Franconian dialect
Franconian or Frankish is a collective term traditionally used by linguists to refer to many West Germanic languages, some of which are spoken in what formed the historical core area of Francia during the Early Middle Ages. Linguistically, there ...
: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
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 ...
Lower
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́ ...
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...
(largest cities, respectively:
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
,
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
Suhl
Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella- ...
),
Heilbronn-Franconia
Heilbronn-Franken is a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Stuttgart subdivision (Regierungsbezirk). It consists of the former Free imperial city of Heilbronn, Heilbronn district and the districts of Hohenlohe, Main-Tau ...
(largest city:
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
) in the state of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, and small parts of 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 ...
.
Those parts of the
Vogtland
Vogtland (; cz, Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former ...
lying in the state of
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
(largest city:
Plauen
Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...
) are sometimes regarded as Franconian as well, because the
Vogtlandian
Vogtlandian (german: Vogtländisch, links=no ; Vogtländisch: ''Vuuchtländisch'', Klingenthal pronunciation: ) is an East Franconian dialect, spoken in Vogtland.
Distribution and history
Vogtlandian is mainly spoken in rural areas. Speakers are ...
dialects are mostly East Franconian. The inhabitants of Saxon Vogtland, however, mostly do not consider themselves as Franconian. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the Hessian-speaking parts of
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia.
History
After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally ...
west 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 ...
mountains (largest city:
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
) do consider themselves as Franconian. Heilbronn-Franconia's largest city of Heilbronn and its surrounding areas being South Franconian-speaking, those are only sometimes regarded as Franconian.
Franconia's largest city and unofficial capital is
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, which is contiguous with
Erlangen
Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...
and
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
, with which it forms a large conurbation, with around 1.3 million inhabitants.
The German word ''Franken''—Franconians—also refers to the
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, which is mainly to be found in this region. They are to be distinguished from the Germanic tribe of the
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, ...
, and historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the
Elbe Germanic
Elbe Germanic, also called Irminonic or Erminonic, is a term introduced by the German linguist Friedrich Maurer (1898–1984) in his book, ''Nordgermanen und Alemanen'', to describe the unattested proto-language, or dialectal grouping, ancest ...
people in the
Main river
Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...
area, known from the 9th century as East Francia (''Francia Orientalis''). In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
the region formed much of the eastern part of the
Duchy of Franconia
The Duchy of Franconia (german: Herzogtum Franken) was one of the five stem duchies of East Francia and the medieval Kingdom of Germany emerging in the early 10th century. The word Franconia, first used in a Latin charter of 1053, was applied l ...
and, from 1500, the
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle (german: Fränkischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy—roughly corresponding with the pre ...
.Rudolf Endres: "''Der Fränkische Reichskreis''. In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29'', published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Regensburg, 2003, p. 6, se online version (PDF). The restructuring of the south German states by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, after the demise of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, saw most of Franconia awarded to Bavaria.
Etymology
The German name for Franconia, ''Franken'', comes from the dative plural form of ''Franke,'' a member of the Germanic tribe known as the
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, ...
.
The
name of the Franks
The name of the Franks (Latin ''Franci''), alongside the derived names of ''Francia'' and ''Franconia'' (and the adjectives ''Frankish'' and ''Franconian''), are derived from the name given to a Germanic tribal confederation which emerged in the ...
in turn derives from a word meaning "daring, bold", cognate with old
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
''frakkr'', "quick, bold". Franks from the Middle and
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...
gradually gained control of (and so gave their name to) what is now Franconia during the 6th to 8th centuries.
English distinguishes between ''Franks'' (the early medieval Germanic people) and ''Franconians'' in reference to the high medieval stem duchy, following
Middle Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying deg ...
use of ''Francia'' for
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
vs. ''Franconia'' for the German duchy. In German the name ''Franken'' is equally used for both, while the French are called ''Franzosen'', after Old French ''
françois
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters"
* Francis II of France, Kin ...
'', from Latin ''franciscus'', from
Late Latin
Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
''Francus'', from ''Frank'', the Germanic tribe.
Geography
Overview
The Franconian lands lie principally in Bavaria, north and south of the sinuous
River Main
The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, Hesse. The cities of Mainz and Wiesb ...
which, together with the left (southern)
Regnitz
The Regnitz is a river in Franconia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length.
The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of Fürth. From there the Regnitz runs northwa ...
tributary, including its
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district ...
and Pegnitz headstreams, drains most of Franconia. Other large rivers include the upper
Werra
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...
in Thuringia and the
Tauber
The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover).
It flows through Rothenburg ob der Tauber ...
, as well as the upper
Jagst
The Jagst () is a right tributary of the Neckar in northern Baden-Württemberg. It is 190 km long. Its source is in the hills east of Ellwangen, close to the Bavarian border. It winds through the towns Ellwangen, Crailsheim, Kirchberg an der ...
and Kocher streams in the west, both right tributaries of the Neckar. In southern Middle Franconia, the Altmühl flows towards the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
; the
Rhine–Main–Danube Canal
The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal (German: ''Rhein-Main-Donau-Kanal''; also called Main-Danube Canal, RMD Canal or Europa Canal), is a canal in Bavaria, Germany. Connecting the Main and the Danube riv ...
Franconian Lake District
The Franconian Lake District lies south-west of Nuremberg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It was created as a result of one of Germany's largest water-management projects and was completed by the flooding of the Großer Brombachsee (" Great Bromba ...
has become a popular destination for day-trippers and tourists.
The landscape is characterized by numerous ''
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 ...
'' ranges of the German
Central Uplands
The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...
. The Western natural border of Franconia is formed by 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 ...
Rhenish Franconia
Rhenish Franconia (german: Rheinfranken) or Western Franconia () denotes the western half of the central Kingdom of Germany, German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms, Germany, Worms. The ...
n lands around
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
(officially part of Lower Franconia), whose inhabitants speak
Hessian dialects
Hessian (german: Hessisch) is a West Central German group of dialects of the German language in the central German state of Hesse. The dialect most similar to Hessian is Palatinate German (german: Pfälzisch, links=no) of the Rhine Franconian su ...
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...
, the
Thuringian Highland
The Thuringian Highland, Thuringian Highlands or Thuringian-Vogtlandian Slate MountainsKohl, Horst; Marcinek, Joachim and Nitz, Bernhard (1986). ''Geography of the German Democratic Republic'', VEB Hermann Haack, Gotha, p. 7 ff. . (german: Thüring ...
Upper Saxon
Upper Saxon (german: Obersächsisch, ; ) is an East Central German language spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it's mostl ...
lands of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
. The Franconian lands include the present-day South Thuringian districts of
Schmalkalden-Meiningen
Schmalkalden-Meiningen is a ''Landkreis'' in the southwest of Thuringia, Germany. Its neighboring districts are (from the northwest clockwise) the districts Wartburgkreis, Gotha, Ilm-Kreis, the district-free city Suhl, the district Hildburghausen ...
,
Hildburghausen
Hildburghausen ( IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen.
Geography
It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra riv ...
and
Sonneberg
Sonneberg in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg.
Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home to ...
Grabfeld
The Grabfeld is a region in Germany, on the border between Bavaria and Thuringia. It is situated southeast of the Rhön Mountains. Its highest elevation is 679 metres high in the little Gleichberge mountain range. The Grabfeld gave its name to t ...
, held by the
House of Henneberg
The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310.
Upo ...
from the 11th century and later part of the Wettin duchy of
Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...
Vogtland
Vogtland (; cz, Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former ...
, Bohemian
Egerland
The Egerland ( cs, Chebsko; german: Egerland; Egerland German dialect: ''Eghalånd'') is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in what is today the Czech Republic, at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name ''Eg ...
(''Chebsko'') in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, and the Bavarian
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
. The hills of the
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Meyn ...
in the south mark the border with the
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
n region ('' Altbayern''), historical Swabia, and the Danube basin. The northern parts of the Upper Bavarian Eichstätt District, territory of the historical Bishopric of Eichstätt, are also counted as part of Franconia.
In the west, Franconia proper comprises the
Tauber Franconia
The region of Tauber Franconia (german: Tauberfranken) is a part of the region of Franconia, most of which lies in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Tauber Franconia is almost coextensive with the county of Main-Tauber-Kreis, which is bisect ...
region along the Tauber river, which is largely part of the
Main-Tauber-Kreis
Main-Tauber-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from northwest clockwise) Miltenberg, Main-Spessart, Würzburg, Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim and Ansbach (all in Bavaria ...
in Baden-Württemberg. The state's larger
Heilbronn-Franken
Heilbronn-Franken is a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Stuttgart subdivision (Regierungsbezirk). It consists of the former Free imperial city of Heilbronn, Heilbronn district and the districts of Hohenlohe, Main-Taube ...
region also includes the adjacent
Hohenlohe
The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous tim ...
Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis
Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from east clockwise) Main-Tauber-Kreis, Hohenlohe-Kreis, Heilbronn, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Odenwaldkreis (Hesse) and Landkre ...
which had formerly belonged to the
Bishopric of Würzburg
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
, the inhabitants have preserved their Franconian identity. Franconian areas in
East Hesse East Hesse (german: Osthessen) is a common but not unofficial regional name for the eastern part of the German state of Hesse as well as a regional planning region. It corresponds roughly to the Hessian catchment area of Fulda and its heart covers ...
along Spessart and Rhön comprise
Gersfeld
Gersfeld is a town in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the Fulda River, in the Rhön Mountains, southeast of Fulda. It belonged to the abbey-principality of Fulda before secularisation in 1803. It then belonged to th ...
and Ehrenberg.
