Editing Franconia

{{Short description|Cultural region in Southern Germany}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name              = Franconia
| official_name     =
| native_name       = {{ublist|{{native name|de|Franken|parensize=80%}}|{{native name|vmf|Franggn|parensize=80%}}}}
| native_name_lang  =
| settlement_type   = [[Cultural area|Cultural region]]
| image_flag        = File:Flag of Franconia.svg
| image_shield      = File:Frankenrechen.svg
| anthem            = "[[Frankenlied]]"
| image_map         = Map of Franconia.PNG
| mapsize           = 270px
| subdivision_type  = [[Country]]
| subdivision_name  = {{flag|Germany}}
| subdivision_name1 = [[Bavaria]]
| seat_type         = Largest cities
| seat              = {{ubl|[[Nuremberg]]|[[Fürth]]|[[Würzburg]]|[[Erlangen]]|[[Bamberg]]}}
| unit_pref         = imperial
| timezone          = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset        = +1
| timezone_DST      = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST    = +2
}}

'''Franconia''' ({{langx|de|Franken}} {{IPA|de|ˈfʁaŋkn̩||De-Franken.ogg}}; {{langx|vmf|label=[[East Franconian German|East Franconian]]|Franggn}} {{IPA|vmf|ˈfrɑŋɡŋ̍|}}; {{langx|bar|Frankn}}) is a geographical region of [[Germany]], characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect ({{lang|de|Ostfränkisch}}). Franconia is made up of the three {{lang|de|[[Regierungsbezirke]]}} (governmental districts) of [[Lower Franconia|Lower]], [[Middle Franconia|Middle]] and [[Upper Franconia]] in [[Bavaria]], the adjacent, [[East Franconian|Franconian]]-speaking [[South Thuringia]], south of the [[Thuringian Forest]]—which constitutes the language boundary between Franconian and [[Thuringian]]—and the eastern parts of [[Heilbronn-Franconia]] in [[Baden-Württemberg]].

Those parts of the [[Vogtland]] lying in [[Saxony]] (largest city: [[Plauen]]) are sometimes regarded as Franconian as well, because the [[Vogtlandian]] dialects are mostly East Franconian. The inhabitants of Saxon Vogtland, however, mostly do not consider themselves Franconian. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the [[Hessian dialect|Hessian]]-speaking parts of [[Lower Franconia]] west of the [[Spessart]] (largest city: [[Aschaffenburg]]) do consider themselves Franconian, although not speaking the dialect. Heilbronn-Franconia's largest city of [[Heilbronn]] and its surrounding areas are [[South Franconian]]-speaking, and therefore only sometimes regarded as Franconian. In [[Hesse]], the east of the [[Fulda District]] is Franconian-speaking, and parts of the [[Odenwaldkreis|Oden Forest District]] are sometimes regarded as Franconian for historical reasons, but a Franconian identity did not develop there.

Franconia's largest city is [[Nuremberg]], which is contiguous with [[Erlangen]] and [[Fürth]], with which it forms the [[Nuremberg Metropolitan Region|Franconian conurbation]] with around 1.3 million inhabitants. Other important Franconian cities are [[Würzburg]], [[Bamberg]], [[Bayreuth]], [[Ansbach]] and [[Coburg]] in Bavaria, [[Suhl]] and [[Meiningen]] in Thuringia, and [[Schwäbisch Hall]] in Baden-Württemberg.

The German word {{lang|de|Franken}}—Franconians—also refers to the [[ethnic group]], which is mainly to be found in this region. They are to be distinguished from the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] [[people]] of the [[Franks]], and historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th&nbsp;century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the [[Elbe Germanic]] people in the [[Main (river)|Main River]] area, known from the 9th&nbsp;century as [[East Francia]] ({{lang|la|Francia Orientalis}}).<ref name = "francia orientalis" /> In the [[Middle Ages]] the region formed much of the eastern part of the [[Duchy of Franconia]] and, from 1500, the [[Franconian Circle]].<ref name = "reichskreis2">Rudolf Endres: "''Der Fränkische Reichskreis''{{-"}}. In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29'', published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Regensburg, 2003, p.&nbsp;6, see [http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis1.pdf online version] (PDF).</ref> The restructuring of the south German states by [[Napoleon]], after the demise of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], saw most of Franconia awarded to Bavaria.<ref>Manfred Treml: "''Das Königreich Bayern (1806–1918)''{{-"}}. In: [http://www.hdbg.de/polges/pages/politische_geschichte.pdf ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns''], published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte as Issue 9 of the ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur'', 1989, pp.&nbsp;22–25, here: p.&nbsp;22.</ref>

== Etymology ==
{{main|Name of the Franks}}
{{further|Name of France}}
[[File:Nürnberger_Burg_im_Herbst_von_SüdWest_05.JPG|thumb|[[Nuremberg]]]]
[[File:Würzburg am Main - panoramio (5).jpg|thumb|[[Würzburg]]]]
[[File:Bamberg Altstadt 20061115-057-Pano.jpg|thumb|[[Bamberg]]]]
[[File:Vierzehnheiligen I (retuschiert).jpg|thumb|[[Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers]]]]
The German name for Franconia, {{lang|de|Franken}}, comes from the [[dative]] plural form of {{lang|de|Franke}}, a member of the Germanic people known as the [[Franks]].<ref>Entry [http://woerterbuchnetz.de/DWB/?sigle=DWB&mode=Vernetzung&lemid=GF07940#XGF07940 ''Franken''] in the [[Deutsches Wörterbuch]].
Boris Paraschkewow: ''Wörter und Namen gleicher Herkunft und Struktur''. ''Lexikon etymologischer Dubletten im Deutschen.'' Berlin, 2004, p.&nbsp;107</ref> The [[name of the Franks]] in turn derives from a word meaning "daring, bold", cognate with old [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] {{lang|no|frakkr}}, "quick, bold".<ref>Ulrich Nonn: ''Die Franken.'' Stuttgart, 2010, pp.&nbsp;11–14&nbsp;ff.</ref> Franks from the [[Middle Rhine|Middle]] and [[Lower Rhine]] gradually gained control of (and so gave their name to) what is now Franconia during the 6th to 8th centuries.<ref>Friedrich Helmer: ''Bayern im Frankenreich (5.–10. Jahrhundert).'' In: ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns,'' herausgegeben vom Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte als Heft 9 der ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur,'' pp.&nbsp;4–6, here: p.&nbsp;4</ref> English distinguishes between ''Franks'' (the early medieval Germanic people) and ''Franconians'' in reference to the high medieval [[Duchy of Franconia|stem duchy]], following [[Middle Latin]] use of {{lang|la|Francia}} for [[kingdom of France|France]] vs. {{lang|la|Franconia}} for the German duchy. In German the name {{lang|de|Franken}} is equally used for both, while the French are called {{lang|fr|Franzosen}}, after Old French {{lang|fro|[[:wikt:françois#Old French|françois]]}}, from Latin {{lang|la|franciscus}}, from [[Late Latin]] {{lang|la|Francus}}, from ''Frank'', the Germanic people.

== Geography ==
=== Overview ===
The Franconian lands lie principally in Bavaria, north and south of the sinuous [[Main (river)|River Main]] which, together with the left (southern) [[Regnitz]] tributary, including its [[Rednitz]] and [[Pegnitz (river)|Pegnitz]] headstreams, drains most of Franconia. Other large rivers include the upper [[Werra]] in Thuringia and the [[Tauber]], as well as the upper [[Jagst]] and [[Kocher]] streams in the west, both right tributaries of the [[Neckar]]. In southern Middle Franconia, the [[Altmühl]] flows towards the [[Danube]]; the [[Rhine–Main–Danube Canal]] crosses the [[European Watershed]]. The man-made [[Franconian Lake District]] has become a popular destination for day-trippers and tourists.

The landscape is characterized by numerous ''[[Mittelgebirge]]'' ranges of the German [[Central Uplands]]. The Western natural border of Franconia is formed by the [[Spessart]] and [[Rhön Mountains]], separating it from the former [[Rhenish Franconia]]n lands around [[Aschaffenburg]] (officially part of Lower Franconia), whose inhabitants speak [[Hessian dialects]]. To the north rise the [[Rennsteig]] ridge of the [[Thuringian Forest]], the [[Thuringian Highland]] and the [[Franconian Forest]], the border with the [[Upper Saxony|Upper Saxon]] lands of [[Thuringia]]. The Franconian lands include the present-day South Thuringian districts of [[Schmalkalden-Meiningen]], [[Hildburghausen (district)|Hildburghausen]] and [[Sonneberg (district)|Sonneberg]], the historical ''[[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]]'' of [[Grabfeld]], held by the [[House of Henneberg]] from the 11th century and later part of the [[House of Wettin|Wettin]] duchy of [[Saxe-Meiningen]].
[[File:Franconia details.png|thumb|320px|left|The present-day Upper, Lower and Middle Franconian administrative districts (in blue), with adjacent East Franconian language areas in Thuringia (tan) and in Baden-Württemberg (yellow)]]

In the east, the [[Fichtel Mountains]] lead to [[Vogtland]], Bohemian [[Egerland]] (''Chebsko'') in the [[Czech Republic]], and the Bavarian [[Upper Palatinate]]. The hills of the [[Franconian Jura]] in the south mark the border with the [[Upper Bavaria]]n region (''[[Altbayern]]''), historical [[Swabia]], and the Danube basin. The northern parts of the Upper Bavarian [[Eichstätt (district)|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]] region along the Tauber river, which {{as of|2014||lc=y}} is largely part of the [[Main-Tauber-Kreis]] in Baden-Württemberg. The state's larger [[Heilbronn-Franken]] region also includes the adjacent [[Hohenlohe (district)|Hohenlohe]] and [[Schwäbisch Hall (district)|Schwäbisch Hall district]]s. In the city of [[Heilbronn]], beyond the [[Haller Ebene]] plateau, [[South Franconian German|South Franconian]] dialects are spoken. Furthermore, in those easternmost parts of the [[Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis]] which had formerly belonged to the [[Bishopric of Würzburg]], the inhabitants have preserved their Franconian identity. Franconian areas in [[East Hesse]] along Spessart and Rhön comprise [[Gersfeld]] and [[Ehrenberg, Hesse|Ehrenberg]].

The two largest cities of Franconia are [[Nuremberg]] and [[Fürth]]. 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 [[Würzburg]], [[Erlangen]], [[Bayreuth]], [[Bamberg]], [[Aschaffenburg]], [[Schweinfurt]], [[Hof, Bavaria|Hof]], [[Coburg]], [[Ansbach]] and [[Schwabach]]. The major (East) Franconian towns in Baden-Württemberg are [[Schwäbisch Hall]] on the Kocher — the [[Free imperial city|imperial city]] declared itself "Swabian" in 1442 — and [[Crailsheim]] on the Jagst river. The main towns in Thuringia are [[Suhl]] and [[Meiningen]].

