Aschaffenburg (

Low Franconian In historical linguistics, historical and comparative linguistics, Low Franconian is a linguistic category used to classify a number of historical and contemporary West Germanic languages, West Germanic Variety (linguistics), varieties closely r ...

: ) is a (district) in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Offenbach,

Main-Kinzig Main-Kinzig-Kreis is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Wetteraukreis, Vogelsbergkreis, Fulda (district), Fulda, Bad Kissingen (district), Bad Kissingen, Main-Spessart, Aschaffenburg (d ...

(all in the state of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

), the districts Main-Spessart and

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

, and the City of

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

History

The history of Aschaffenburg goes back as far as the year 957. Initially a Roman settlement, it came under the authority of the electors of Mainz in 982 and was chartered in 1173. Remains of Roman settlements were found on the river Main. There was a Roman

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

in today's municipality of Stockstadt am Main. After the Roman retreat, the region became subject to

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

and

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

before becoming a part of the

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

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

Spessart Spessart () is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...

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

had annexed the region. Thesdistricts were merged in 1972 to form the present district.

Geography

The district is located in the extreme northwest of

and bounded by

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

Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (; German: ''Mittel'', "middle or mid"; ''Gebirge'', "mountains or mountainous area") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germ ...

'' Spessart. The town of Aschaffenburg is not included in the district ( ''kreisfrei'' ), but is nonetheless its administrative seat. The geographic centre of the European Union was located in the District of Aschaffenburg from 2013 to 2020.

Economy

In 2017 (latest data available), the GDP per inhabitant was €33,109. This places the district 60th out of 96 districts (rural and urban) in Bavaria (overall average: €46,698).

Coat of arms

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

Towns and municipalities

Towns: *

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

Municipalities: * Bessenbach * Blankenbach * Dammbach * Geiselbach * Glattbach * Goldbach * Großostheim * Haibach * Heigenbrücken * Heimbuchenthal * Heinrichsthal * Hösbach * Johannesberg * Kahl am Main *

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

* Kleinkahl * Kleinostheim * Krombach * Laufach *

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

* Mespelbrunn * Mömbris * Rothenbuch *

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

* Schöllkrippen * Sommerkahl * Stockstadt am Main * Waldaschaff * Weibersbrunn * Westerngrund * Wiesen

References

External links

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