The two largest cities of Franconia are
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
and
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
. Though located on the southeastern periphery of the area, the Nuremberg metropolitan area is often identified as the economic and cultural centre of Franconia. Further cities in Bavarian Franconia include
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
,
Erlangen
Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
,
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...
Coburg
Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...
,
Ansbach
Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...
and
Schwabach
Schwabach () is a German city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg in the centre of the region of Franconia in the north of Bavaria. The city is an autonomous administrative district (''kreisfreie Stadt''). Schwabach is also the name of th ...
. The major (East) Franconian towns in Baden-Württemberg are
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
on the Kocher — the
imperial city
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
declared itself "Swabian" in 1442 — and
Crailsheim
Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies east of Schwäbisch Hall and southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, ...
on the Jagst river. The main towns in Thuringia are
Suhl
Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella- ...
Rothenburg Rothenburg is a German language placename and refers to:
Places
*Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany
*Rothenburg, Oberlausitz, Saxony, Germany
*Rothenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
*Rothenburg, Switzerland, Canton of Lucerne, S ...
is one of the best known towns in Franconia
File:Walberla 2008.jpg, Walberla in Franconia
File:Möhrendorf Vierzigmannrad Flügel.jpg, Water wheel at the
Regnitz
The Regnitz is a river in Franconia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length.
The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of Fürth. From there the Regnitz runs northwa ...
File:Nuremberg panorama morning 3.jpg, Nuremberg is the largest city of Franconia
File:Aerial image of the Coburg Fortress.jpg, Aerial view of the
Veste Coburg
The Veste Coburg (Coburg Fortress) is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses of Germany. It is situated on a hill above the town of Coburg, in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria.
Geography
Location
Veste Coburg dominates the town of C ...
Extent
Franconia may be distinguished from the regions that surround it by its peculiar historical factors and its cultural and especially linguistic characteristics, but it is not a political entity with a fixed or tightly defined area. As a result, it is debated whether some areas belong to Franconia or not. Pointers to a more precise definition of Franconia's boundaries include: the territories covered by the former
Duchy of Franconia
The Duchy of Franconia (german: Herzogtum Franken) was one of the five stem duchies of East Francia and the medieval Kingdom of Germany emerging in the early 10th century. The word Franconia, first used in a Latin charter of 1053, was applied l ...
and former
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle (german: Fränkischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy—roughly corresponding with the pre ...
,Rudolf Endres: ''Der Fränkische Reichskreis.'' In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29,'' published by the House of Bavarian History, Regensburg, 2003, p. 37, se online version (pdf) the range of the
East Franconian dialect group
East Franconian (german: Ostfränkisch) or Mainfränkisch, usually referred to as Franconian (') in German, is a dialect which is spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, ...
, the common culture and history of the region and the use of the
Franconian Rake
The Franconian Rake (german: Fränkischer Rechen) is the name given to the coat of arms of the region of Franconia in Germany. It is described heraldically as ''per fess dancetty of three points gules and argent''. The points represent a stylised ...
on coats of arms, flags and seals. However, a sense of popular consciousness of being Franconian is only detectable from the 19th century onwards, which is why the circumstances of the emergence of a Frankish identity are disputed. Franconia has many cultural peculiarities which have been adopted from other regions and further developed.
The following regions are counted as part of Franconia today: the Bavarian
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia.
History
After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally ...
,
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...
and
Middle Franconia
Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however ...
, the municipality of
Pyrbaum
Pyrbaum is a municipality in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria in 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 ...
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
n county of
Eichstätt
Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
(covering the same area as the old county of Alt-Eichstätt), the East Franconian counties of South Thuringia, parts of Fulda and the
Odenwaldkreis
The Odenwaldkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Darmstadt-Dieburg, Miltenberg, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and Kreis Bergstraße. ''Odenwaldkreis'' belongs to the Rhine Neckar Are ...
in Hesse, the Baden-Württemberg regions of
Tauber Franconia
The region of Tauber Franconia (german: Tauberfranken) is a part of the region of Franconia, most of which lies in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Tauber Franconia is almost coextensive with the county of Main-Tauber-Kreis, which is bisect ...
and
Hohenlohe
The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous tim ...
as well as the region around the Badenian
Buchen
Buchen (South Franconian: ''Buche'') is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is situated in the Odenwald low mountain range, 23 km northeast of the regional center Mosbach.
Geography
Buchen is situated on the seam between the ...
.
In individual cases the membership of some areas is disputed. These include the
Bavarian language
Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian.
Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million pe ...
area of Alt-
Eichstätt
Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
''Was ist fränkisch? Wie eine Region definiert wird'' Bayerischer Rundfunk, Bayern 2 and the Hessian-speaking region around
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
, which was never part of the Franconian Imperial Circle. The affiliation of the city of Heilbronn, whose inhabitants do not call themselves Franks,Ulrich Maier (Justinus-Kerner-Gymnasium Weinsberg): ''Schwäbisch oder fränkisch? Mundart im Raum Heilbronn Bausteine zu einer Unterrichtseinheit.' see online pdf is also controversial. Moreover, the sense of belonging to Franconia in the Frankish-speaking areas of
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
, South Thuringia and Hesse is sometimes less marked.
Administrative divisions
The region of Franconia is divided among the states of Hesse, Thuringia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The largest part of Franconia, both by population and area, belongs to the Free State of Bavaria and is divided into the three administrative regions (''Regierungsbezirke'') of
Middle Franconia
Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however ...
(capital:
Ansbach
Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...
),
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia.
History
After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally ...
(capital:
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
). The name of these regions, as in the case of Upper and
Lower Bavaria
Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state.
Geography
Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau- ...
, refers to their situation with respect to 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
...
. Thus Upper Franconia lies on the upper reaches of the river, Lower Franconia on its lower reaches and Middle Franconia lies in between, although the Main itself does not flow through Middle Franconia. Where the boundaries of these three provinces meet (the '
tripoint
A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...
') is the ''
Dreifrankenstein
The Dreifrankenstein (German for ''Three Franconias Stone'') is a boundary stone that marks the tripoint where the three Franconian provinces of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia meet in southern Germany. As part of the regional reforms in 1972 ...
'' ("Three Franconias Rock").
Small parts of Franconia also belong to the Bavarian regions of
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
and
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
.
The Franconian territories of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
are the regions of
Tauber Franconia
The region of Tauber Franconia (german: Tauberfranken) is a part of the region of Franconia, most of which lies in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Tauber Franconia is almost coextensive with the county of Main-Tauber-Kreis, which is bisect ...
and
Hohenlohe
The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous tim ...
(which belong to the
Heilbronn-Franconia Region
Heilbronn-Franken is a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Stuttgart (region), Stuttgart subdivision (Regierungsbezirk). It consists of the former Free imperial city of Heilbronn, Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn district an ...
with its office in Heilbronn and form part of the Stuttgart Region) and the area around the Badenian
Buchen
Buchen (South Franconian: ''Buche'') is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is situated in the Odenwald low mountain range, 23 km northeast of the regional center Mosbach.
Geography
Buchen is situated on the seam between the ...
Henneberg Franconia
Henneberg Franconia (german: Henneberg-Franken) is an historically correct term for the Franconian part of the Free State of Thuringia in Germany that is generally referred to as South Thuringia (''Südthüringen''). The region is almost exactly ...
) lie within the Southwest Thuringia Planning Region.
The Franconian regions in Hesse form the smaller parts of the districts of Fulda ( Kassel region) and the
Odenwaldkreis
The Odenwaldkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Darmstadt-Dieburg, Miltenberg, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and Kreis Bergstraße. ''Odenwaldkreis'' belongs to the Rhine Neckar Are ...
( Darmstadt region), or lie on the borders with Bavaria or Thuringia.
Rivers and lakes
The two most important rivers of the region are the
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
...
and its primary tributary, the
Regnitz
The Regnitz is a river in Franconia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length.
The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of Fürth. From there the Regnitz runs northwa ...
. The tributaries of these two rivers in Franconia are the
Tauber
The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover).
It flows through Rothenburg ob der Tauber ...
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district ...
Jagst
The Jagst () is a right tributary of the Neckar in northern Baden-Württemberg. It is 190 km long. Its source is in the hills east of Ellwangen, close to the Bavarian border. It winds through the towns Ellwangen, Crailsheim, Kirchberg an der ...
and Kocher in Hohenlohe-Franconia, which empty into the Neckar north of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, the Altmühl and the
Wörnitz
Wörnitz is a municipality in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Wörnitz, west of Ansbach
Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of ...
in Middle Franconia, both tributaries of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
, and the upper and middle reaches of the
Werra
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...
, the right-hand headstream of the
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
. In the northeast of Upper Franconia rise two left-hand tributaries of the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...
Eger
Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...
.
The Main-Danube Canal connects the Main and Danube across Franconia, running from Bamberg via Nuremberg to
Kelheim
Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020).
History
Kelheim is t ...
. It thus complements the Rhine, Main and Danube, helping to ensure a continuous navigable waterway between the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
. In Franconia, there are only a few, often very small, natural
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s. This is due to fact that most natural lakes in Germany are
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
or
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
in origin, and Franconia escaped both influences in recent earth history. Among the largest waterbodies are
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
s, which are mostly used as water reserves for the relatively dry landscapes of Franconia. These includes the waters of the
Franconian Lake District
The Franconian Lake District lies south-west of Nuremberg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It was created as a result of one of Germany's largest water-management projects and was completed by the flooding of the Großer Brombachsee (" Great Bromba ...
, which was established in the 1970s and is also a tourist attraction. The heart of these lakes is the
Großer Brombachsee
Großer Brombachsee is a reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created ...
, which has an area of 8.7 km2 and is thus the largest waterbody in Franconia by surface area.