<gallery widths="200px" heights="175px">
File:Rothenburg BW 4.JPG|[[Rothenburg ob der Tauber|Rothenburg]] is one of the best known towns in Franconia
File:Walberla 2008.jpg|[[Ehrenbürg|Walberla]] in Franconia
File:Möhrendorf Vierzigmannrad Flügel.jpg|Water wheel at the [[Regnitz]]
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]]
</gallery>

=== Extent ===
[[File:Sakristei-Mgn.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Franconian Rake]]'' may be used as an indicator of whether a place is part of Franconia.<br />Here: the vestry of Meiningen's municipal church in South Thuringia. The Franconian Rake may be seen on the left]]
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]] and former [[Franconian Circle]],<ref name="reichskreis3">Rudolf Endres: ''Der Fränkische Reichskreis.'' In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29,'' published by the House of Bavarian History, Regensburg, 2003, p.&nbsp;37, see [http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis2.pdf online version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123455/http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis2.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }} (pdf)</ref> the range of the [[East Franconian dialect group]], the common culture and history of the region and the use of the [[Franconian Rake]] 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.<ref name="bayernradio"/> Franconia has many cultural peculiarities which have been adopted from other regions and further developed.<ref name="bayernradio"/>

The following regions are counted as part of Franconia today: the Bavarian [[Regierungsbezirk|provinces]] of [[Lower Franconia]], [[Upper Franconia]] and [[Middle Franconia]], the municipality of [[Pyrbaum]] in the county of [[Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz (district)|Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz]], the northwestern part of the [[Upper Bavaria]]n county of [[Eichstätt (district)|Eichstätt]] (covering the same area as the old county of Alt-Eichstätt), the East Franconian counties of [[South Thuringia]], parts of [[Fulda (district)|Fulda]] and the [[Odenwaldkreis]] in Hesse, the Baden-Württemberg regions of [[Tauber Franconia]] and [[Hohenlohe]] as well as the region around the Badenian [[Buchen (Odenwald)|Buchen]].

In individual cases the membership of some areas is disputed. These include the [[Bavarian language]] area of Alt-[[Eichstätt]]<ref name="bayernradio">[https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/zeit-fuer-bayern/franken-brauchtum-region-mundart-kueche-100.html ''Was ist fränkisch? Wie eine Region definiert wird''], Bayerischer Rundfunk, Bayern 2</ref> and the Hessian-speaking<ref>[http://sprachatlas.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de/ Sprachatlas der BLO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629002123/http://sprachatlas.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de/ |date=2012-06-29 }}, retrieved 1 July 2014.</ref> region around [[Aschaffenburg]], which was never part of the Franconian Imperial Circle. The affiliation of the city of [[Heilbronn]], whose inhabitants do not call themselves Franks,<ref name="heilbronn">Ulrich Maier (Justinus-Kerner-Gymnasium Weinsberg): ''Schwäbisch oder fränkisch? Mundart im Raum Heilbronn Bausteine zu einer Unterrichtseinheit.'' [http://www.projekte-regional.de/inhalt/hn/bausteine/mundart.pdf see online pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130208/http://www.projekte-regional.de/inhalt/hn/bausteine/mundart.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}</ref> is also controversial. Moreover, the sense of belonging to Franconia in the Frankish-speaking areas of [[Upper Palatinate]], South Thuringia<ref>[http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/thueringer-landkreise-zieht-es-nach-bayern-ominoeses-frankenbewusstsein-1.1596205 ''"Ominöses Frankenbewusstsein"''], ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]'' dated 10 February 2013, retrieved 5 May 2016.</ref> and Hesse is sometimes less marked.

=== Administrative divisions ===
[[File:Franken 2.svg|thumb|upright|The Bavarian provinces of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia]]
[[File:Baden Wuerttemberg Region Heilbronn-Franken.svg|thumb|left|The region of Heilbronn-Franconia in Baden-Württemberg]]
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]] (capital: [[Ansbach]]), [[Upper Franconia]] (capital: [[Bayreuth]]) and [[Lower Franconia]] (capital: [[Würzburg]]). The name of these regions, as in the case of [[Upper Bavaria|Upper]] and [[Lower Bavaria]], refers to their situation with respect to the river [[Main (river)|Main]]. 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]]') is the ''[[Dreifrankenstein]]'' ("Three Franconias Rock").<ref>
[http://dreifrankenstein.de/geschichte.htm ''Dreifrankenstein''] {{Webarchive
 |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160322211734/http://dreifrankenstein.de/geschichte.htm
 |date= 2016-03-22
}}, retrieved 12 July 2014.
</ref>
Small parts of Franconia also belong to the Bavarian regions of [[Upper Palatinate]] and [[Upper Bavaria]].

The Franconian territories of [[Baden-Württemberg]] are the regions of [[Tauber Franconia]] and [[Hohenlohe]] (which belong to the [[Heilbronn-Franconia Region]] with its office in Heilbronn and form part of the [[Stuttgart Region]]) and the area around the Badenian [[Buchen (Odenwald)|Buchen]] in the [[Rhine-Neckar|Rhein-Neckar Region]].

The Franconian parts of Thuringia ([[Henneberg Franconia]]) lie within the Southwest Thuringia Planning Region.

The Franconian regions in Hesse form the smaller parts of the districts of [[Fulda (district)|Fulda]] ([[Kassel (region)|Kassel region]]) and the [[Odenwaldkreis]] ([[Darmstadt (region)|Darmstadt region]]), or lie on the borders with Bavaria or Thuringia.

=== Rivers and lakes ===
[[File:Aerial image of Großer Brombachsee (view from the southeast).jpg|thumb|Aerial view of [[Großer Brombachsee]] from the dam towards the west]]
The two most important rivers of the region are the [[Main (river)|Main]] and its primary tributary, the [[Regnitz]]. The tributaries of these two rivers in Franconia are the [[Tauber]], [[Pegnitz (river)|Pegnitz]], [[Rednitz]] and [[Franconian Saale]]. Other major rivers in the region are the [[Jagst]] and [[Kocher (river)|Kocher]] in Hohenlohe-Franconia, which empty into the [[Neckar]] north of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, the [[Altmühl]] and the [[Wörnitz]] in Middle Franconia, both tributaries of the [[Danube]], and the upper and middle reaches of the [[Werra]], the right-hand headstream of the [[Weser]]. In the northeast of Upper Franconia rise two left-hand tributaries of the [[Elbe]]: the [[Saxon Saale]] and the [[Eger (Elbe)|Eger]].

The [[Main-Danube Canal]] connects the Main and Danube across Franconia, running from Bamberg via Nuremberg to [[Kelheim]]. It thus complements the Rhine, Main and Danube, helping to ensure a continuous navigable waterway between the [[North Sea]] and the [[Black Sea]]. In Franconia, there are only a few, often very small, natural [[lake]]s. This is due to fact that most natural lakes in Germany are [[glacial lake|glacial]] or [[volcanism|volcanic]] in origin, and Franconia escaped both influences in recent earth history. Among the largest waterbodies are [[reservoir]]s, which are mostly used as water reserves for the relatively dry landscapes of Franconia. These include the waters of the [[Franconian Lake District]], which was established in the 1970s and is also a tourist attraction. The heart of these lakes is the [[Großer Brombachsee]], which has an area of 8.7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and is thus the largest waterbody in Franconia by surface area.

=== Hills, mountains and plains ===
Several [[Central Upland]] ranges dominate the Franconian countryside. In the southeast, Franconia is shielded from the rest of Bavaria by the [[Franconian Jura]]. In the east, the [[Fichtel Mountains]] form the border; in the north are [[Franconian Forest]], the [[Thuringian Forest]], the [[Rhön Mountains]] and the [[Spessart]] form a kind of natural barrier. To the west are the [[Franconian Heights]] and the [[Swabian-Franconian Forest]]. In the Franconian part of South Hesse is the [[Odenwald]]. Parts of the southern [[Thuringian Forest]] border on Franconia. The most important hill ranges in the interior of the region are the [[Steigerwald]] and the Franconian Jura with their sub-ranges of [[Hahnenkamm (Altmühltal)|Hahnenkamm]] and [[Franconian Switzerland]]. The highest mountain in Franconia is the [[Schneeberg (Fichtel Mountains)|Schneeberg]] in the Fichtel Mountains which is {{Höhe|1051|DE-NHN|link=true}}.<ref name="geoquelle" /> Other well-known mountains include the [[Ochsenkopf (Fichtel Mountains)|Ochsenkopf]] (1,024m<ref name="geoquelle">Source: the [[BfN]] map</ref>), the [[Kreuzberg (Rhön)|Kreuzberg]] (927.8m<ref name="geoquelle" />) and the [[Hesselberg]] (689.4m<ref name="geoquelle" />). The [[inliers and outliers (geology)|outliers]] of the region include the Hesselberg and the [[Gleichberge]]. The lowest point in Franconia is the water level of the river Main in [[Kahl am Main|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]]. In the south of Franconia are smaller parts of the flat [[Nördlinger Ries]], one of the best preserved impact craters on earth.

=== Forests, reserves, flora and fauna ===
[[File:Steinerne Rinne.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Steinerne Rinne]] near Rohrbach, [[Ettenstatt]], county of [[Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen]]]]
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]], located within the metropolitan region of Nuremberg. Other large areas of forest in the region are the [[Mönchswald]], the [[Reichsforst (Fichtel)|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]]s, extensively used [[pasture]]s on very [[Nutrient (plant)|oligotrophic]], poor sites. In particular, the southern [[Franconian Jura]], with the [[Altmühl Valley]], is characterized by poor grassland of this type. Many of these places have been designated as a [[protected area]]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]]''.<ref>[http://www.sandachse.de/Sandwege.html ''Sandwege''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629134219/http://www.sandachse.de/Sandwege.html |date=2016-06-29 }}, Sandachse Franken, retrieved 23 May 2014</ref> 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 (Rhön)|Black Moor]] in the [[Rhön]], which is one of the most important bog areas in Central Europe.<ref>[http://www.frankentourismus.de/naturpark/bayerische-rhoen/ ''Naturpark Bayerische Rhön''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729003235/http://www.frankentourismus.de/naturpark/bayerische-rhoen/ |date=2016-07-29 }}, retrieved 2 Jun 2014.</ref> A well known reserve is the [[Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth]] at [[Wunsiedel]], a [[felsenmeer]] of [[granite]] 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]].<ref name="natur"/> 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.<ref name="natur">{{cite web |url=http://www.br.de/studio-franken/aktuelles-aus-franken/steigerwald-nationalpark-bund-naturschutz-ID1309161778345.xml |title=www.br-online.de: Bund Naturschutz zu Steigerwald – "Imagegewinn durch Nationalpark" |access-date=2017-03-29 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721023358/http://www.br.de/studio-franken/aktuelles-aus-franken/steigerwald-nationalpark-bund-naturschutz-ID1309161778345.xml |archive-date=July 21, 2012 }} Press report on the rejected Steigerwald National Park at BR-online, Studio-Franken</ref> There are several [[nature park]]s in Franconia, including the [[Altmühl Valley Nature Park]], which, since 1969, has been one of the largest in Germany.<ref>[http://www.naturpark-altmuehltal.de/wir_ueber_uns/ ''Wir über uns''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703120912/http://www.naturpark-altmuehltal.de/wir_ueber_uns/ |date=2016-07-03 }}, www.naturpark.de, retrieved 28 May 2014.</ref>

