hills and their dense forests * the wheel of the electorate of Mainz * the blue rings of the Echter family, which was a noble family possessing substantial holdings of land in the region

Towns and municipalities

Towns: *

Alzenau Alzenau (; until 31 December 2006 officially ''Alzenau i.UFr.'') is a town in the north of the Aschaffenburg district in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Until 1 July 1972, Alzenau was the dist ...

Municipalities: *

Bessenbach Bessenbach is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location Bessenbach lies southeast of the town of Aschaffenburg among the Spessart range' ...

* Blankenbach *

Dammbach Dammbach is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, and a member of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Mespelbrunn, whose seat is i ...

Geiselbach Geiselbach is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location Geiselbach lies on the Hesse-Bavaria boundary, 20 km north of Aschaffenburg ...

Glattbach Glattbach is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has around 3,300 inhabitants (2020). The community lies in a valley north of Aschaffenburg on the we ...

* Goldbach *

Großostheim Großostheim (or ''Grossostheim'') is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. The inhabitants call themselves ''Aistmer'' (''ostheimers''). Geography ...

* Haibach *

Heigenbrücken Heigenbrücken is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Aschaffenburg (district), Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, and seat of the ''Municipal association (Ger ...

* Heimbuchenthal * Heinrichsthal *

Hösbach Hösbach is a market community and municipality in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 13,000 (2020). Geography Location The municipa ...

* Johannesberg *

Kahl am Main Kahl am Main (officially ''Kahl a. Main'') is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has around 7,500 inhabitants. Geography Location Kahl am Mai ...

Karlstein am Main Karlstein am Main (officially ''Karlstein a. Main'') is a municipality in the Aschaffenburg district in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the westernmost settlement in Bavaria. Karlstein's ...

Kleinkahl Kleinkahl is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, and a member of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Schöllkrippen. Kleinkahl has ...

Kleinostheim Kleinostheim is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The community of Kleinostheim is about 40 kilometers east southeast of Frankfur ...

* Krombach * Laufach *

Mainaschaff Mainaschaff is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 9,000 (2020). Geography Location The community lies near the boundar ...

* Mespelbrunn *

Mömbris Mömbris is a community – since 31 January 1964 a market community – in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. With over 11,000 inhabitants, Mömbris is the district ...

Rothenbuch Rothenbuch is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 1,700. Geography Location Rothenbuch lies in the region ''Bayerischer U ...

Sailauf Sailauf is a municipality in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 3,600. Geography Location The community lies in the area of the Spessa ...

Schöllkrippen Schöllkrippen is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and seat of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Schöllkrippen. It ha ...

* Sommerkahl * Stockstadt am Main *

Waldaschaff Waldaschaff is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The community lies at the threshold of the High Spessart (range), roughly 15 ...

Weibersbrunn Weibersbrunn is a community with a population of close to 2,000 in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Etymology The name "Weiberbrunn" is derived from the Weibersbac ...

Westerngrund Westerngrund is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, and a member of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (Administrative Community) of Schöllkrippen. From 20 ...

* Wiesen

References

External links

* {{Coord, 50.08, 9.17, display=title, format=dms Districts of Bavaria Spessart