Hills, mountains and plains
Several
Central Upland
The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...
ranges dominate the Franconian countryside. In the southeast, Franconia is shielded from the rest of Bavaria by the
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Meyn ...
. In the east, the Fichtel Mountains form the border; in the north are
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...
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 ...
form a kind of natural barrier. To the west are the
Franconian Heights
The Franconian HeightsBavarian State Chancellery, ''Information about Bavaria'', 1981, p. 11. (german: Frankenhöhe) are a hill ridge, up to , in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in South Germany.
Location and boundaries
The Franconian Heights l ...
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...
border on Franconia. The most important hill ranges in the interior of the region are the
Steigerwald
The Steigerwald is a hill region up to in the Bavarian-Franconian part of the South German Scarplands between Würzburg and Nuremberg. It is part of the Keuper Uplands, and within it, it is continued to the north-northeast and right of the river ...
and the Franconian Jura with their sub-ranges of Hahnenkamm and
Franconian Switzerland
Franconian Switzerland (german: Fränkische Schweiz) is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main ...
. The highest mountain in Franconia is the Schneeberg in the Fichtel Mountains which is . Other well-known mountains include the Ochsenkopf (1,024mSource: the
BfN
The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (german: Bundesamt für Naturschutz, ''BfN'') is the German government's scientific authority with responsibility for national and international nature conservation. BfN is one of the government' ...
map), the
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it ha ...
(927.8m) and the
Hesselberg
Hesselberg (; 689 m above sea level) is the highest point in Middle Franconia and the Franconian Jura and is situated 60 km south west of Nuremberg, Germany. The mountain stands isolated and far from the center of the Franconian Jura, i ...
(689.4m). The
outliers
In statistics, an outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations. An outlier may be due to a variability in the measurement, an indication of novel data, or it may be the result of experimental error; the latter are ...
of the region include the Hesselberg and the
Gleichberge
The Gleichberge, which mainly comprise the Großer Gleichberg, Großer and Kleiner Gleichberg, Kleiner Gleichberg, are a small, inselberg-like mountain range, up to , in the southwestern part of the German state of Thuringia. They rise just east ...
. The lowest point in Franconia is the water level of the river Main in Kahl which lies at a height of 100 metres above sea level.
In addition to the hill and mountain ranges, there are also several very level areas, including the Middle Franconian Basin and the
Hohenlohe Plain
The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...
. In the south of Franconia are smaller parts of the flat
Nördlinger Ries
The Nördlinger Ries is an impact crater and large circular depression in western Bavaria and eastern Baden-Württemberg. It is located north of the Danube in the district of Donau-Ries. The city of Nördlingen is located within the depression, a ...
, one of the best preserved impact craters on earth.
Forests, reserves, flora and fauna
Franconia's flora is dominated by deciduous and coniferous forests. Natural forests in Franconia occur mainly in the ranges of the Spessart, Franconian Forest, Odenwald and Steigerwald. The Nuremberg ''Reichswald'' is another great
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
, located within the metropolitan region of Nuremberg. Other large areas of forest in the region are the Mönchswald, the Reichsforst in the Fichtel Mountains and the Selb Forest. In the river valleys along the Main and Tauber, the countryside was developed for viticulture. In Spessart there are great oak forests. Also widespread are
calcareous grassland
Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover. ...
s, extensively used
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
s on very oligotrophic, poor sites. In particular, the southern
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Meyn ...
, with the
Altmühl Valley
The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus) s.v. is a river in
, is characterized by poor grassland of this type. Many of these places have been designated as a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s.
Franconia has several regions with sandy habitats that are unique for south Germany and are protected as the so-called Sand Belt of Franconia or '' Sandachse Franken''. When the Altmühlsee reservoir was built, a bird island was created and designated as a nature reserve where a variety of birds nest. Another important reserve is the
Black Moor Black Moor may refer to:
* Black Moor (musical group), a heavy metal band
* Black Moor (Rhön), a wetland habitat in Germany
* Black Telescope goldfish, known as black moor, a variant of telescope eye goldfish
* " Harap Alb", a 1877 Romanian-lang ...
in the Rhön, which is one of the most important bog areas in Central Europe. A well known reserve is the Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth at
Wunsiedel
(; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudol ...
, a
felsenmeer
A blockfieldWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, pp. 66 and 190. .
(also spelt block fieldLeser, Hartmut, ed. (2005). ''Wörterbuch Allgemeine Geographie'', 13th ed., dtv, Munich, pp. 107 and 221. ...
of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
blocks up to several metres across. The establishment of the first Franconian national park in the Steigerwald caused controversy and its designation was rejected in July 2011 by the
Bavarian government
The politics of Bavaria takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany inclu ...
. The reason was the negative attitude of local population. Conservationists are now demanding protection for parts of the Steigerwald by nominating it for a World Heritage Site. Press report on the rejected Steigerwald National Park at BR-online, Studio-Franken There are several nature parks in Franconia, including the
Altmühl Valley Nature Park
The Altmühl Valley Nature Park (german: Naturpark Altmühltal) is a nature park, 2,962 km² in area, in the south German state of Bavaria. The area of the park is almost coextensive with that of the natural region major unit of the Southern ...
Franconian Heights
The Franconian HeightsBavarian State Chancellery, ''Information about Bavaria'', 1981, p. 11. (german: Frankenhöhe) are a hill ridge, up to , in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in South Germany.
Location and boundaries
The Franconian Heights l ...
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 ...
and
Steigerwald
The Steigerwald is a hill region up to in the Bavarian-Franconian part of the South German Scarplands between Würzburg and Nuremberg. It is part of the Keuper Uplands, and within it, it is continued to the north-northeast and right of the river ...
in Bavaria, as well as the
Bergstraße-Odenwald Nature Park
The Bergstraße-Odenwald Nature Park (german: Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald) is a nature park in southern Germany with an area of 3,500 km² that lies between the rivers Rhine, Main (river) and Neckar. In the south it overlaps in places ...
which straddles Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. Nature parks cover almost half the area of Franconia.
In 1991
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
recognised the Rhön as a
biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
. Among the most picturesque geotopes in Bavaria, are the Franconian sites of ''
Fossa Carolina
The Fossa Carolina (or Karlsgraben in German) was a canal named after Charlemagne in what is today the German state of Bavaria, intended to connect the Swabian Rezat river to the Altmühl river (the Rhine basin to the Danube basin). It was c ...
'', the Twelve Apostle Rocks (''Zwölf-Apostel-Felsen''), the
Ehrenbürg
The Ehrenbürg is a double-peaked butte on the edge of the Franconian Jura in Bavaria, Germany. It is in the district of Forchheim in Upper Franconia, in the municipalities of Kirchehrenbach, Leutenbach and Wiesenthau. The north peak is the ...
, the cave ruins of Riesenburg and the lake of Frickenhäuser See. The European Bird Reserves in Franconia are found mainly in uplands like the Steigerwald, in large forests like Nuremberg's Imperial Forest or along rivers like the Altmühl.Karte der Vogelschutzgebiete : ''Mittelfranken'', stellvertretend für alle Europäischen Vogelschutzgebieten in Franken There are also numerous
Special Areas of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
and
protected landscape
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although t ...
s. In Franconia there are very many
tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...
s, raised stream beds near river sources within the karst landscape that are known as 'stone runnels' ('' Steinerne Rinnen''). There are protected examples at Heidenheim and Wolfsbronn.
Like large parts of Germany, Franconia only has a few large species of wild animal. Forest dwellers include various species of marten,
fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...
,
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
,
roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
,
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
and
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. In natural areas such as the Fichtel mountains there are populations of lynx and capercaillie,''Fichtelgebirge Nature Park'' , retrieved 2 Jun 2014. and beaver and otter have grown in numbers. There are occasional sightings of animals that had long been extinct in Central Europe, for example, the
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
.
Geology
General
Only in the extreme northeast of Franconia and in the Spessart are there Variscan
outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...
s of the crystalline basement, which were uplifted from below the surface when the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
exerted a northwards-oriented pressure. These are rocks of pre-
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...
vintage, which were folded during various stages of
Variscan orogeny
The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.
Nomenclature
The name ''Variscan'', comes f ...
in the Late Palaeozoic - before about 380 to 300 million years ago - and, in places, were
metamorphosed
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
under high pressure and temperature or were crystallized by ascending
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
in the Earth's crust.Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus fword (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 online ), p. 4 Rocks which were unchanged or only lightly metamorphosed, because they had been deformed at shallow crustal depths, include the
Lower Carboniferous
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́ ...
shale and greywacke of Franconian Forest. The Fichtel mountains, the Münchberg Plateau and the Spessart, by contrast, have more metamorphic rocks (
phyllite
Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...
,
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
). The Fichtel mountains are also characterized by large
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
bodies, called post-kinematic
plutons
In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
which, in the late phase of Variscan orogeny, intruded into the metamorphic rocks. In most cases these are S-type granites whose melting was caused by heated-up sedimentary rocks sunk deep into the Earth's crust.Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus fword. (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 online ), p. 24 While the Fichtel and Franconian Forest can be assigned to the Saxo-Thuringian Zone of Central European Variscan orogeny, the Spessart belongs to the Central German Crystalline Zone. The Münchberg mass is variously attributed to the Saxo-Thuringian or Moldanubian Zones.
A substantially larger part of the shallow subsurface in Franconia comprises
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...
, unmetamorphosed, unfolded rocks of the South German Scarplands.Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus Schwerd (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 million years Bavaria. International Edition. GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 online ), p. 26 The regional geological element of the South German Scarplands is the Franconian Platform (''Süddeutsche Großscholle''). At the so-called
Franconian Line
The Franconian Line (german: Fränkische Linie) is a geological fault in south-eastern Germany that forms the border between the South German Scarplands in the west and the Fichtel Mountains in the east.