Other [[nature park]]s are the [[Swabian-Franconian Forest Nature Park]] in Baden-Württemberg, and the nature parks of [[Bavarian Rhön Nature Park|Bavarian Rhön]], [[Fichtel Mountain Nature Park|Fichtel Mountains]], [[Franconian Heights Nature Park|Franconian Heights]], [[Franconian Forest Nature Park|Franconian Forest]], [[Franconian Switzerland-Franconian Jura Nature Park|Franconian Switzerland-Franconian Jura]], [[Haßberge Nature Park|Haßberge]], [[Spessart Nature Park|Spessart]] and [[Steigerwald Nature Park|Steigerwald]] in Bavaria, as well as the [[Bergstraße-Odenwald Nature Park]] which straddles Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. Nature parks cover almost half the area of Franconia.<ref>[http://www.frankentourismus.de/naturpark/ ''Naturparks in Franken''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730235534/http://www.frankentourismus.de/naturpark/ |date=2016-07-30 }}, retrieved 2 June 2014.</ref>

In 1991 [[UNESCO]] recognised the Rhön as a [[Biosphärenreservat Rhön|biosphere reserve]].<ref>[https://www.stmuv.bayern.de/umwelt/naturschutz/bio_rhoen/index.htm ''Biosphärenreservat Rhön''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419220559/http://www.stmuv.bayern.de/umwelt/naturschutz/bio_rhoen/index.htm |date=2016-04-19 }}, Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz, retrieved 28 May 2014.</ref> Among the most picturesque geotopes in Bavaria, are the Franconian sites of ''[[Fossa Carolina]]'', the Twelve Apostle Rocks (''Zwölf-Apostel-Felsen''), the [[Ehrenbürg]], the cave ruins of [[Riesenburg (cave)|Riesenburg]] and the lake of [[Frickenhäuser See]].<ref>[https://www.lfu.bayern.de/geologie/geotope_schoensten/index.htm ''Bayerns schönste Geotope''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729083419/http://www.lfu.bayern.de/geologie/geotope_schoensten/index.htm |date=2016-07-29 }}, Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz, retrieved 28 May 2014.</ref> The [[European Bird Reserve]]s in Franconia are found mainly in uplands like the Steigerwald, in large forests like Nuremberg's Imperial Forest or along rivers like the Altmühl.<ref name="abc">[https://www.vogev.bayern.de/Mittelfranken/map/m10000.html Karte der Vogelschutzgebiete] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617090136/http://www.vogev.bayern.de/Mittelfranken/map/m10000.html |date=2016-06-17 }}: ''Mittelfranken'', stellvertretend für alle Europäischen Vogelschutzgebieten in Franken</ref> There are also numerous [[Special Areas of Conservation]] and [[protected landscape]]s. In Franconia there are very many [[tufa]]s, raised stream beds near river sources within the [[karst]] landscape that are known as 'stone runnels' (''[[Steinerne Rinne]]n''). There are protected examples at [[Käsrinne|Heidenheim]] and [[Steinerne Rinne (Wolfsbronn)|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]], [[red deer]], [[roe deer]], [[wild boar]] and [[red fox|fox]]. In natural areas such as the Fichtel mountains there are populations of [[European lynx|lynx]] and [[capercaillie]],<ref name = "Fichtel">[http://www.frankentourismus.de/naturpark/fichtelgebirge/ ''Fichtelgebirge Nature Park''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611170601/http://www.frankentourismus.de/naturpark/fichtelgebirge/ |date=2016-06-11 }}, retrieved 2 Jun 2014.</ref> and [[European beaver|beaver]] and [[European otter|otter]] have grown in numbers. There are occasional sightings of animals that had long been extinct in Central Europe, for example, the [[European wolf|wolf]].<ref>[https://www.br.de/themen/wissen/wildtiere-bayern-wolf-wildtier110.html ''Wildlife in Bavaria: The wolf - a Native Bavarian''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422132456/http://www.br.de/themen/wissen/wildtiere-bayern-wolf-wildtier110.html |date=2016-04-22 }}, Bayerischer Rundfunk, retrieved 16 August 2014.</ref>

=== Geology ===
==== General ====
[[File:Grube Wilhelmine 4.jpg|thumb|Opened-up, copper-ore-bearing, Spessart crystalline rock in [[Sommerkahl]] near Aschaffenburg]]
[[File:Seltenbachschlucht.jpg|thumb|Fine sandstone, siltstone and argillites of the [[bunter sandstone]] layer (Lower Triassic) in the [[Seltenbach Gorge]] in the Spessart]]
[[File:Judenhof+Turmkarst Tüchersfeld.jpg|thumb|Tower-like rocks of [[Upper Jurassic]]-[[Corallian Limestone]] in [[Tüchersfeld]], northern Franconian Jura (Franconian Switzerland)]]
Only in the extreme northeast of Franconia and in the Spessart are there [[Variscan]] [[outcrop]]s of the crystalline [[basement (geology)|basement]], which were uplifted from below the surface when the [[Alps]] exerted a northwards-oriented pressure. These are rocks of pre-[[Permian]] vintage, which were folded during various stages of [[Variscan orogeny]] in the [[Late Palaeozoic]] - before about 380 to 300&nbsp;million years ago - and, in places, were [[metamorphism (geology)|metamorphosed]] under high pressure and temperature or were crystallized by ascending [[magma]] in the [[Earth's crust]].<ref name="geobavaria_S4">Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus fword (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;4</ref> Rocks which were unchanged or only lightly metamorphosed, because they had been deformed at shallow crustal depths, include the [[Mississippian (geology)|Lower Carboniferous]] shale and greywacke of Franconian Forest. The Fichtel mountains, the Münchberg Plateau and the Spessart, by contrast, have more metamorphic rocks ([[phyllite]], [[schist]], [[amphibolite]], [[gneiss]]). The Fichtel mountains are also characterized by large [[granite]] bodies, called post-kinematic [[Pluton (geology)|plutons]] 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.<ref name = "geobavaria_S24">Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus fword. (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;24</ref> 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.<ref name="geobavaria_S4"/> The Münchberg mass is variously attributed to the Saxo-Thuringian or Moldanubian Zones.<ref>Alfons Baier, Thomas Hochsieder: ''[https://www.angewandte-geologie.geol.uni-erlangen.de/muenchbe.htm Zur Stratigraphie und Tektonik des SE-Randes der Münchberger Gneismasse (Oberfranken)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907001253/http://www.angewandte-geologie.geol.uni-erlangen.de/muenchbe.htm |date=2016-09-07 }}.'' Website of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg with a summary of the essay of the same name in the ''Geologischen Blättern für Nordost-Bayern'', Vol. 39, No. 3/4, Erlangen, 1989</ref>

A substantially larger part of the shallow subsurface in Franconia comprises [[Mesozoic]], unmetamorphosed, unfolded rocks of the [[South German Scarplands]].<ref name="geobavaria_S26">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 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p. 26</ref> The regional geological element of the South German Scarplands is the Franconian Platform (''Süddeutsche Großscholle'').<ref>Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p 568. .</ref> At the so-called [[Franconian Line]], a significant [[fault (geology)|fault line]], the Saxo-Thuringian-Moldanubian basement was uplifted in places up to 2000&nbsp;m above the Franconian Platform.<ref>Walter Freudenberger: ''Tektonik: Deckgebirge nördlich der Donau.'' In: Walter Freudenberger, Klaus Schwerd (Red.): ''Erläuterungen zur Geologischen Karte von Bayern 1:500&nbsp;000.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 1996 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/10000.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075943/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/10000.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;259-265</ref> The western two-thirds of Franconia is dominated by the [[Triassic]] with its [[sandstone]]s, [[siltstone]]s and [[claystone]]s (so-called [[siliciclastic]]s) of the [[bunter sandstone]]; the [[limestone]]s and [[marl]]s 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]] ([[basalt]]s, [[basanite (rocks)|basanites]], [[phonolite]]s and [[trachyte]]s) of the [[Tertiary]]. The eastern third of Franconia is dominated by the [[Jurassic]] rocks of the [[Franconian Jura]], 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.<ref name="geobavaria_S26"/> 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.<ref name="geobavaria_S40ff">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 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;40&nbsp;ff.</ref> 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.<ref name="geobavaria_S40ff"/> 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 ====
[[File:Plateosaurus skull.jpg|thumb|left|Skull and forward cervical spine of ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'', probably the replica of a skeleton from [[Ellingen]]]]
[[File:Archaeopteryx lithographica, replica of London specimen, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Germany - 20100925.jpg|thumb|left|The so-called London Exemplar of ''Archaeopteryx'' (here a replica) comes from the [[Langenaltheim]] Quarry, west of Solnhofen.]]
The oldest [[macrofossil]]s 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&nbsp;million years old. The block comes from the vicinity [[Schwarzenbach am Wald]] from the so-called Heinersreuth Block Conglomerate (''Heinersreuther Blockkonglomerat''), a [[Mississippian (geology)|Lower Carboniferous]] [[wildflysch]]. However, the aforementioned archaeocyathids are not three-dimensional fossils, but two-dimensional [[thin section]]s. These thin sections had already been prepared and investigated in the 1970s but the archaeocyathids among them were apparently overlooked at that time.<ref>Hans-Georg Herbig, Thomas Wotte, Stefanie Becker: ''First proof of archaeocyathid-bearing Lower Cambrian in the Franconian Forest (Saxothuringian Zone, Northeast Bavaria).'' In: Jiři Žák, Gernold Zulauf, Heinz-Gerd Röhling (Hrsg.): ''Crustal evolution and geodynamic processes in Central Europe. Proceedings of the Joint conference of the Czech and German geological societies held in Plzeň (Pilsen), September 16–19, 2013.'' Schriftenreihe der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften. No.&nbsp;82, 2013, p.&nbsp;50 (full text: [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261258622_First_proof_of_archaeocyathid-bearing_Lower_Cambrian_in_the_Franconian_Forest_%28Saxothuringian_Zone_Northeast_Bavaria%29 Researchgate])</ref>

