The Untermainkreis (German: Lower Main District) was one of the administrative districts (German: Bezirke or Regierungsbezirke) of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

between 1806 and 1837 named after its main 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 ...

. It was the predecessor of the administrative district 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 ...

(''

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

Unterfranken''). Administrative headquarters were in Würzburg.

Independent Cities

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 ...

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

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 ...

Subdivisions

The district was divided in the following judicial districts ('' Landgerichte''), according to the original borders of the districts of the former territories (''

Herrschaft The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...

sgerichte''): *

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

* Amorbach *

Arnstein Arnstein () is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The town lies on the banks of the river Wern and is roughly 20 km from Schwe ...

Aub Aub () is a city in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated southeast of Würzburg, and northwest of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and, nearby the border of Baden-Württemberg. The river Gollach is the main body of water. A ...

(since 1840) * Aura (until 1829) * Baunach (since 1840) * Bischofsheim * Brückenau (since 1819) * Dettelbach *

Ebern Ebern () is a town in the Haßberge district of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated southwest of Coburg and northwest of Bamberg. Its population is about 8,000. Its mayor is Robert Herrmann. Ebern is about 1,000 years old and has an intact defen ...

* Eltmann (since 1819) * Eschau (until 1849) *

Euerdorf Euerdorf is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Euerdorf lies in the Main-Rhön region at the confluence of Sulzbach and the Franconian Saale. Divisions of the municipality The municipality is divide ...

* Fechenbach (until 1818) *

Fladungen Fladungen is a town in the Rhön-Grabfeld district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 11 km northwest of Ostheim, 20 km west of Meiningen, and 33 km east of Fulda. It is the northernmost town in Bavaria ...

(until 1828) * Famersbach (until 1823) (

Frammersbach Frammersbach is a market community in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. In the early modern period, people from Frammersbach achieved international renown as drivers ...

?) * Gemünden *

Gerolzhofen Gerolzhofen () is a town in the district of Schweinfurt, Bavaria, Germany. The town is the former center of the district of Gerolzhofen and has about 7,000 inhabitants. The mayor of Gerolzhofen is Thorsten Wozniak (CSU). GerolzhofenStadtpfarrkirc ...

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 ...

(1820-1843) * Gleusdorf (since 1840) *

Hammelburg Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Francon ...

(since 1819) * Haßfurt *Hilden * Hofheim * Homburg (until 1840) * Kaltenberg (until 1829) * Karlstadt *

Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which be ...

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer ...

Kleinwallstadt Kleinwallstadt is a market community in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat of the like-named ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (Administrative Community). Geograp ...

(until 1829) * Klingenberg * Königshofen *

Kreuzwertheim Kreuzwertheim () is a market town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Kreuzwertheim. It ha ...

(until 1848) * Krombach (until 1820) * Lohr * Marktbreit *

Marktheidenfeld Marktheidenfeld () is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat (but not a member) of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Markth ...

(since 1840) * Marktsteft *

Mellrichstadt Mellrichstadt is a town in the district Rhön-Grabfeld, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 17 km southwest of Meiningen, and 13 km northeast of Bad Neustadt Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often sim ...

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

Münnerstadt Münnerstadt is a town in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 7,600. Geography It borders on the towns of Burglauer, Bad Bocklet, Nüdlingen, Maßbach, Großbardorf, and Strahlungen. The municipal ...

* Neustadt an der Saale *

Obernburg Obernburg am Main (officially ''Obernburg a.Main'', short version: ''Obernburg,'' ) is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 8,500. ...

Ochsenfurt Ochsenfurt () is a town in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. Ochsenfurt is located on the left bank of the River Main and has around 11,000 inhabitants. This makes it the largest town in Würzburg district. Name Like Oxford, the t ...

* Orb * Remlingen (until 1849) *

Röttingen Röttingen is a town in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated south of Würzburg, and east of Bad Mergentheim. Geography Climate The valley of Tauber is one of the driest areas in Bavaria and belongs to the continenta ...

(until 1840) * Rothenbuch * Rüdenhausen (1848 – 1853 with Wiesentheid) *

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

(since 1858) *

Sommerhausen Sommerhausen is a municipality and market town in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany. History Sommerhausen has been an important municipality on the Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly t ...

(until 1849) * Stadtprozelten (until 1829 und after 1853) * Sulzheim (until 1852) * Tann (until 1834) *

Triefenstein Markt Triefenstein () is a market community in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It was created in 1978 out of the villages Homburg am Main, Lengfurt, Rettersheim and ...

(until 1821) * Volkach *

Werneck Werneck is a market town in the district of Schweinfurt in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 10,000 and is best known for its Baroque palace, Schloss Werneck. Geography Location Werneck lies in the Lower Franco ...

* Weyhers (since 1819) * Wiesentheid (1848 – 1853 with Rüdenhausen) *

right of Main *

left of Main

History

In the years between 1806 and 1808 the Kingdom of Bavaria was divided into 15 districts. Their names were taken from their main rivers. The ''Untermainkreis'' was only established in 1817 after the

Grand Duchy of Würzburg The Grand Duchy of Würzburg (german: Großherzogtum Würzburg) was a German grand duchy centered on Würzburg existing in the early 19th century. As a consequence of the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville, the Bishopric of Würzburg was secularized in ...

, the

Principality of Aschaffenburg The Principality of Aschaffenburg (german: Fürstentum Aschaffenburg) was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1803 and, following the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, of the Confederation of the Rhine, which existed from 1806 to ...

and other territories had been annexed to Bavaria. Some of the judicial districts had already been established in 1814 and 1816. In the process of another territorial reorganization initiated by King

Ludwig I en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

on 29 November 1837, the Untermainkreis was renamed Lower Franconia and Aschaffenburg (Unterfranken und Aschaffenburg). The town name of Aschaffenburg was dropped in 1946.

Literature

* (de) ''Handbuch der bayerischen Ämter, Gemeinden und Gerichte 1799 - 1980'' (Guide of the Bavarian Districts, Municipalities and Courts 1799 - 1980), written by Richard Bauer, Reinhard Heydenreuter, Gerhard Heyl, Emma Mages, Max Piendl, August Scherl, Bernhard Zittel and edited by Wilhelm Volkert, Senior Professor at the University of Regensburg, Munich, 1983, {{Authority control Kingdom of Bavaria