The Franconian Line was formed as part of ...
, a significant
fault line
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
, the Saxo-Thuringian-Moldanubian basement was uplifted in places up to 2000 m above the Franconian Platform. The western two-thirds of Franconia is dominated by the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
with its
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
s, siltstones and claystones (so-called siliciclastics) of the bunter sandstone; the limestones and marls of the Muschelkalk and the mixed, but predominantly siliciclastic, sedimentary rocks of the Keuper. In the Rhön, the Triassic rocks are overlain and intruded by vulcanite, volcanic rock (basalts, basanite (rocks), basanites, phonolites and trachytes) of the Tertiary. The eastern third of Franconia is dominated by the Jurassic rocks of the
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Meyn ...
, with the dark shales of the Black Jura, the shales and ferruginous sandstones of the Brown Jura and, the weathering-resistant limestones and dolomite (rock), dolomitic rocks of the White Jura, which stand out from the landscape and form the actual ridge of the Franconian Jura itself. In the Jura, mostly siliciclastic sedimentary rocks formed in the Cretaceous (geology), Cretaceous have survived.
The Mesozoic sediments have been deposited in largescale basin areas. During the Triassic, the Franconian part of these depressions was often part of the mainland, in the Jurassic it was covered for most of the time by a marginal sea of the western Tethys (ocean), Tethys Ocean. At the time when the limestones and dolomites of the White Jura were being deposited, this sea was divided into sponge reefs and intervening lagoons. The reef bodies and the fine-grained lagoon limestones and marls are the material from which the majority of the Franconian Jura is composed today.Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus Schwerde. (eds.): Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler und Klaus Schwerd (Red.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 online ), p. 40 ff. Following a drop in the sea level towards the end of the Upper Jurassic, larger areas also became part of the mainland at the beginning of the subsequent Cretaceous period. During the Upper Cretaceous, the sea advanced again up to the area of the Franconian Jura. At the end of the Cretaceous, the sea then retreated again from the region. In addition, large parts of South and Central Germany experienced a general uplift -or in areas where the basement had broken through a substantial uplift - the course of formation of the Alps during the Tertiary. Since then, Franconia has been mainly influenced by erosion (geology), erosion and weathering (especially in the Jura in the form of karst), which has ultimately led to formation of today's landscapes.
Fossils
The oldest macrofossils in Franconia, which are also the oldest in Bavaria, are archaeocyatha, sponge-like, goblet-shaped marine organisms, which were discovered in 2013 in a limestone block of Cambrian, Late Lower Cambrian age, about 520 million years old. The block comes from the vicinity Schwarzenbach am Wald from the so-called Heinersreuth Block Conglomerate (''Heinersreuther Blockkonglomerat''), a
Lower Carboniferous
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́ ...
wildflysch. However, the aforementioned archaeocyathids are not three-dimensional fossils, but two-dimensional thin sections. These thin sections had already been prepared and investigated in the 1970s but the archaeocyathids among them were apparently overlooked at that time.
Better known and more highly respected fossil finds in Franconia come from the unfolded sedimentary rocks of the Triassic and Jurassic. The bunter sandstone, however, only has a relatively small number of preserved whole fossils. Much more commonly, it contains trace fossils, especially the tetrapod footprints of ''Chirotherium''. The type locality (biology), type locality for these animal tracks is Hildburghausen in the Thuringian part of Franconia, where it occurs in the so-called Thuringian Chirotherium Sandstone (''Thüringer Chirotheriensandstein'', main Middle Bunter Sandstone). ''Chirotherium'' is also found in the Bavarian and Württemberg parts of Franconia. Sites include Aura an der Saale, Aura near Bad Kissingen, Karbach (Lower Franconia), Karbach, Gambach (Karlstadt), Gambach and Külsheim.Frank-Otto Haderer, Georges Demathieu, Ronald Böttcher: ''Wirbeltier-Fährten aus dem Rötquarzit (Oberer Buntsandstein, Mittlere Trias) von Hardheim bei Wertheim/Main (Süddeutschland).'' Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B. No. 230, 1995 online There the deposits are somewhat younger (Upper Bunter Sandstone), and the corresponding stratigraphy (geology), stratigraphic interval is called the Franconian Chirotherium Beds (''Fränkische Chirotherienschichten''). Among the less significant body fossil records of vertebrates are the Procolophonoidea, procolophonid ''Anomoiodon liliensterni'' from Reurieth in the Thuringian part of Franconia and ''Koiloskiosaurus coburgiensis'' from Rödental, Mittelberg near Coburg, both from the Thuringian Chirotherium Sandstone, and the Temnospondyli, Temnospondyle ''Mastodonsaurus, Mastodonsaurus ingens'' (possibly identical with the mastodonsaurus, ''Heptasaurus cappelensis'') from the Röt Formation, Upper Bunter at Gambach.
As early as the first decade of the 19th century George, Count of Münster began systematic fossil gathering and digs and in the Upper Muschelkalk at Bayreuth. For example, the Oschenberg hill near Laineck became the type locality of two relatively well-known marine reptiles of the Triassic period, later found in other parts of Central Europe: the "flat tooth lizard", ''Placodus'' and the "false lizard", ''Nothosaurus''.
In Franconia's middle Keuper (the Feuerletten) is one of the best known and most common species of dinosaurs of Central Europe: ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'', an early representative of the sauropodomorpha. Its type locality is located at Heroldsberg south of Nuremberg. When the remains of ''Plateosaurus'' were first discovered there in 1834, it was the first discovery of a dinosaur on German soil, and this occurred even before the name "dinosauria" was coined. Another important ''Plateosaurus'' find in Franconia was made at Ellingen.
Far more famous than ''Plateosaurus'', ''Placodus'' and ''Nothosaurus'' is the ''Archaeopteryx'', probably the first bird geologically. It was discovered in the southern Franconian Jura, ''inter alia'' at the famous fossil site of Solnhofen in the Solnhofen Platform Limestone (''Solnhofener Plattenkalk'', (Solnhofen-Formation, early Tithonian, Upper Jurassic). In addition to ''Archaeopteryx'', in the very fine-grained, laminated lagoon limestones are the pterosaur ''Pterodactylus'' and various bony fishes as well as numerous extremely detailed examples of invertebrates e.g. feather stars and dragonflies.
Eichstätt
Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
is the other "big" and similarly famous fossil locality in the Solnhofen Formation, situated on the southern edge of the Jura in
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
. Here, as well as ''Archaeopteryx'', the theropod dinosaurs, ''Compsognathus'' and ''Juravenator'', were found.
An inglorious episode in the history of paleontology took place in Franconia: fake fossils, known as Beringer's Lying Stones, were acquired in the 1720s by Würzburg doctor and naturalist, Johann Beringer, for a lot of money and then described in a monograph, along with genuine fossils from the Würzburg area. However, it is not entirely clear whether the Beringer forgeries were actually planted or whether he himself was responsible for the fraud.
Climate
Franconia has a humid continental climate, humid cool temperate transitional climate, which is neither very continental nor very maritime. The average monthly temperatures vary depending on the area between about -1 to -2 °C in January and 17 to 19 °C in August, but may reach a peak of about 35 °C for a few days in the summer, especially in the large cities. The climate of Franconia is sunny and relatively warm. For part of the summer, for example, Lower Franconia is one of the sunniest areas in Germany. Daily temperatures in the Bavarian part of Franconia are an average of 0.1 °C higher than the average for Bavaria as a whole. Relatively less rain falls in Franconia, and likewise in the rest of North Bavaria rain than is usual for its geographic location; even summer storms are often less powerful than in other areas of South Germany. In southern Bavaria about 2,000 mm of precipitation falls annually and almost three times as much as in parts of Franconia (about 500–900 mm) in the rain shadow of the Spessart, Rhön and Odenwald.
Quality of life
Franconia, as part of Germany, has a high quality of life. In the ''Worldwide Quality of Living Survey'' by Mercer (consulting firm), Mercer in 2010, the city of Nuremberg was one of the top 25 cities in the world in terms of quality of life and came sixth in Germany. In environmental ranking Nuremberg came thirteenth in the world and was the best German city In a survey by the German magazine, ''Focus (German magazine), Focus'', on quality of life in 2014, the districts of Eichstätt and Fürth were among the top positions in the table. In the ''Glücksatlas'' by Deutsche Post AG, Deutsche Post Franconia achieved some of the highest scores, but the region slipped in 2013 to 13th place out of 19.
History
Name
Franconia is named after the
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, ...
, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe who conquered most of Western Europe by the middle of the 8th century. Despite its name, Franconia is not the homeland of the Franks, but rather owes its name to being partially settled by Franks from the Rhineland during the 7th century following the defeat of the Alamanni and Thuringians who had dominated the region earlier.
At the beginning of the 10th century a ''Duchy of Franconia'' (german: Herzogtum Franken, links=no) was established within East Francia, which comprised modern
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 ...
, Palatinate (region), Palatinate, parts of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
and most of today's Franconia. After the dissolution of the so-called Stem duchy of Franconia, the Holy Roman Empire, Holy Roman Emperors created the
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle (german: Fränkischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy—roughly corresponding with the pre ...
(German ''Fränkischer Reichskreis'') in 1500 to embrace the principalities that grew out of the eastern half of the former duchy. The territory of the Franconian Circle roughly corresponds with modern Franconia. The title of a ''Duke of Duchy of Franconia, Franconia'' was claimed by the Bishopric of Würzburg, Würzburg bishops until 1803 and by the kings of Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria until 1918. Examples of Franconian cities founded by Frankish noblemen are
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
, first mentioned in the 7th century,
Ansbach
Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...