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 fossil]]s, especially the [[tetrapod]] footprints of ''[[Chirotherium]]''. The [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] for these [[animal track]]s is [[Hildburghausen]] in the Thuringian part of Franconia, where it occurs in the so-called Thuringian Chirotherium Sandstone (''Thüringer Chirotheriensandstein'', main Middle Bunter Sandstone).<ref>Hartmut Haubold: ''Die Saurierfährten'' Chirotherium barthii ''Kaup, 1835&nbsp;- das Typusmaterial aus dem Buntsandstein bei Hildburghausen/Thüringen und das "Chirotherium-Monument".'' Publication by the Natural History Museum, Schleusingen, vol.&nbsp;21, 2006, pp.&nbsp;3–31</ref> ''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]].<ref name="haderer95">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.&nbsp;230, 1995, [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30051209 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929183731/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30051209 |date=2017-09-29 }}</ref> There the deposits are somewhat younger (Upper Bunter Sandstone), and the corresponding [[stratigraphy (geology)|stratigraphic]] interval is called the Franconian Chirotherium Beds (''Fränkische Chirotherienschichten'').<ref name="haderer95"/> Among the less significant body fossil records of vertebrates are the [[Procolophonoidea|procolophonid]] ''Anomoiodon liliensterni'' from [[Reurieth]] in the Thuringian part of Franconia<ref>Laura K. Säilä: ''The Osteology and Affinities of ''Anomoiodon liliensterni'', a Procolophonid Reptile from the Lower Triassic Buntsandstein of Germany.'' Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Vol.&nbsp;28, No.&nbsp;4, 2008, pp.&nbsp;1199–1205, [[doi:10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.1199]]</ref> and ''Koiloskiosaurus coburgiensis'' from [[Rödental|Mittelberg]] near Coburg,<ref>Friedrich von Huene: ''Ueber die Procolophoniden, mit einer neuen Form aus dem Buntsandstein.'' Centralblatt für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie. 1911 issue, 1911, pp.&nbsp;78–83</ref> 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.<ref>Rainer R. Schoch: ''Comparative osteology of ''Mastodonsaurus giganteus'' (Jaeger, 1828) from the Middle Triassic (Lettenkeuper: Longobardian) of Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Thüringen).'' Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Series&nbsp;B. No.&nbsp;278, 1999, pp.&nbsp;21 and&nbsp;27 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110428055058/http://www-alt.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/stuttgart/pdf/b_pdf/B278.pdf PDF] 3,6&nbsp;MB)</ref><ref>Emily J. Rayfield, Paul M. Barrett, Andrew R. Milner: Utility and Validity of Middle and Late Triassic 'Land Vertebrate Faunachrons'. In: ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.'' Vol.&nbsp;29, 2009, No.&nbsp;1, pp.&nbsp;80–87, [[doi:10.1671/039.029.0132]].</ref>

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]]''<ref>Olivier Rieppel: ''The genus ''Placodus'': Systematics, Morphology, Paleobiogeography, and Paleobiology.'' Fieldiana Geology, New Series, No.&nbsp;31, 1995, [[doi:10.5962/bhl.title.3301]].</ref> and the "false lizard", ''[[Nothosaurus]]''.<ref>Olivier Rieppel, Rupert Wild. ''A Revision of the Genus ''Nothosaurus'' (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Germanic Triassic, with Comments on the Status of ''Conchiosaurus clavatus. Fieldiana Geology, New Series, No.&nbsp;34, 1996. [[doi:10.5962/bhl.title.2691]]</ref>

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]].<ref>Markus Moser: Plateosaurus engelhardti ''MEYER, 1837 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) aus dem Feuerletten (Mittelkeuper; Obertrias) von Bayern.'' Zitteliana, Series B: Treatises of the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology. Vol. 24, 2003, pp. 3-186, {{URN|nbn|de:bvb:19-epub-12711-3}}</ref>

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 fish]]es as well as numerous extremely detailed examples of invertebrates e.g. [[feather star]]s and [[dragonflies]]. [[Eichstätt]] is the other "big" and similarly famous fossil locality in the Solnhofen Formation, situated on the southern edge of the Jura in [[Upper Bavaria]]. 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.<ref>Birgit Niebuhr: ''Wer hat hier gelogen? Die Würzburger Lügenstein-Affaire.'' Fossilien. No.&nbsp;1/2006, 2006, S.&nbsp;15–19 ({{cite web |url=https://www.fossilien-journal.de/cms/red/download/Fo-2006-01-PalGes.pdf |title=PDF |access-date=2016-01-11 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913060827/https://www.fossilien-journal.de/cms/red/download/Fo-2006-01-PalGes.pdf |archive-date=September 13, 2014 }} 886&nbsp;kB)</ref>

=== 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&nbsp;°C in January and 17 to 19&nbsp;°C in August, but may reach a peak of about 35&nbsp;°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&nbsp;°C higher than the average for Bavaria as a whole.<ref>[https://www.lfu.bayern.de/wasser/klima_wandel/bayern/lufttemperatur/index.htm ''Mittelwerte und Kenntage der Lufttemperatur''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701010816/https://www.lfu.bayern.de/wasser/klima_wandel/bayern/lufttemperatur/index.htm |date=2016-07-01 }}, Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, retrieved 23 May 2014.</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/neue-daten-fuer-alle-regionen-deutschlands-wahres-klima-a-700267-13.html ''Neue Daten für alle Regionen: Deutschlands wahres Klima''], [[Spiegel Online]], retrieved 23 May 2014</ref> In southern Bavaria about 2,000&nbsp;mm of precipitation falls annually and almost three times as much as in parts of Franconia (about 500–900&nbsp;mm) in the rain shadow of the Spessart, Rhön and Odenwald.<ref>[https://www.lfu.bayern.de/wasser/klima_wandel/bayern/niederschlag/index.htm ''Mittelwerte des Gebietsniederschlags''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701002232/https://www.lfu.bayern.de/wasser/klima_wandel/bayern/niederschlag/index.htm |date=2016-07-01 }}, www.lfu.bayern.de, Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, retrieved 23 May 2014.</ref>

=== 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.<ref name="mercer">{{cite web|url=https://www.mercer.de/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1381210|title=mercer.de|access-date=2016-07-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118090450/http://www.mercer.de/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1381210|archive-date=2012-01-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> In environmental ranking Nuremberg came thirteenth in the world and was the best German city<ref name="mercer"/> 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.<ref>[http://www.focus.de/immobilien/bauen/focus-titel-landkreis-eichstaett-ist-die-lebenswerteste-region-deutschlands_id_3693199.html ''Landkreis Eichstätt ist die lebenswerteste Region Deutschlands''], [[Focus Online]], retrieved 10 September 2014</ref> In the ''Glücksatlas'' by [[Deutsche Post AG|Deutsche Post]] Franconia achieved some of the highest scores,<ref>[http://www.gluecksatlas.de/cms/2012/regionen.html ''Deutsche Post Glücksatlas''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304225756/http://gluecksatlas.de/cms/2012/regionen.html |date=2016-03-04 }}, retrieved 10 September 2014.</ref> but the region slipped in 2013 to 13th place out of 19.<ref>[http://www.nordbayern.de/region/glucksatlas-2013-franken-sind-so-unglucklich-wie-nie-zuvor-1.3260187 ''Glücksatlas 2013: Franken sind so unglücklich wie nie zuvor''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917184704/http://www.nordbayern.de/region/glucksatlas-2013-franken-sind-so-unglucklich-wie-nie-zuvor-1.3260187 |date=2016-09-17 }}. Nordbayern.de, published 5 November 2013, retrieved 10 September 2014.</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of Franconia}}

===Name===
Franconia is named after the [[Franks]], 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.<ref>Geschiedenis van het Nederlands by M van der Wal, 1992</ref>

At the beginning of the 10th century a ''Duchy of Franconia'' ({{langx|de|Herzogtum Franken|links=no}}) was established within [[East Francia]], which comprised modern [[Hesse]], [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]], parts of [[Baden-Württemberg]] 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]] (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 ''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.<ref>Gerhard Köbler, Historisches Lexikon der deutschen Länder, Darmstadt 1999, pp. 173–174</ref> Examples of Franconian cities founded by Frankish noblemen are [[Würzburg]], first mentioned in the 7th century, [[Ansbach]], first mentioned in 748, and [[Weißenburg in Bayern|Weissenburg]], founded in the 7th century.<ref>Gerhard Köbler, Historisches Lexikon der deutschen Länder, Darmstadt 1999</ref>

=== Early history and Antiquity ===
[[File:Staffelberg 2006-05-07.jpg|thumb|The [[Celts]] built the mighty fortress of [[Menosgada]] on the [[Staffelberg]]]]
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&nbsp;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]].<ref>[http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Lexikon/Hunas.htm ''Die Höhlenruine von Hunas''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306073056/http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Lexikon/Hunas.htm |date=2016-03-06 }}, Archäologisches Lexikon, retrieved 17 June 2014.</ref> In the late [[Bronze Age]], the region was probably only sparsely inhabited, as few [[noble metal]]s occur here and the soils are only moderately fertile.<ref>Hans-Peter Uenze, Claus-Michael Hüssen: ''Vor- und Frühgeschichte.'' 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. 3–46, here: pp. 17ff.</ref> In the subsequent [[Iron Age]] (from about 800&nbsp;B.C.) the [[Celts]] became the first nation to be discernible in the region. In northern Franconia they built a chain of [[hill fort]]s 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]]'',<ref>Josef Motschmann: ''Altenkunstadt - Heimat zwischen Kordigast und Main''. Gemeinde Altenkunstadt, Altenkunstadt, 2006, p. 10</ref> and on the [[Gleichberge]] 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 to extend its direct influence far to the northeast; in the longer term, however, the Germanic-Roman frontier formed further southwest.<ref>Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig: ''Unterfränkische Geschichte. Von der germanischen Landnahme bis zum hohen Mittelalter.'', Vol. 1. Würzburg, 1989; second edition: 1990, pp. 27–37.</ref>

[[File:Weißenburg Porta decumana1.jpg|thumb|left|A 1990 replica of the ''Porta decumana'' of the [[Biriciana]]. View over the camp ring road]]
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&nbsp;A.D. the [[Alemanni]] occupied the areas up to the [[Danube]]. Fortified settlements such as the [[Gelbe Bürg]] at [[Dittenheim]] controlled the new areas.<ref name="kraus2">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</ref> More such Gau forts have been detected north of the former Limes as well. Which tribe their occupants belonged to is unknown in most cases. However, it is likely that it was mainly Alemanni and [[Juthungi]], especially in the south.<ref name="Kraus1">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.</ref>

By contrast, it was the [[Burgundians]] who settled on the Lower and Middle Main.<ref name="Kraus1"/> Many of these hill forts appear to have been destroyed, however, no later than 500&nbsp;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]] that spelt the end of these hilltop settlements.<ref name="kraus2"/>