, first mentioned in 748, and Weißenburg in Bayern, Weissenburg, founded in the 7th century.
Early history and Antiquity
Fossil finds show that the region was already settled by Caveman, primitive man, ''Homo erectus'', in the middle Last Glacial Period, Ice Age about 600,000 years ago. Probably the oldest human remains in the Bavarian part of Franconia were found in the cave ruins of Hunas at Pommelsbrunn in the county of Nuremberg Land. In the late Bronze Age, the region was probably only sparsely inhabited, as few noble metals occur here and the soils are only moderately fertile. In the subsequent Iron Age (from about 800 B.C.) the Celts become the first nation to be discernible in the region. In northern Franconia they built a chain of hill forts as a line of defence against the Germani advancing from the north. On the Staffelberg they built a powerful settlement, to which Ptolemy gave the name ''Menosgada, oppidum Menosgada'', and on the
Gleichberge
The Gleichberge, which mainly comprise the Großer Gleichberg, Großer and Kleiner Gleichberg, Kleiner Gleichberg, are a small, inselberg-like mountain range, up to , in the southwestern part of the German state of Thuringia. They rise just east ...
is the largest surviving ''oppidum'' in Central Germany (geography), Central Germany, the Oppidum Steinsburg, Steinsburg. With the increased expansion of Roman Empire, Rome in the first century B.C. and the simultaneous advance of the Elbe Germans, Elbe Germanic tribes from the north, the Celtic culture began to fall into decline. The southern parts of present-day Franconia soon fell under Roman control; however, most of the region remained in Free Germania. Initially Rome tried extend its direct influence far to the northeast; in the longer term, however, the Germanic-Roman frontier formed further southwest.
Under the emperors, Domitian (81-96), Trajan (98-117) and Hadrian (emperor), Hadrian (117-138), the Rhaetian Limes was built as a border facing the Germanic tribes to the north. This defensive line ran through the south of Franconia and described an arc across the region whose northernmost point lay at present-day Gunzenhausen. To protect it, the Romans built several forts like Biriciana at Weißenburg in Bayern, Weißenburg, but by the mid-third century, the border could no longer be maintained and by 250 A.D. the Alemanni occupied the areas up to the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
. Fortified settlements such as the Gelbe Bürg at Dittenheim controlled the new areas.Wilfried Menghin: ''Grundlegung: Das frühe Mittelalter''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd, revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 47–69, here: p. 60 More such Gau forts have been detected north of the former Limes as well. To which tribe their occupants belonged is unknown in most cases. However, it is likely that it was mainly Alemanni and Juthungi in especially in the south.Wilfried Menghin: ''Grundlegung: Das frühe Mittelalter''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3. Bd., 1. Teilbd: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd, revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 47–69, here: S. 55.
By contrast, it was the Burgundians who settled on the Lower and Middle Main. Many of these hill forts appear to have been destroyed, however, no later than 500 A.D. The reasons are not entirely clear, but it could have been as a result of invasions by the Huns which thus triggered the Migration Period, Great Migration. In many cases, however, it was probably conquest by the
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, ...
that spelt the end of these hilltop settlements.
Middle Ages
With their victories over the heartlands of the Alamanni and Thuringians in the 6th century, the present region of Franconia also fell to the
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, ...
.Karten zur Geschichte Bayerns: Jutta Schumann / Dieter J. Weiß, in: ''Edel und Frei. Franken im Mittelalter'', ed. by Wolfgang Jahn / Jutta Schumann / Evamaria Brockhoff, Augsburg, 2004 (Veröffentlichungen zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 47/04), pp. 174–176, Cat. No. 51. Sieh Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte /ref> After the division of the Frankish Empire, East Francia (''Francia orientialis'') was formed from the territories of the dioceses of Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms,
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
and Speyer. Later, the diocese of Bamberg was added. In the 7th century, the Slavs started to populate the northeastern parts of the region from the east, because the area of today's Upper Franconia was very sparsely populated (Bavaria Slavica).Franz-Joseph Schmale, Wilhelm Störmer: ''Die politische Entwicklung bis zur Eingliederung ins Merowingische Frankenreich''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd, revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 89–114, here: p. 80. However, in the 10th and 11th centuries, they largely gave up their own language and cultural tradition. The majority of the population of Franconia was pagan well into the Early Middle Ages, The first people to spread the Christian faith strongly were wandering Ireland (island), Irish Anglo-Saxon monks in the early 7th century. Saint Kilian, who together with his companions, Saint Colman (martyr), Saint Colman and Saint Totnan are considered to be the apostles to the Franks, suffering martyrdom in Würzburg in the late 7th century, probably did not encounter any pagans in the ducal court. It was probably Saint Boniface who carried the Christian mission deep into the heart of the ordinary population of Franconia.
In the mid-9th century the Duchy of Franconia, tribal Duchy of Franconia emerged, one of the five tribal or stem duchies of East Francia. The territory of the stem duchy was far bigger than modern Franconia and covered the whole of present-day Hesse, northern Baden-Württemberg, southern Thuringia, large parts of Rhineland-Palatinate and parts of the Franconian provinces in Bavaria. It extended as far west as Speyer, Mainz, and Worms, Germany, Worms (west of the Rhine) and even included Frankfurt ("ford of the Franks"). In the early 10th century, the Babenbergs and Conradines fought for power in Franconia. Ultimately this discord led to the Babenberg Feud which was fuelled and controlled by the crown. The outcome of this feud meant the loss of power for the Babenbergs, but indirectly resulted in the Conradines winning the crown of East Francia. Sometime around 906, Conrad I of Germany, Conrad succeeded in establishing his ducal hegemony over Franconia, but when the direct Carolingian male line failed in 911, Conrad was acclaimed List of German Kings and Emperors, King of the Germans, largely because of his weak position in his own duchy. Franconia, like Alamannia was fairly fragmented and the duke's position was often disputed between the chief families. Conrad had granted Franconia to his brother Eberhard of Franconia, Eberhard on his succession, but when Eberhard rebelled against Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I in 938, he was deposed from his duchy, which disintegrated in 939 on Eberhard's death into West or
Rhenish Franconia
Rhenish Franconia (german: Rheinfranken) or Western Franconia () denotes the western half of the central Kingdom of Germany, German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms, Germany, Worms. The ...
(), and East Franconia (')East Franconia should not be confused with the eastern division of the Frankish Empire, East Francia, which was also known as in Latin. This refers to the much larger area which later became the German Kingdom and of which the whole of the Duchy of Franconia was a part. and was directly subordinated to the Reich. Only after that was the former considered to be under the sphere of the bishops of Würzburg as the true Franconia, its territory gradually shrinking to its present area.
Meanwhile, the inhabitants of parts of present-day Upper and Middle Franconia, who were not under the control of Würzburg, probably also considered themselves to be Franks at that time, and certainly their dialect distinguished them from the inhabitants of Bavaria and Swabia.Karten zur Geschichte Bayerns: Jutta Schumann / Dieter J. Weiß, in: Edel und Frei. Franken im Mittelalter, ed. by Wolfgang Jahn / Jutta Schumann / Evamaria Brockhoff, Augsburg, 2004 (Veröffentlichungen zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 47/04), pp. 174–176, Cat. No. 51. Se Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte
Unlike the other stem duchies, Franconia became the homeland and power base of East Frankish and German kings after the Ottonians died out in 1024.Josef Kirmeier: ''Bayern und das Deutsche Reich (10.-12. Jahrhundert)'', In: ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns'', published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte as Issue 9 of the ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur'', pp. 7–9, here: p. 7 As a result, in the High Middle Ages, the region did not become a strong regional force such as those which formed in Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia. In 1007, the later canonized Henry II founded the Arcbishopric of Bamberg, Bishopric of Bamberg and endowed it with rich estates. Bamberg became a favoured ''Kaiserpfalz, Pfalz'' and an important centre of the Empire. Because parts of the Bishopric of Würzburg also fell to Bamberg, Würzburg was enfeoffed several royal estates by King Henry II by way of compensation.
From the 12th century Nuremberg Castle was the seat of the Burgraviate of Nuremberg. The burgraviate was ruled from about 1190 by the Zollerns, the Franconian line of the later House of Hohenzollern, which provided the German emperors of the 19th and 20th century. Under the Hohenstaufen kings, Conrad III (HRR), Conrad III and Frederick I (HRR), Frederick Barbarossa, Franconia became the centre of power in the Empire. During the time when there was no emperor, the Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire), Interregnum (1254–1273), some territorial princes became ever more powerful. After the Interregnum, however, the rulers succeeded in re-establishing a stronger royal lordship in Franconia. Franconia soon played an important role again for the monarchy at the time of Rudolf I (HRR), Rudolf of Habsburg; the itineraries of his successors showing their preference for the Rhine-Main region. In 1376 the Swabian League of Cities was founded and was joined later by several Franconian imperial cities. During the 13th century the Teutonic Order was formed, taking over its first possession in Franconia in 1209, the Bailiwick of Franconia. The foundation of many schools and hospitals and the construction of numerous churches and castles in this area goes back to the work of this Roman Catholic military order. The residence place of the bailiwick was at Ellingen until 1789 when it was transferred to today's Bad Mergentheim.Rudolf Endres: ''Staat und Gesellschaft. Zweiter Teil: 1500-1800''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd, revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 702–781, here: pp. 752ff Other orders such as the Knights Templar could not gain a foothold in Franconia; the Order of St. John worked in the Bishopric of Würzburg and had short term commands.Wilhelm Störmer: ''Die innere Entwicklung: Staat, Gesellschaft, Kirche, Wirtschaft''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 210–315, here: p. 314.
Successor states of East Francia
As of the 13th century, the following states, among others, had formed in the territory of the former Duchy:
Modern Period
Early Modern Period
On 2 July 1500 during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I (HRR), Maximilian I, as part of the Imperial Reform (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Reform Movement, the Empire was divided into Imperial Circles. This led in 1512 to the formation of the
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle (german: Fränkischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy—roughly corresponding with the pre ...
. Seen from a modern perspective, the Franconian Circle may be viewed as an important basis for the sense of a common Franconian identity that exists today. The Franconian Circle also shaped the geographical limits of the present-day Franconia. In the late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, the Imperial Circle was severely affected by ''Kleinstaaterei'', the patchwork of tiny states in this region of Germany. As during the late Middle Ages, the bishops of Würzburg used the nominal title of Duke of Franconia during the time of the Imperial Circle. In 1559, the Franconian Circle was given jurisdiction over coinage (''Münzaufsicht'') and, in 1572, was the only Circle to issue its own police ordinance.
Members of the Franconian Circle included the imperial cities, the prince-bishoprics, the Bailiwick of Franconia of the Teutonic Order and several counties. The Imperial Knights with their tiny territories, of which there was a particularly large number in Franconia, were outside the Circle assembly and, until 1806, formed the Franconian Knights Circle (''Fränkischer Ritterkreis'') consisting of six Knights' Cantons. Because the extent of Franconia, already referred to above, is disputed, there were many areas that might be counted as part of Franconia today, that lay outside the Franconian Circle. For example, the area of Aschaffenburg belonged to Electoral Mainz and was a part of the Electoral Rhenish Circle, the area of Coburg belonged to the Upper Saxon Circle and the Heilbronn area to the Swabian Circle. In the 16th century, the College of Franconian Counts was founded to represent the interests of the counts in Franconia.
Franconia played an important role in the spread of the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther,Rudolf Endres: ''Von der Bildung des Fränkischen Reichskreises und dem Beginn der Reformation bis zum Augsburger Religionsfrieden von 1555''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, edited by Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 451–472, here: pp. 455ff. Nuremberg being one of the places where the Luther Bible was printed. The majority of other Franconian imperial cities and imperial knights embraced the new confession.Rudolf Endres: ''Von der Bildung des Fränkischen Reichskreises und dem Beginn der Reformation bis zum Augsburger Religionsfrieden von 1555''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, edited by Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 451–472, here: p. 467. In the course of the counter-reformation several regions of Franconia returned to Catholicism, however, and there was also an increase in witch trials. In addition to Lutheranism, the Radical Reformation, radical reformatory baptist movement spread early on across the Franconian area. Important Baptist centres were Königsberg in Bayern, Königsberg and Nuremberg.
In 1525, the burden of heavy taxation and socage combined with new, liberal ideas that chimed with the Reformation movement, unleashed the German Peasants' War. The Würzburg area was particularly hard hit with numerous castles and monasteries being burned down.''Stadthistorische Streiflichter (24)'' www.wuerzburg.de, accessed 7 June 2014. In the end, however, the uprisings were suppressed and for centuries the lowest strata of society were excluded from all political activity.
From 1552, Margrave Albert Alcibiades attempted to break the supremacy of the mighty imperial city of Nuremberg and to secularise the ecclesial estates in the Second Margrave War,Rudolf Endres: ''Von der Bildung des Fränkischen Reichskreises und dem Beginn der Reformation bis zum Augsburger Religionsfrieden von 1555''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, ed. Max Spindler, 3 vols., 1 sub-vol: History of Franconia to the end of the 18th century, revised by Andreas Kraus, 3rd revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 451-472, here: p. 469 to create a duchy over which he would rule. Large areas of Franconia were eventually devastated in the fighting until King Ferdinand I (HRR), Ferdinand I together with several dukes and princes decided to overthrow Albert.
In 1608, the reformed princes merged into a so-called Protestant Union, Union within the Empire. In Franconia, the margraves of Ansbach and Bayreuth as well as the imperial cities were part of this alliance. The Catholic side responded in 1609 with a counter-alliance, the Catholic League (1609), League. The conflicts between the two camps ultimately resulted in the Thirty Years' War, which was the greatest strain on the cohesion of the Franconian Circle Initially, Franconia was not a theatre of war, although marauding armies repeatedly crossed its territory. However, in 1631, Swedish troops under Gustavus II Adolphus (Sweden), Gustavus Adolphus advanced into Franconia and established a large encampment in summer 1632 around Nuremberg.Rudolf Endres: ''Vom Augsburger Religionsfrieden bis zum Dreißigjährigen Krieg''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, ed. Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, revised by Andreas Kraus, 3rd revised edn., Munich, 1997, pp. 473–495, here: p. 490. However, the Swedes lost the Battle of the Alte Veste against Wallenstein's troops and eventually withdrew. Franconia was one of the poorest regions in the Empire and lost its imperial political significance.Michael Henker: ''Bayern im Zeitalter von Reformation und Gegenreformation (16./17. Jahrhundert)'', In: ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns'', published by the House of Bavarian History as Issue 9 of the ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur'', pp. 14–17, here: p. 17 During the course of the war, about half the local population lost their lives. To compensate for these losses about 150,000 displaced Protestants settled in Protestant areas, including Austrian exiles.
Franconia never developed into a unified territorial state, because the patchwork quilt of small states (''Kleinstaaterei'') survived the Middle Ages and lasted until the 18th century.Karlheinz Scherr: ''Bayern im Zeitalter des Fürstlichen Absolutismus (17./18. Jahrhundert)'', In: ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns'', published by the House of Bavarian History as Issue 9 of the ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur'', pp. 18–21, here: p. 20 As a result, the Franconian Circle had the important task of preserving peace, preventing abuses and to repairing war damage and had a regulatory role in the region until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Until the War of the Spanish Succession, the Circle had become an almost independent organization and joined the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance against Louis XIV as an almost sovereign state. The Circle also developed early forms of a welfare state. It also played a major role in the control of disease during the 16th and 17th centuries. After Charles Alexander (Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth), Charles Alexander abdicated in 1792, the former margraviates of Ansbach and Bayreuth were annexed by Prussia. Karl August Freiherr von Hardenberg was appointed as governor of these areas by Prussia.
Later Modern Period
Most of modern-day Franconia became part of Bavaria in 1803 thanks to Bavaria's alliance with
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. Culturally it is in many ways different from Bavaria proper ("Altbayern", Old Bavaria), however. The ancient name was resurrected in 1837 by Ludwig I of Bavaria. During the Nazi period, Bavaria was broken up into several different Gau (country subdivision), Gaue, including Gau Franconia, Franconia and Gau Mainfranken, Main-Franconia.
= 19th century
=
In 1803, what was to become the Kingdom of Bavaria was given large parts of Franconia through the enactment of the ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss'' under pressure from
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
for secularization and German mediatisation, mediatisation. In 1806, the Act of Confederation led to stronger ties between Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and other areas with France, whereupon the Holy Roman Empire including the Franconian Circle fell apart.''Rheinbundakte, deutsche Fassung (1806)'' House of Bavarian History , retrieved 7 June 2014. As a reward Bavaria was promised other estates, including the city of Nuremberg. In the so-called ''Rittersturm'' of 1803, Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden seized the territories of the Imperial Knights and Franconian nobility, whose estates were often no bigger than a few parishes, even though the ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss'' had not authorised this. In 1806 and 1810, Prussia had to release the territories of Ansbach and Bayreuth, which it had annexed in 1792, to Bavaria, whereby Prussia lost its supremacy in the region.''Preußen in Franken 1792 - 1806'' , material from the State Exhibition in 1999 by the House of Bavarian History
In 1814, as a result of the Congress of Vienna, the territories of the Principality of Aschaffenburg and Grand Duchy of Würzburg went to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In order to merge the patchwork quilt of small states in Franconia and Swabia into a greater Bavaria, Maximilian Montgelas, Maximilian Joseph Montgelas reformed the political structure. Out of this in January 1838 emerged the Franconian provinces with their present names of Middle, Upper and Lower Franconia. Considerable resentment arose in parts of the Franconian territories over their new membership of Bavaria.Hans Maier: ''Die Franken in Bayern'', p. 6 see pdf , retrieved 12 July 2014. There were liberal demands for republican structures which erupted in the German Revolution (1848/1849), revolts of 1848 and 1849 and the Gaibach Festival in 1832. On the one hand the reconciliation policy of the Wittelsbachs and Montgelas' aforementioned policy of unification, and, on the other hand, the inclusion of Bavaria in the German Empire in 1871, which weakened her power Bavaria slightly, the conflict between Franconia and Bavaria eased considerably.
From 1836 to 1846, the Kingdom of Bavaria built the Ludwig Canal from Bamberg to Kelheim, which was only abandoned in 1950. However, the canal lost much of its importance shortly after the arrival of the railways. Between 1843 and 1854, the Ludwig South-North Railway was established within Franconia, which ran from Lindau (Lake Constance), Lindau on Lake Constance via
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, Bamberg and Kulmbach to Hof (Saale), Hof. The first locomotive to run on German soil steamed 1835 from Nuremberg to Fürth on 7 December 1835.