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:Grave Westheim.JPG|thumb|Franconian warrior's grave goods from the early mediaeval burial site of [[Westheim (Mittelfranken)|Westheim]]]]
[[File:Franken-um-800.jpg|thumb|left|Duchy of Franconia around 800]]
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]].<ref name="francia orientalis">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. Siehe [http://www.hdbg.de/karten/karten_detail_58.php Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte]{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</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]] and [[Speyer]]. Later, the diocese of Bamberg was added.<ref name="francia orientalis"/> 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]]).<ref name="slawen">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.</ref> 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]] [[monk]]s 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 [[apostle]]s 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.<ref>Friedrich Helmer: ''Bayern im Frankenreich (5. - 10. Jahrhundert)'', In: ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns'', published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte as Issue 9 of the ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur'', pp. 4–6, here: p. 6</ref>

{{main|Duchy 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]].<ref name="hdbg3"/> 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]] ({{lang|la|Francia Rhenensis}}), and East Franconia (''{{lang|la|Francia Orientalis}}'')<ref group="note">East Franconia should not be confused with the eastern division of the Frankish Empire, [[East Francia]], which was also known as {{lang|la|Francia Orientalis}} 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.</ref> and was directly subordinated to the Reich. Only after that was the former {{lang|la|Francia Orientalis}} considered to be under the sphere of the bishops of Würzburg as the true Franconia, its territory gradually shrinking to its present area.<ref name="francia orientalis"/>

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]].<ref name="francia orientalis2">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. See [http://www.hdbg.eu/karten/karten_detail_60.php Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040034/http://www.hdbg.eu/karten/karten_detail_60.php |date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

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.<ref name="hdbg3">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</ref> 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.<ref name="bamberg">{{HistLexBay||link|Dieter Weiß|Bamberg, Hochstift: Territorium und Struktur}}</ref> Bamberg became a favoured ''[[Kaiserpfalz|Pfalz]]'' and an important centre of the Empire.<ref name="bamberg"/> 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.<ref>Meininger Urkundenbuch Nos. 3-5. Reg. Thur. I Nos. 614, 616, 618-. Stadtarchiv Meiningen.</ref>

[[File:Franken um 1250.jpg|thumb|Franconia around 1200]]
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.<ref name="burgnürnberg">{{HistLexBay||link|Otto Spälter|Nürnberg, Burggrafschaft}}</ref> Under the Hohenstaufen kings, [[Conrad III (HRR)|Conrad&nbsp;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 prince]]s became ever more powerful. After the Interregnum, however, the rulers succeeded in re-establishing a stronger royal lordship in Franconia.<ref>Alois Gerlich, Franz Machilek: ''Die innere Entwicklung vom Interregnum bis 1800: Staat, Gesellschaft, Kirche Wirtschaft. - Staat und Gesellschaft. Erster Teil: bis 1500'' 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. 537–701, here: p. 602.</ref> 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]].<ref>{{HistLexBay||link|Alexander Schubert|Swabian League of Cities}}</ref> During the 13th&nbsp;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]].<ref name="kraus9">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</ref> 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.<ref name="orden">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.</ref>

====Successor states of East Francia====

As of the 13th century, the following states, among others, had formed in the territory of the former Duchy:

{|
|-
||
* [[Bishopric of Würzburg]]
* [[Abbacy of Fulda]]
* [[County of Abenberg]]
* [[County of Henneberg]]
* County of [[Hohenlohe]]
* [[County of Lauffen]]
* [[County of Nassau]]
||
* [[County Palatine of the Rhine]]
* [[County of Löwenstein]]
* [[County of Rieneck]]
* [[County of Truhendingen]]
* [[County of Vaihingen]]
* [[County of Wertheim]]
* [[County of Wildberg]]
||
|}

=== Modern Period ===

==== Early Modern Period ====
[[File:Dankaerts-Historis-9308 - Franconia map.tiff|thumb|Map of Franconia, 1642]]
On 2&nbsp;July 1500 during the reign of Emperor [[Maximilian I (HRR)|Maximilian&nbsp;I]], as part of the [[Imperial Reform (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Reform Movement]], the Empire was divided into [[Imperial Circle]]s. This led in 1512 to the formation of the [[Franconian Circle]].<ref name="reichskreis2"/> 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.<ref name="reichskreis3"/> The Franconian Circle also shaped the geographical limits of the present-day Franconia.<ref name="francia orientalis2"/> 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.<ref name="herzogfranken">{{HistLexBay||link|Johannes Merz|Herzogswürde, fränkische}}</ref> In 1559, the Franconian Circle was given jurisdiction over coinage (''Münzaufsicht'') and, in 1572, was the only Circle to issue its own police ordinance.<ref>Rudolf Endres: ''Der Fränkische Reichskreis'', In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29'', published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Regensburg, 2003, p. 21, see [http://www.hdbg.eu/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis1.pdf online version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611170705/http://www.hdbg.eu/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis1.pdf |date=2016-06-11 }} (pdf)</ref><ref>Michael Henker: ''Bayern im Zeitalter von Reformation und Gegenreformation (16./17. Jahrhundert)'', In: ''Politische Geschichte Bayerns'', published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte as Issue 9 of the ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur'', pp. 14–17, here: p. 14</ref>

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 Knight]]s 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' Canton]]s. 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 [[count]]s in Franconia.<ref>Pütter, John Stephen. ''An Historical Development of the Present Political Constitution of the Germanic Empire'', Vol. 3, London: Payne, 1790, p. 156.</ref>

Franconia played an important role in the spread of the [[Reformation]] initiated by [[Martin Luther]],<ref name="kraus7">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.</ref> Nuremberg being one of the places where the [[Luther Bible]] was printed.<ref>[http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/sammlungen/bibeln/bestand/besondere-stuecke/endter-bibeln/ ''Endter-Bibeln''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611170715/http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/sammlungen/bibeln/bestand/besondere-stuecke/endter-bibeln/ |date=2016-06-11 }}, [[Württembergische Landesbibliothek]], retrieved 5 July 2014.</ref> The majority of other Franconian imperial cities and imperial knights embraced the new confession.<ref name="kraus6">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.</ref> In the course of the [[Counter-Reformation]] several regions of Franconia returned to Catholicism, however, and there was also an increase in [[witch trial]]s.<ref>Birke Grießhammer: ''Verfolgt – gefoltert – verbrannt. Die Opfer des Hexenwahns in Franken.'', pp. 15 ff</ref> 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.<ref>{{GAMEO|konigsberg_freistaat_bayern_germany|Königsberg in Bayern (Freistaat Bayern, Germany)|Autor=Christian Hege}}</ref><ref>{{GAMEO|N860.html|Nürnberg (Freistaat Bayern, Germany)|Autor=Christian Neff}}</ref>

[[File:Karte bauernkrieg3.jpg|thumb|Extent of the uprisings in the Peasants' War]]
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.<ref name="bauern">[https://archive.today/20130707031748/http://www.wuerzburg.de/de/themen/kultur-bildung-kulturangebot/denkmalpflegeundstadtgeschichte/stadtarchiv/veranstaltungenundpublikationen/schlaglichter/8708.Stadthistorische_Streiflichter_.html ''Stadthistorische Streiflichter (24)''], www.wuerzburg.de, accessed 7 June 2014.</ref> 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]],<ref name="kraus61">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</ref> to create a duchy over which he would rule.<ref>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. 15</ref> 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.

[[File:Trexelplan 1632.jpg|thumb|left|Part of Wallenstein's camp around [[Zirndorf]] and the [[Alte Veste]]]]

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<ref>Rudolf Endres. ''Der Fränkische Reichskreis'', In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29'', published by the House of Bavarian History, Regensburg, 2003, p. 19, see [http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis1.pdf online version] (pdf)</ref> 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.<ref name="kraus8">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.</ref> 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.<ref name = "hdbg1">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</ref> During the course of the war, about half the local population lost their lives. To compensate for these losses about 150,000&nbsp;displaced Protestants settled in Protestant areas, including [[Austria]]n [[exiles]].<ref>[https://www.br.de/fernsehen/bayerisches-fernsehen/sendungen/frankenschau/exulanten-oesterreich-franken-100.html ''Aus Österreich vertrieben: Glaubensflüchtlinge in Franken''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204100030/https://www.br.de/fernsehen/bayerisches-fernsehen/sendungen/frankenschau/exulanten-oesterreich-franken-100.html |date=2014-12-04 }}, br.de, Bayerischer Rundfunk, retrieved 7 June 2014.</ref>

[[File:FRK 1789 en.png|thumb|The Franconian Imperial Circle in 1789]]
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.<ref name = "hdbg2">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</ref> 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]].<ref name = "hdbg2"/> It also played a major role in the control of disease during the 16th and 17th centuries.<ref>Rudolf Endres: ''Der Fränkische Reichskreis'', In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29'', published by the House of Bavarian History, Regensburg, 2003, p. 35, see [http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis2.pdf online version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123455/http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis2.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }} (pdf)</ref> After [[Charles Alexander (Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth)|Charles Alexander]] abdicated in 1792, the former margraviates of Ansbach and Bayreuth were annexed by [[Prussia]].<ref>Rudolf Endres: ''Der Fränkische Reichskreis'', In: ''Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29'', published by the house of Bavarian History, Regensburg, 2003, p. 38, see [http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis2.pdf online version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123455/http://www.hdbg.de/basis/pdfs/downloads/reichskreis2.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }} (pdf)</ref><ref name="preußen"/> [[Karl August Freiherr von Hardenberg]] was appointed as governor of these areas by Prussia.<ref name="preußen"/>

==== Later Modern Period ====
Most of modern-day Franconia became part of Bavaria in 1803 thanks to Bavaria's alliance with [[Napoleon]]. 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]] for [[secularization]] and [[German mediatisation|mediatisation]].<ref>[http://www.hdbg.eu/koenigreich/web/index.php/themen/index/herrscher_id/1/id/3 ''Der Friede von Lunéville (1801) und der Reichsdeputationshauptschluss (1803)''], House of Bavarian History, accessed 7 June 2014.</ref> 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.<ref name="rheinbundakte">[http://www.hdbg.eu/koenigreich/web/index.php/objekte/index/id/553 ''Rheinbundakte, deutsche Fassung (1806)''], House of Bavarian History , retrieved 7 June 2014.</ref><ref>Dietmar Willoweit: ''Reich und Staat: Eine kleine deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte'', p. 70</ref> As a reward Bavaria was promised other estates, including the city of Nuremberg.<ref name="rheinbundakte" /> 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.<ref name="herzogfranken"/> 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.<ref name="preußen">[http://www.hdbg.de/bup/c/c08.htm ''Preußen in Franken 1792 - 1806''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116150641/http://www.hdbg.de/bup/c/c08.htm |date=2016-11-16 }}, material from the State Exhibition in 1999 by the House of Bavarian History</ref>

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.<ref>Max Seeberger et al.: ''Wie Bayern vermessen wurde,'' booklets on Bavarian History and Culture, Volume 26, published by the House of Bavarian History in collaboration with the [[Deutsches Museum]] and [[Bavarian State Survey Office, Munich]], Augsburg, 2001, pp. 11-12</ref><ref>Manfred Treml: ''Das Königreich Bayern (1806 - 1918).'' in: [http://www.hdbg.de/polges/pages/politische_geschichte.pdf '' Political History of Bavaria''], published by the House of Bavarian history as No. 9 of ten booklets on Bavarian History and Culture, 1989, pp. 22-25, here: p. 23</ref> Out of this in January 1838 emerged the Franconian provinces with their present names of Middle, Upper and Lower Franconia.<ref>[https://www.br.de/franken/inhalt/frankenkult-ur/tag-der-franken-geschichte100.html ''Fränkischer Reichskreis: So entstand der "Tag der Franken"''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325092108/https://www.br.de/franken/inhalt/frankenkult-ur/tag-der-franken-geschichte100.html |date=2015-03-25 }}, www.br.de, Bayerischer Rundfunk, retrieved 28 June 2014</ref> Considerable resentment arose in parts of the Franconian territories over their new membership of Bavaria.<ref name="geschichte">Hans Maier: ''Die Franken in Bayern'', p. 6, [http://hhmaier.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Franken-in-Bayern.pdf see pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007000956/http://hhmaier.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Franken-in-Bayern.pdf |date=2016-10-07 }}, retrieved 12 July 2014.</ref> 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.<ref>Katharina Weigand: ''Gaibach. Eine Jubelfeier für die bayerische Verfassung von 1818?'' In: Alois Schmid, Katharina Weigand (eds.): ''Schauplätze der Geschichte in Bayern.'' Munich, 2003, pp. 291-308, here: p. 291</ref><ref>''House of Bavarian History: [http://www.hdbg.eu/koenigreich/web/index.php/themen/index/herrscher_id/3/id/28 deutsche Revolution von 1848/49]'', retrieved 18 July 2014.</ref> On the one hand the reconciliation policy of the [[Wittelsbachs]]<ref name="geschichte"/> 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.<ref>''Edition Bayern: Industriekultur in Bayern'', published by the House of Bavarian History, p. 123</ref> 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]], [[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.<ref name="bam-haupt">Wolf Weigand: ''Bayern zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik und des Nationalsozialismus (1918 - 1945).'' In: [http://www.hdbg.de/polges/pages/politische_geschichte.pdf ''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</ref> In 1919 the [[Free State of Coburg]] voted in a [[referendum]] against joining [[Thuringia]] and was instead united with Bavaria on 1&nbsp;July 1920.<ref name="bam-haupt" />

[[File:General view of the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, following the cessation of organized resistance. In the distance, the... - NARA - 540139.tif|thumb|Destruction in Nuremberg in 1945 (Egidienplatz)]]
[[File:Heilbronn 1945 US Army retouched-2.jpg|thumb|Destruction in Heilbronn in 1945]]
[[File:Karl Emil Otto Fritsch-Denkmaeler Deutscher Renaissance-1891-Nuernberg-Pellerhaus zu Nuernberg Aegidienplatz 1605 Facade.jpg|thumb|The [[Pellerhaus]] in Nuremberg was one of the most important buildings of the [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] period from 1605 until the destruction of its façade in 1945.]]
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]].<ref>Eckart Dietzfelbinger, Gerhard Liedke: ''Nürnberg - Ort der Massen. Das Reichsparteitagsgelände. Vorgeschichte und schwieriges Erbe.'' 1st edition, Berlin, 2004, p. 29</ref> [[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&nbsp;March 1934 the first anti-[[Jewish]] [[pogrom]] in Bavaria took place in Gunzenhausen. The attack brought the town negative press coverage worldwide.<ref name="Nürnberger Nachrichten 0309">Werner Falk: ''Ein früher Hass auf Juden'' in Nürnberger Nachrichten, 25 March 2009.</ref> On 15&nbsp;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.<ref>[https://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/antisemitismus/nuernberg/ ''Die Nürnberger Gesetze''], [[Deutsches Historisches Museum]], retrieved 28 July 2014.</ref>

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<ref>{{cite book|author1 = [[:de:Christhard Schrenk|Christhard Schrenk]]|author2= [[:de:Hubert Weckbach|Hubert Weckbach]]|author3= Susanne Schlösser| title = Von Helibrunna nach Heilbronn. Eine Stadtgeschichte|language=de|trans-title=From Helibrunna to Heilbronn. A city history| isbn = 3-8062-1333-X| year = 1998| publisher = Theiss| location = Stuttgart| series = Veröffentlichungen des Archivs der Stadt Heilbronn| volume = 36| page = 173}}</ref> and the [[bombing of Würzburg on 16 March 1945|bombing of Würzburg on 16&nbsp;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.<ref>''Bamberg, die Altstadt als Denkmal: Denkmalschutz, Modernisierung, Sanierung'', Moos, 1981, p. 172</ref> In order to protect [[cultural artefact]]s, the [[Historischer Kunstbunker|historic art bunker]] was built below Nuremberg Castle.<ref>[https://museen.nuernberg.de/kunstbunker/ Historischer Kunstbunker] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830103321/http://museen.nuernberg.de/kunstbunker/ |date=2016-08-30 }}, the City Museums, retrieved 7 July 2014.</ref> 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&nbsp;days, the [[Battle of Würzburg (1945)|Battle of Würzburg]] seven and the [[Battle of Merkendorf]] three&nbsp;days.

Following the [[unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht|unconditional surrender]] on 8&nbsp;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<ref>See [[:File:Deutschland Besatzungszonen 8 Jun 1947 - 22 Apr 1949 amerikanisch.svg|map of the American zone]]</ref> 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.<ref>{{HistLexBay||link|Annette Weinke|Nuremberg Trials}}</ref> 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]].<ref>[https://www.bayern.de/Geschichte-.364/index.htm ''Bayerische Geschichte und Persönlichkeiten''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030103029/https://www.bayern.de/Geschichte-.364/index.htm |date=2014-10-30 }}, Bayerisches Landesportal, retrieved 6 June 2014.</ref>

The state of [[Württemberg-Baden]] was founded on 19&nbsp;September 1945.<ref>Paul Sauer: ''Demokratischer Neubeginn in Not und Elend. Das Land Württemberg-Baden von 1945 bis 1952.'' Ulm, 1978, p. 91</ref> On 25&nbsp;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.<ref>[https://www.lpb-bw.de/entstehung_baden-wuerttembergs.html ''Gründung des Landes Baden-Württemberg am 25. April 1952''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116150719/https://www.lpb-bw.de/entstehung_baden-wuerttembergs.html |date=2016-11-16 }}, Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg</ref> On 1&nbsp;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.<ref>{{HistLexBay||link|[[Walter Ziegler]]|Flüchtlinge und Vertriebene}}</ref> 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,<ref>[https://www.bpb.de/geschichte/zeitgeschichte/deutschlandarchiv/170619/ at-end-of-world-development-of-west German-zone border area-since-the-reunion ''Am Ende der Welt - Entwicklung des westdeutschen Zonenrandgebietes seit der Wiedervereinigung''], [[Federal Agency for Civic Education]], published 18 November 2013, retrieved 9 September 2014.</ref> 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&nbsp;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.<ref name = "Thuringia"/> 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.<ref>[[Werner Abelshauser]]: ''Deutsche Wirtschaftsgeschichte seit 1945.'' C.H. Beck, Munich, 2004, chapter on "Die Reparationsfrage", pp. 75-84.</ref> 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.<ref>''Quellen zur Geschichte Thüringens. Der 17. Juni 1953 in Thüringen.'', The State Commissioner of Thuringia for the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic and State Centre for Political Education, Thuringia, Sömmerda, 2003, p. 180</ref> The village of [[Mödlareuth]] became famous because, for 41&nbsp;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&nbsp;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.<ref name="Thuringia">Steffen Raßloff: ''Geschichte Thüringens.'' Munich, 2010, p. 106</ref>

[[File:Zusammensetzung des Landkreises Ansbach.png|thumb|The administrative reform in Bavaria in the Franconian county of [[Landkreis Ansbach|Ansbach]]]]

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 (''[[Landkreis]]e''). 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]]. On 18 May 2006, the [[Bavarian Landtag]] approved the introduction of [[Franconia Day]] (''Tag der Franken'') in the Franconian territories of the free state.<ref name="einführungtagderfranken">[https://www.bayern.landtag.de/www/ElanTextAblage_WP15/Drucksachen/Folgedrucksachen/0000004000/0000004034.pdf Document 15/5583 of the Bavarian Landtag] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081330/https://www.bayern.landtag.de/www/ElanTextAblage_WP15/Drucksachen/Folgedrucksachen/0000004000/0000004034.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }} (pdf; 86&nbsp;kB)</ref>

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.<ref name = "grenzland">{{HistLexBay||link|Frank Altrichter|Grenzlandproblematik (nach 1918)}}</ref> Today, Franconia is in the centre of the EU (at [[Oberwestern]] near [[Westerngrund]]; {{Coord|50.117286|N|9.247768|E|type:landmark_text:location_region:DE-BY_name: geographical centre of the EU}}).<ref>Frank Müller. [https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/regionalzeit-franken/gespraech-mitte-eu-100.html Westerngrund (LK: AB). The Navel of Europe in Franconia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222153147/https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/regionalzeit-franken/gespraech-mitte-eu-100.html |date=2014-02-22 }} radio report, Bayern 2, regionalZeit - Franken</ref>

==Contemporary Franconia==
{{More citations needed|section|date=September 2022}}
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, Bavaria|Hof]], [[Kulmbach]]) are predominantly [[Protestantism|Protestant]] ([[Protestant Church in Germany]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hdbg.eu/karten/karten/detail/id/114|language=de|title=Predominantly Protestant and predominantly Catholic regions in Franconia, denomination distribution 1750|access-date=2024-03-24}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

The city of [[Fürth]] in Middle Franconia historically (before the Nazi era) had a large [[Jewish]] population; [[Henry Kissinger]] was born there.<ref>Ferguson, N. (2015). Kissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist. Regno Unito: Penguin Books Limited.</ref>

===Population===
A large portion of the roughly five million<ref>Based on the combined populations of the provinces of Middle, Upper and Lower Franconia in Bavaria as well as the counties of South Thuringia and Tauber Franconia.</ref> inhabitants of Franconia consider themselves Franconians ({{lang|de|Franken}}, in German homonymous with the name of the historical [[Franks]]), a sub-ethnic group of the [[German people]] alongside [[Alemanni]], [[Swabians]], [[Bavarians]], [[Thuringians]] and [[Saxons]]. Such an ethnic identity is generally not shared by speakers of Central Franconian, Low Franconian, Rhenish Franconian or South Franconian, some of whom 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]].<ref>[http://www.bayern.de/Menschen-in-Bayern-.2549.4448573/index.htm ''Das Land Bayern: Menschen in Bayern - Tradition und Zukunft''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325102318/http://www.bayern.de/Menschen-in-Bayern-.2549.4448573/index.htm |date=25 March 2014}}: www.bayern.de, Bayerisches Landesportal. Accessed 15 September 2022.</ref>