= 20th century
=
After the World War I, First World War the monarchy in Bavaria was abolished, but the state could not agree on a compromise between a Soviet system and Parliamentary system, parliamentarianism. This caused fighting between the opposing camps and the then prime minister was shot. As a result, the government fled to Bamberg in 1919, where the Bamberg Constitution was adopted while, in Munich, the Bavarian Soviet Republic reigned briefly.Wolf Weigand: ''Bayern zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik und des Nationalsozialismus (1918 - 1945).'' In ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns'' published by the House of Bavarian History as No. 9 of the booklets on Bavarian History and Culture, 1989, pp. 26-28, here: p. 26 In 1919 the Free State of Coburg voted in a referendum against joining
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
and was instead united with Bavaria on 1 July 1920.
During the Nazi Germany, Nazi era Nuremberg played a prominent role in the self-expression of the Nazism, National Socialists as the permanent seat of the Nazi Party. Gunzenhausen made its mark as one of the first towns in the Reich itself to exercise discrimination against the Jewish population. The first Hitler Monument in Germany was established there in April 1933. On 25 March 1934 the first anti-Jewish pogrom in Bavaria took place in Gunzenhausen. The attack brought the town negative press coverage worldwide.Werner Falk: ''Ein früher Hass auf Juden'' in Nürnberger Nachrichten, 25 March 2009. On 15 September, a Reichstag (Nazi Germany), Reichstag was specially convened in Nuremberg for the purpose of passing the Nuremberg Laws, under which the antisemitism, antisemitic ideology of the Nazis became a legal basis for such actions.
Like all parts of the German Reich, Franconia was badly affected by Allies of World War II, Allied airstrike, air raids. Nuremberg, as a major industrial centre and transportation hub, was hit particularly hard. Between 1940 and 1945 the city was the target of dozens of air raids. Many other places were also affected by air raids. For example, the air raid on Heilbronn, air raid on 4 December 1944 on Heilbronn and the bombing of Würzburg on 16 March 1945, bombing of Würzburg on 16 March 1945, in which both old towns were almost completely destroyed, was a disaster for both cities. By contrast, the old town of Bamberg was almost completely spared. In order to protect cultural artefacts, the Historischer Kunstbunker, historic art bunker was built below Nuremberg Castle. In the closing stages of the Second World War, at the end of March and April 1945, Franconian towns and cities were captured by formations of the United States Army, US Army who advanced from the west after the failure of the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Nordwind. The Battle of Nuremberg (1945), Battle of Nuremberg lasted five days and resulted in at least 901 deaths. The Battle of Crailsheim lasted 16 days, the Battle of Würzburg (1945), Battle of Würzburg seven and the Battle of Merkendorf three days.
Following the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht, unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, Bavarian Franconia became part of the American zone of occupation; whilst South Thuringia, with the exception of smaller enclaves like Ostheim, became part of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, Soviet zone and the Franconian parts of today's Baden-Württemberg also went to the American zone The most important part of the Allied prosecution programme against leaders of the Nazi regime were the Nuremberg Trials against leaders of the German Empire during the Nazi era, held from 20 November 1945 to 14 April 1949. The Nuremberg Trials are considered a breakthrough for the principle that, for a core set of crimes, there is no diplomatic immunity, immunity from prosecution. For the first time, the representatives of a sovereignty, sovereign state were held accountable for their actions. In autumn 1946, the Free State of Bavaria was reconstituted with the enactment of the Constitution of Bavaria, Bavarian Constitution.
The state of Württemberg-Baden was founded on 19 September 1945. On 25 April 1952 this state merged with Baden (South Baden), Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern (both from the former French occupation zone) to create the present state of Baden-Württemberg. On 1 December 1945 the state of Hesse was founded. Beginning in 1945, Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50), refugees and displaced persons from Eastern Europe were settled particularly in rural areas. After 1945, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg managed the transition from economies that were predominantly agriculture to become leading industrial states in the so-called ''Wirtschaftswunder''. In Lower and Upper Franconia, there was still the problem, however, of the zone along the Inner German Border which was a long way from the markets for its agricultural produce, and was affected by migration and relatively high unemployment, which is why these areas received special support from federal and state governments.
By contrast, the state of Thuringia was restored by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany, Soviets in 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republic, commonly known as East Germany, was founded. In 1952 in the course of the Administrative divisions of East Germany, 1952 administrative reform in East Germany, the state of Thuringia was relieved of its function. The Soviet occupying forces exacted a high level of reparations (especially the Allied plans for German industry after World War II, dismantling of industrial facilities) which made the initial economic conditions in East Germany very difficult. Along with the failed economic policies of the GDR, this led to a general frustration that fuelled the uprising of 17 June. There were protests in the Franconian territories too, for example in Schmalkalden. The village of Mödlareuth became famous because, for 41 years, it was divided by the Inner German Border and was nicknamed 'Little Berlin. After ''Die Wende'', the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 and German reunification, reunification on 3 October 1990, made possible mainly by mass demonstrations in East Germany and local exodus of East Germans, the state of Thuringia was reformed with effect from 14 October 1990.Steffen Raßloff: ''Geschichte Thüringens.'' Munich, 2010, p. 106
In the years from 1971 to 1980 an administrative reform was carried out in Bavaria with the aim of creating more efficient municipalities (''Gemeinde (Germany), Gemeinden'') and counties (''Landkreise''). Against sometimes great protests by the population, the number of municipalities was reduced by a third and the number of counties by about a half. Among the changes was the transfer of the Middle Franconian county of Landkreis Eichstätt, Eichstätt to
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
. On 18 May 2006, the Bavarian Landtag approved the introduction of Franconia Day (''Tag der Franken'') in the Franconian territories of the free state.Document 15/5583 of the Bavarian Landtag (pdf; 86 kB)
Since ''Die Wende'', new markets have opened up for the Franconian region of Bavaria in the new (formerly East German) federal states and the Czech Republic, enabling the economy to recover. Today, Franconia is in the centre of the EU (at Oberwestern near Westerngrund; ).
Contemporary Franconia
While Old Bavaria is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, Franconia is a mixed area. Lower Franconia and the western half of Upper Franconia ( Bamberg, Lichtenfels, Bavaria, Lichtenfels, Kronach) is predominantly Catholic, while most of Middle and the eastern half of Upper Franconia ( Bayreuth, Hof, Kulmbach) are predominantly Protestantism, Protestant (Evangelical Church in Germany).
The city of
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
in Middle Franconia historically (before the Nazi era) had a large Jewish population; Henry Kissinger was born there.
Population
A large part of the population of Franconia, which has a population of five million, consider themselves Franconians (''Franken'', in German homonymous with the name of the historical
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, ...
), a sub-ethnic group of the German people alongside Alemanni, Swabians, Bavarians, Thuringians and Saxons.
Such an ethnic identity is generally not shared by other parts of the Franconian languages, Franconian-speaking area (members of which may identify as Rhine Franconians (''Rheinfranken'') or Moselle Franconians (''Moselfranken'').
The Free State of Bavaria counts Franconians as one of the "four tribes of Bavaria" (''vier Stämme Bayerns''), alongside Bavarians, Swabians and Sudeten Germans.
Towns and cities
With the exception of Heilbronn, all cities in Franconia and all towns with a population of over 50,000 are within the Free State of Bavaria. The five cities of Franconia are
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
,
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
, Heilbronn and
Erlangen
Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...
. In Middle Franconia, in the metropolitan region of Nuremberg there is a densely populated urban area consisting of Nuremberg, Fürth, Erlangen and
Schwabach
Schwabach () is a German city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg in the centre of the region of Franconia in the north of Bavaria. The city is an autonomous administrative district (''kreisfreie Stadt''). Schwabach is also the name of th ...
. Nuremberg is the fourteenth largest city in Germany and the second largest in Bavaria.
The largest settlements in Baden-Württemberg's Franconian region are Heilbronn (pop: 117,531),
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
(37,096) and
Crailsheim
Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies east of Schwäbisch Hall and southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, ...
(32,417).Statistisches Bundesamt – Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31. Dezember 2012 (xls file; 4.0 MB) (population figures from the 2011 census) The largest places in the Thuringian part are
Suhl
Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella- ...
(35,665), Sonneberg (23,796) and Meiningen (20,966).
The largest place in the Hessian part of Franconia is Gersfeld (Rhön), Gersfeld with just 5,512 inhabitants. The largest cities within Bavaria are Nuremberg (495,121), Würzburg (124,577), Fürth (118,358) and Erlangen (105,412).
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
Franconia, with its numerous towns, was separate and not part of other territories such as the Duchy of Bavaria.Karten zur Geschichte Bayerns: Helmut Flachenecker, in: Edel und Frei. Franken im Mittelalter, ed. by Wolfgang Jahn / Jutta Schumann / Evamaria Brockhoff, Augsburg, 2004 (Veröffentlichungen zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 47/04), pp. 308–313, Cat. No. 134. Se House of Bavarian History In the late medieval period it was dominated by mainly smaller towns with a few hundred to a thousand inhabitants, whose size barely distinguished them from the villages. Many towns grew up along large rivers or were founded by the prince-bishops and nobility. Even the Hohenstaufens operated in many towns, most of which later became Imperial Cities with a strong orientation towards Nuremberg. The smallest town in Franconia is Thuringia's Ummerstadt with 487 inhabitants.
Language
German is the official language and also the ''lingua franca''. Numerous other languages are spoken that come from other language regions or the native countries of immigrants.
East Franconian German, the dialect spoken in Franconia, is entirely different from the Austro-Bavarian dialect continuum which is mainly to be found in the Upper Palatinate, Upper and Lower Bavaria, the greater part of Austria and some parts of Northern Italy. This is one of the reasons why hardly any Franconian would call himself a Bavarian. Even though there is no Franconian state, red and white are regarded as the state colours (''Landesfarben'') of Franconia (compared to blue and white for Bavaria).