=== Towns and cities ===
With the exception of [[Schwäbisch Hall]], all cities in Franconia and all towns with a population of over 40,000 are within the Free State of Bavaria. By far the largest city in Franconia is [[Nuremberg]] with more than 500,000 inhabitants. The other three major cities are [[Fürth]], [[Würzburg]] and [[Erlangen]]. In Middle Franconia, in the [[Nuremberg Metropolitan Region|metropolitan region of Nuremberg]] there is a densely populated urban area consisting of Nuremberg, Fürth, Erlangen and [[Schwabach]] with around 1.4 million inhabitants. Nuremberg is the fourteenth largest city in Germany and the second largest in Bavaria.<ref name="by-einwohner">[https://www.statistikdaten.bayern.de/genesis/online?operation=result&code=12411-003r&leerzeilen=false&language=de Genesis Online-Datenbank des Bayerischen Landesamtes für Statistik Tabelle 12411-003r Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes: Gemeinden, Stichtag] (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011) (from 31 December 2022)</ref>

The largest settlements in Baden-Württemberg's Franconian region are [[Schwäbisch Hall]] (41,898 pop.) and [[Crailsheim]] (35,760) [[Öhringen]] (25,388) and [[Bad Mergentheim]] (24,564)<ref name="bw-einwohner">[https://www.statistik-bw.de/BevoelkGebiet/Bevoelk_I_D_A_vj.csv Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg] – Bevölkerung nach Nationalität und Geschlecht am 31. Dezember 2022 (from 31 December 2022) (CSV-File)</ref> The largest places in the Thuringian part are [[Suhl]] (37,009), [[Meiningen]] (25,177) and [[Sonneberg]] (23,507).<ref name="th-einwohner">[https://statistik.thueringen.de/datenbank/TabAnzeige.asp?GGglied=1&GGTabelle=gem&tabelle=gg000102&startpage=99&datcsv=&richtung=&sortiere=&vorspalte=1&SZDT=&anzahlH=-2&fontgr=12&mkro=&AnzeigeAuswahl=&XLS=&auswahlNr=&felder=0&felder=1&felder=2&zeit=2022%7C%7Cs1&anzahlZellen=2193 Bevölkerung der Gemeinden vom Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik] (from 31 December 2022)</ref>

The largest place in the Hessian part of Franconia is [[Gersfeld (Rhön)|Gersfeld]] with just 5,516&nbsp;inhabitants.<ref>[https://archive.today/20080421165936/http://www.statistik-hessen.de/themenauswahl/bevoelkerung-gebiet/regionaldaten/bevoelkerung-der-hessischen-gemeinden/index.html Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden] (population figures from the 2011 census)</ref> The largest cities within Bavaria are Nuremberg (523,026), Fürth (131,433), Würzburg (127,810) and Erlangen (116,562).<ref name="by-einwohner"/>

In the [[Middle Ages]] Franconia, with its numerous towns, was separate and not part of other territories such as the [[Duchy of Bavaria]].<ref name="städte">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. See [http://www.hdbg.eu/karten/karten_detail_68.php House of Bavarian History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053138/http://www.hdbg.eu/karten/karten_detail_68.php |date=4 March 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="städte" /> The smallest town in Franconia is Thuringia's [[Ummerstadt]] with 457 inhabitants.<ref name="thü-einw">{{cite web|url=https://tls.thueringen.de/datenbank/TabAnzeige.asp?GGglied=1&GGTabelle=lk&GGTabelle=gem&GGTabelle=erf&GGTabelle=vg&tabelle=gg000102%7C%7CBev%25F6lkerung+der+Gemeinden,+erf%25FCllenden+Gemeinden+und+Verwaltungsgemeinschaften+nach+Geschlecht&startpage=99&csv=&richtung=&sortiere=&vorspalte=0&tit2=&TIS=&SZDT=&anzahlH=-2&fontgr=12&mkro=&AnzeigeAuswahl=&XLS=&auswahlNr=&felder=0&felder=1&felder=2&zeit=2013%7C%7Cs1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912140115/http://www.tls.thueringen.de/datenbank/TabAnzeige.asp?GGglied=1&GGTabelle=lk&GGTabelle=gem&GGTabelle=erf&GGTabelle=vg&tabelle=gg000102%7C%7CBev%F6lkerung+der+Gemeinden%2C+erf%FCllenden+Gemeinden+und+Verwaltungsgemeinschaften+nach+Geschlecht&startpage=99&csv=&richtung=&sortiere=&vorspalte=0&tit2=&TIS=&SZDT=&anzahlH=-2&fontgr=12&mkro=&AnzeigeAuswahl=&XLS=&auswahlNr=&felder=0&felder=1&felder=2&zeit=2013%7C%7Cs1|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 September 2014|title=Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik|first=Thüringer Landesamt für|last=Statistik|website=tls.thueringen.de}}</ref>

;25 largest cities in Franconia
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!2022<br />Rank
!City
!State
!2000
!2020
!2022
!growth<br />(2000–2020)
!
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}1.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Nuremberg]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.}}488,400
| {{0|0.}}515,543
| {{0|0.}}523,026
| style="text-align:right"| +5.6%
| [[File:Nuremberg panorama morning 3.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}2.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Fürth]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.}}110,477
| {{0|0.}}128,223
| {{0|0.}}131,433 
| style="text-align:right"| +16.1%
| [[File:Fuerther Innenstadt Mrz 2020.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}3.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Würzburg]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.}}127,966
| {{0|0.}}126,954
| {{0|0.}}127,810
| style="text-align:right"| -0.8%
| [[File:Dom R1.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}4.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Erlangen]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.}}100,778
| {{0|0.}}112,385
| {{0|0.}}116,562
| style="text-align:right"| +11.5%
| [[File:Erlangen 08-2012.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}5.
| style="text-align:left" | [[Bamberg]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}69,036
| {{0|0.0}}76,674
| {{0|0.0}}79,935 
| style="text-align:right"| +11.1%
| [[File:Bamberg aus der Flugzeugperspektive .jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}6.
| style="text-align:left" | [[Bayreuth]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}74,153
| {{0|0.0}}74,048
| {{0|0.0}}74,506 
| style="text-align:right"| -0.1%
| [[File:Marktplatz Bayreuth.JPG|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}7.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Aschaffenburg]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}67,592
| {{0|0.0}}70,858
| {{0|0.0}}72,444
| style="text-align:right"| +4.8%
| [[File:Aschaffenburg Innenstadt Juni 2021.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}8.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Schweinfurt]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}54,325
| {{0|0.0}}53,319
| {{0|0.0}}54,675 
| style="text-align:right"| -1.9%
| [[File:Schweinfurt und der Main bei Nacht.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| {{0}}9.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Hof (Saale)]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}50,741
| {{0|0.0}}45,173
| {{0|0.0}}46,656 
| style="text-align:right"| -12.3%
| [[File:Hof, HO - Theresienstein - Pavillon - Innenstadt v N 02.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 10.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Ansbach]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}40,163
| {{0|0.0}}41,681
| {{0|0.0}}42,221 
| style="text-align:right"| +3.6%
| [[File:Ansbach, Martin-Luther-Platz-001.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 11.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Schwäbisch Hall]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Baden-Württemberg]]
| {{0|0.0}}35,192
| {{0|0.0}}40,679
| {{0|0.0}}41,898
| style="text-align:right"| +15.6%
| [[File:Schwäbisch Hall - Altstadt - Ansicht von SW (1).jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 12.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Coburg]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}43,277
| {{0|0.0}}40,842
| {{0|0.0}}41,842 
| style="text-align:right"| -6.2%
| [[File:Panorama Altstadt Coburg.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 13.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Schwabach]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}37,947
| {{0|0.0}}41,056
| {{0|0.0}}41,227
| style="text-align:right"| +7.6%
| [[File:Schwabach Altstadt Mai 2021 3.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 14.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Suhl]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Thuringia]]
| {{0|0.0}}48,025
| {{0|0.0}}36,395
| {{0|0.0}}37,009 
| style="text-align:right"| -24.2%
| [[File:Thuringia Suhl asv2020-07 img14 Cross Church.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 15.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Crailsheim]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Baden-Württemberg]]
| {{0|0.0}}32,063
| {{0|0.0}}34,661
| {{0|0.0}}35,760
| style="text-align:right"| +8.1%
| [[File:Crailsheim Süddeutschland 2010 1010416.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 16.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Forchheim]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}30,665
| {{0|0.0}}32,374
| {{0|0.0}}32,972 
| style="text-align:right"| +5.5%
| [[File:Forchheim Bahnhof Luftbild-20230410-RM-155340.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 17.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Lauf an der Pegnitz]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}25,770
| {{0|0.0}}26,434
| {{0|0.0}}26,420
| style="text-align:right"| +2.6%
| [[File:LaufPegn-HersbruckerTor.JPG|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 18.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Zirndorf]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}24,950
| {{0|0.0}}25,748
| {{0|0.0}}26,234
| style="text-align:right"| +3.2%
| [[File:Marktplatz Zirndorf 02.JPG|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 19.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Kulmbach]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}28,258
| {{0|0.0}}25,781
| {{0|0.0}}25,818
| style="text-align:right"| -8.8%
| [[File:Blick auf Kulmbach 06.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 20.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Öhringen]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Baden-Württemberg]]
| {{0|0.0}}22,208
| {{0|0.0}}24,925
| {{0|0.0}}25,388
| style="text-align:right"| +12,2%
| [[File:Öhringen - Altstadt - Hofgarten - Blick auf Schloss und Stiftskirchen-Türme.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 21.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Roth, Bavaria|Roth]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}24,858
| {{0|0.0}}25,323
| {{0|0.0}}25,367
| style="text-align:right"| +1,9%
| [[File:Roth Schloss Ratibor 20110501.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 22.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Meiningen]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Thuringia]]
| {{0|0.0}}22,240
| {{0|0.0}}25,097
| {{0|0.0}}25,177
| style="text-align:right"| +12,8%
| [[File:Dietz 10 2016.JPG|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 23.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Bad Mergentheim]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Baden-Württemberg]]
| {{0|0.0}}22,172 
| {{0|0.0}}24,034
| {{0|0.0}}24,564
| style="text-align:right"| +8,4%
| [[File:Bad-Mergentheim-Zwillingshauser.JPG|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 24.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Herzogenaurach]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Bavaria]]
| {{0|0.0}}23,108
| {{0|0.0}}23,616
| {{0|0.0}}24,404
| style="text-align:right"| +2.2%
| [[File:Herzogenaurach Hauptstraße Fehnturm.jpg|100px]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"| 25.
| style="text-align:left"| [[Sonneberg]]
| style="text-align:center"| [[Thuringia]]
| {{0|0.0}}24,837
| {{0|0.0}}23,229
| {{0|0.0}}23,507
| style="text-align:right"| –6.5%
| [[File:Rathaus Sonneberg2.jpg|100px]]
|}

===Language===
[[File:Ostfraenkischer Sprachraum.png|thumb|upright=1.1|Distribution of the East Franconian dialects with transition zones]]
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.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

[[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).<ref>[http://www.tagderfranken2013.de/files/Informationen/Wappenkunde.pdf ''Kleine fränkische Wappen- und Flaggenkunde''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224104815/http://www.tagderfranken2013.de/files/Informationen/Wappenkunde.pdf#|date=2013-12-24}}: www.tagderfranken2013.de, retrieved 22 December 2013 (pdf)</ref>

=== Religions ===
==== Christianity ====
The proportion of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]] and [[Protestant Church in Germany|Protestants]] among the population of Franconia is roughly the same, but varies from region to region.<ref name="religion">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), see [http://www.hdbg.eu/karten/karten_detail_114.php House of Bavarian History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305204518/http://www.hdbg.eu/karten/karten_detail_114.php |date=5 March 2016}}</ref> Large areas of Middle and Upper Franconia are mainly Protestant.<ref name="religion" />

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]], which belonged to the Margraviate of Bayreuth, was a refuge for the [[Huguenot]]s who fled there after the [[St Bartholomew's Day massacre]] in France.<ref>Ferdinand Lammers, ''Geschichte der Stadt Erlangen'', Erlangen, 1834 (1997 reprint), pg. 17.</ref>

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]]''.<ref name="lex">{{Stadtlexikon Nürnberg}}</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

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.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==== Judaism ====
Before the [[Nazi era]], Franconia was a region with significant Jewish communities, most of whom were [[Ashkenazi Jews]].<ref name="juden1">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.&nbsp;5-24, here: pg. 5.</ref> The first Jewish communities appeared in Franconia in the 12th and 13th&nbsp;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 against Jews during the Nazi era.<ref name="juden2">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.</ref> 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".<ref>[http://www.stimme.de/hohenlohe/nachrichten/sonstige-Hohenloher-waren-die-ersten-Opfer;art1919,1207588 ''Hohenloher waren die ersten Opfer''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917184855/http://www.stimme.de/hohenlohe/nachrichten/sonstige-Hohenloher-waren-die-ersten-Opfer;art1919,1207588 |date=17: September 2016}} at stimme.de</ref><ref>Hartwig Behr, Horst&nbsp;F. Rupp: ''Vom Leben und Sterben. Juden in Creglingen.'' 2nd edition. Königshausen and Neumann, Würzburg. 2001; {{ISBN|3-8260-2226-2}}</ref>

In 1818, about 65% of Bavarian Jews lived in the Bavarian part of Franconia;<ref name="juden3">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</ref> today there are Jewish communities only in Bamberg, Bayreuth, Erlangen, Fürth, Hof, Nuremberg and Würzburg<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110417123051/http://ikg-bayern.de/rsgem_1.html ''Jewish communities in Bavaria''], State Association of Jewish communities in Bavaria, retrieved 24 May 2014.</ref> as well as in Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg.

==== Islam ====
Adherents of Islam continue to grow, especially in the larger cities, due to the influx of ''[[gastarbeiter]]s'' and other [[immigrant]]s from Muslim countries. As a result, many "backyard mosques" (''Hinterhofmoscheen'') have sprung up, which are gradually being replaced by purpose-built [[mosque]]s.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

===Culture===
Franconia has almost 300 small breweries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.franconiabeerguide.com|title=Online guide to Bamberg and the Breweries of Franconia|first=Fred|last=Waltman|website=www.franconiabeerguide.com|access-date=15 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702230747/http://www.franconiabeerguide.com/|archive-date=2 July 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The northwestern areas around the river [[Main (river)|Main]], known as the [[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.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

<gallery>
File:Schaeufele 01.jpg| ''[[Schäufele|Schäuferla]]''
File:Nuernberg Drei im Weckla 001.JPG|Three Nuremberger [[Bratwurst|Bratwürste]] in a roll (''Drei im Weckla'')
File:GravityTap.jpg|Schlenkerla [[Smoked beer|Rauchbier]] straight from the cask
File:Bocksbeutels.jpg|[[Franconia (wine region)|Franconian wine]] is traditionally filled up in [[Bocksbeutel]]s
File:Kroder Karpfen.JPG|Fried [[carp]] with beer and salad
</gallery>

=== Tourism ===
[[File:Rothenburg BW 4.JPG|thumb|One of the best known tourist attractions in Franconia is the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber]]
[[File:Schlosslangenburgmsu.jpg|thumb|Schloss Langenburg (Baden-Württemberg) lies on the [[Castle Road]]]]
The [[tourism]] industry stresses the romantic character of Franconia,<ref>[http://www.romantisches-franken.de/ www.romantisches-franken.de]; retrieved 23 May 2014.</ref><ref name="franken-tourismus" /> including the picturesque countryside and many historic buildings.<ref name="franken-tourismus">''Franken. Allianz Reiseführer'', 2011, pp. 12ff</ref> [[Franconian wine]], the rich tradition of beer brewing and local culinary specialties, such as ''Lebküchnerei'' or [[gingerbread]] baking, are also a draw.<ref name="franken-tourismus" /><ref>[http://www.frankentourismus.de/kulinarisch/ www.frankentourismus.de] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829211647/http://www.frankentourismus.de/kulinarisch/ |date=29 August 2016}}; retrieved 23 May 2014.</ref> The [[Romantic Road]] links several tourist points in western Franconia.<ref>[http://www.romantischestrasse.de/ www.romantischestrasse.de] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829134151/http://www.romantischestrasse.de/ |date=29 August 2016}}; retrieved 23 May 2014.</ref> The [[Castle Road]] runs through the Franconian region with its numerous castles and other medieval structures.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

[[Cycling]] along the large rivers is very popular, for example along the [[Main Cycleway]], 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]], was the second German long distance cycleway to receive five stars.<ref>Touristikgemeinschaft Liebliches Taubertal: [http://www.swp.de/bad_mergentheim/lokales/main_tauber_kreis/art5632,204385 ''Fünf Sterne für den "Klassiker"''] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120912130640/http://www.swp.de/bad_mergentheim/lokales/main_tauber_kreis/art5632,204385|date=12 September 2012}} In: [[Tauber-Zeitung]]. Online at www.swp.de. 31 October 2009; retrieved 6 April 2010.</ref>

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Germany}}
* [[East Franconian German]]
* [[Franconia (wine region)]]
* [[Franconian Flag]]
* [[Franconian Rake]]
* [[Fränkel]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
* Andert, Reinhold. ''Der fränkische Reiter.'' Dingsda-Verlag Querfurt, Leipzig, 2006, {{ISBN|3-928498-92-4}}.
* Beckstein, Günther (text) and Erich Weiß (photographs). ''Franken, Mein Franken - Impressionen aus meiner Heimat.'' Bamberg, 2009, {{ISBN|978-3-936897-61-6}}.
* Bernet, Claus. ''Himmlisches Franken.'' Norderstedt, 2012, {{ISBN|978-3-8482-3041-9}}.
* 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, {{ISBN|978-3-8003-1913-8}}.
* Bogner, Franz X. ''Oberfranken aus der Luft.'' Ellwanger-Verlag, 128 pages. Bayreuth, 2011, {{ISBN|978-3-925361-95-1}}.
* Bötzinger, Martin. ''Leben und Leiden während des Dreißigjährigen Krieges in Thüringen und Franken.'' Langensalza, ²1997, {{ISBN|3-929000-39-3}}.
* [[Norman Cantor|Cantor, Norman]]. ''The Civilization of the Middle Ages''. 1993. {{ISBN|0-06-017033-6}}.
* Elkar, Rainer S. ''Geschichtslandschaft Franken - wohlbestelltes Feld mit Lücken''. In: Jahrbuch für Regionalgeschichte 23 (2005), pp.&nbsp;145–158.
* Fischer,Berndt. ''Naturerlebnis Franken. Streifzüge durch eine Seelenlandschaft.'' Buch & Kunstverlag Oberpfalz, Amberg, 2001, {{ISBN|3-924350-91-4}}.
* Nestmeyer, Ralf: ''Franken. Ein Reisehandbuch.'' Michael-Müller-Verlag, Erlangen, 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-89953-775-8}}.
* Peters, Michael. ''Geschichte Frankens. Vom Ausgang der Antike bis zum Ende des Alten Reiches.'' Katz Verlag, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-938047-31-6}} (cf. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090805/https://www.kbl.badw-muenchen.de/zblg-online/rezension_1228.html review]).
* Petersohn, Jürgen. ''Franken im Mittelalter. Identität und Profil im Spiegel von Bewußtsein und Vorstellung.'' (Vorträge und Forschungen, Sonderband 51), Ostfildern, 2008 (cf. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090641/https://www.kbl.badw-muenchen.de/zblg-online/rezension_1299.html the review]).
* [[Timothy Reuter|Reuter, Timothy]]. ''Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056''. New York: Longman, 1991. {{ISBN|0-582-49034-0}}.
* Scherzer, Conrad. ''Franken, Land, Volk, Geschichte und Wirtschaft.'' Verlag Nürnberger Presse Drexel, Merkel & Co., Nuremberg, 1955, {{OCLC|451342119}}.
* Schiener, Anna. ''Kleine Geschichte Frankens.'' Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg, 2008, {{ISBN|978-3-7917-2131-6}}.
* Stützel, Ada. ''100 berühmte Franken.'' Sutton Verlag, Erfurt, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-86680-118-9}}.
* 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, {{ISBN|978-3-87707-713-9}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|Franconia}}
{{wikivoyage|Franconia}}
{{AmCyc Poster}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090301142356/http://www.bezirk-unterfranken.de/ Bezirk of Lower Franconia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20191224171021/https://www.regierung.unterfranken.bayern.de/ Government of Lower Franconia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200111042049/https://www.bezirk-mittelfranken.de/ Bezirk of Middle Franconia]
* [http://www.regierung.mittelfranken.bayern.de Government of Middle Franconia]
* [http://www.bezirk-oberfranken.de Bezirk of Upper Franconia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028170551/https://www.bezirk-oberfranken.de/ |date=2020-10-28 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190510143555/https://www.regierung.oberfranken.bayern.de/ Government of Upper Franconia] English pages available
* [http://www.regionalverband-heilbronn-franken.de The Baden-Württemberg region of Heilbronn-Franken]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050324135717/http://www.tacitus.nu/historical-atlas/regents/germany/franconia.htm Dukes of Franconia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091123052607/http://www.picturechoice.org/franconia/index.html Franconia images]
* [https://wbf.badw.de/en/the-project.html The Franconian Dictionary]

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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Franconia| ]]
[[Category:Dukes of Franconia]]
[[Category:Frankish people]]
[[Category:Regions of Bavaria]]
[[Category:History of the Palatinate (region)]]