Religions
Christianity
The proportion of Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholics and Evangelical Church in Germany, Protestants among the population of Franconia is roughly the same, but varies from region to region.Karten zur Geschichte Bayerns: ''Überwiegend protestantische und überwiegend katholische Gebiete in Franken.'' In: Kirmeier, Josef et al. (ed.): ''200 Jahre Franken in Bayern.'' Aufsatzband zur Landesausstellung 2006, Augsburg, 2006 (Veröffentlichungen zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 51), se House of Bavarian History Large areas of Middle and Upper Franconia are mainly Protestant.
The religious denomination, denominational orientation today still reflects the territorial structure of Franconia at the time of the Franconian Circle. For example, regions, that used to be under the care of the bishoprics of Bamberg, Würzburg and Eichstätt, are mainly Catholic today. On the other hand, all former territories of the imperial cities and the margraviates of Ansbach and Bayreuth have remained mainly Lutheran. The region around the city of
Erlangen
Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...
, which belonged to the Margraviate of Bayreuth, was a refuge for the Huguenots who fled there after the St Bartholomew's Day massacre in France.
Following the success of the Reformation in Nuremberg under Andreas Osiander, it had been an exclusively Protestant imperial city and belonged to the Protestant league of imperial states, the Corpus Evangelicorum, within the ''Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire), Reichstag''. Subsequent historical events such as the Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50), stream of refugees after the Second World War and the increasing mobility of the population has since blurred denominational geographical boundaries, however.
The influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe has also seen the establishment of an Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox community in Franconia. The Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany, Central and Northern Europe has its headquarters in Nuremberg.
Judaism
Before the Nazi era Franconia was a region with significant Jewish communities, most of whom were Ashkenazi Jews.Steven M. Lowenstein: ''Alltag und Tradition: Eine fränkisch-jüdische Geographie.'' In: ''Die Juden in Franken.'' (= ''Studien zur Jüdischen Geschichte und Kultur in Bayern'', Volume 5) Munich, 2012 pp. 5-24, here: pg. 5. The first Jewish communities appeared in Franconia in the 12th and 13th centuries and thus later than, for example, in Regensburg. In the Middle Ages, Franconia was a stronghold of Torah studies. But Franconia also began to exclude the Jewish populations particularly early on. For example, there were two Jewish massacres - the Rintfleisch massacres of 1298 and the Armleder Uprising of 1336-1338 - and in the 15th and 16th centuries many cities exiled their Jewish populations, which is why many Jews settled in rural communities. Franconia also rose to early prominence in the discrimination of Jews during the Nazi era.Steven M. Lowenstein: ''Alltag und Tradition: Eine fränkisch-jüdische Geographie.'' In: ''Die Juden in Franken.'' (= ''Studien zur Jüdischen Geschichte und Kultur in Bayern'', Volume 5) Munich, 2012 pp. 5-24, here: pp. 5-6. One of the first casualties of the organized Nazi persecution of Jews took place on 21 March in Künzelsau and on 25/26 March 1933 in Creglingen, where police and Sturmabteilung, SA troops under the leadership of ''Standartenführer'' Fritz Klein led so-called "weapons search operations".
In 1818, about 65% of Bavarian Jews lived in the Bavarian part of Franconia,Steven M. Lowenstein: ''Alltag und Tradition: Eine fränkisch-jüdische Geographie.'' In: ''Die Juden in Franken.'' (= ''Studien zur Jüdischen Geschichte und Kultur in Bayern'', Volume 5) Munich, 2012 pp. 5-24, here: pg. 14 today there are Jewish communities only in Bamberg, Bayreuth, Erlangen, Fürth, Hof, Nuremberg and Würzburg and in Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg.
Islam
Adherents of Islam continue to grow, especially in the larger cities, due to the influx of ''gastarbeiters'' and other immigrants from Muslim countries. As a result, many "backyard mosques" (''Hinterhofmoscheen'') have sprung up, which are gradually being replaced by purpose-built mosques.
Culture
Franconia has almost 300 small breweries.
The northwestern parts, the areas around 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
...
called Franconia (wine region), Franconian wine region also produce a lot of wine. Franconian cuisine, Food typical for the region includes Bratwurst (especially the famous small Nuremberger Bratwurst), Schäufele, ''Schäuferla'' (roast pork shoulder), Sauerbraten, dumplings, potato salad (typically made with broth), fried Common carp, carp, Obatzda, Grupfder (seasoned cheese spread), ''Presssack'' (a type of Head cheese: pressed or jellied pork trimmings, like tongue, cheeks, etc.). Lebkuchen are a traditional type of gingerbread, and Knieküchle, Küchla is a sort of sweet fried pastry.
Image:Schaeufele 01.jpg, ''Schäufele, Schäuferla''
Image:Nuernberg Drei im Weckla 001.JPG, Three Nuremberger Bratwurst, Bratwürste in a roll (''Drei im Weckla'')
Image:GravityTap.jpg, Schlenkerla Smoked beer, Rauchbier straight from the cask
File:Bocksbeutels.jpg, Franconia (wine region), Franconian wine is traditionally filled up in Bocksbeutels
Image:Kroder Karpfen.JPG, Fried Carp with beer and salad
Tourism
The tourism industry stresses the romantic character of Franconia. Arguments for this include the picturesque countryside and the many historic buildings that present the long history and culture of the region.''Franken. Allianz Reiseführer'', 2011, pp. 12ff In addition, the relatively few industrial towns outside of the main industrial cities is highlighted. Franconian wine, the rich tradition of beer brewing and local culinary specialties, such as ''Lebküchnerei'' or gingerbread baking, are also seen as a draw that is worth marketing, and which make Franconia a popular tourist destination in Germany. The Romantic Road, the best known German theme route, links several of the tourist points in western Franconia. The Castle Road runs through the whole Franconian region with its numerous castles and other medieval structures.
Cycling along the large rivers is very popular, for example along the Main Cycleway, which was the first German long distance cycleway to be awarded five stars by the Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club (ADFC). The Tauber Valley Cycleway, a 101 kilometre-long cycle trail in
Tauber Franconia
The region of Tauber Franconia (german: Tauberfranken) is a part of the region of Franconia, most of which lies in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Tauber Franconia is almost coextensive with the county of Main-Tauber-Kreis, which is bisect ...
, was the second German long distance cycleway to receive five stars.Touristikgemeinschaft Liebliches Taubertal ''Fünf Sterne für den "Klassiker"'' In: Tauber-Zeitung. Online at www.swp.de. 31 October 2009; retrieved 6 April 2010.
See also
*
* East Franconian German
* Franconia (wine region)
* Franconian Flag
*
Franconian Rake
The Franconian Rake (german: Fränkischer Rechen) is the name given to the coat of arms of the region of Franconia in Germany. It is described heraldically as ''per fess dancetty of three points gules and argent''. The points represent a stylised ...
* Fränkel
Notes
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
* Andert, Reinhold. ''Der fränkische Reiter.'' Dingsda-Verlag Querfurt, Leipzig, 2006, .
* Beckstein, Günther (text) and Erich Weiß (photographs). ''Franken, Mein Franken - Impressionen aus meiner Heimat.'' Bamberg, 2009, .
* Bernet, Claus. ''Himmlisches Franken.'' Norderstedt, 2012, .
* Blessing, Werner K. and Dieter Weiß (eds.): ''Franken. Vorstellung und Wirklichkeit in der Geschichte.'' (= ''Franconia.'' Appendices to the Yearbook for Franconian State Research, Vol. 1), Neustadt (Aisch), 2003.
* Bogner, Franz X. ''Franken aus der Luft.'' Stürtz-Verlag Würzburg, 2008, .
* Bogner, Franz X. ''Oberfranken aus der Luft.'' Ellwanger-Verlag, 128 pages. Bayreuth, 2011, .
* Bötzinger, Martin. ''Leben und Leiden während des Dreißigjährigen Krieges in Thüringen und Franken.'' Langensalza, ²1997, .
* Norman Cantor, Cantor, Norman. ''The Civilization of the Middle Ages''. 1993. .
* Elkar, Rainer S. ''Geschichtslandschaft Franken - wohlbestelltes Feld mit Lücken''. In: Jahrbuch für Regionalgeschichte 23 (2005), pp. 145–158.
* Fischer,Berndt. ''Naturerlebnis Franken. Streifzüge durch eine Seelenlandschaft.'' Buch & Kunstverlag Oberpfalz, Amberg, 2001, .
* Nestmeyer, Ralf: ''Franken. Ein Reisehandbuch.'' Michael-Müller-Verlag, Erlangen, 2013, .
* Peters, Michael. ''Geschichte Frankens. Vom Ausgang der Antike bis zum Ende des Alten Reiches.'' Katz Verlag, 2007, (c.f review .
* Petersohn, Jürgen. ''Franken im Mittelalter. Identität und Profil im Spiegel von Bewußtsein und Vorstellung.'' (Vorträge und Forschungen, Sonderband 51), Ostfildern, 2008 (c.f .
* Timothy Reuter, Reuter, Timothy. ''Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056''. New York: Longman, 1991. .
* Scherzer, Conrad. ''Franken, Land, Volk, Geschichte und Wirtschaft.'' Verlag Nürnberger Presse Drexel, Merkel & Co., Nuremberg, 1955, .
* Schiener, Anna. ''Kleine Geschichte Frankens.'' Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg, 2008, .
* Stützel, Ada. ''100 berühmte Franken.'' Sutton Verlag, Erfurt, 2007, .
* Wüst, Wolfgang (ed.): ''Frankens Städte und Territorien als Kulturdrehscheibe. Kommunikation in der Mitte Deutschlands.'' Interdisciplinary conference 29 to 30 September 2006 in Weißenburg i. Bayern (Mittelfränkische Studien 19) Ansbach, 2008, .