The Franconian Circle (german: Fränkischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. It comprised the eastern part of the former

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...

n stem duchy—roughly corresponding with the present-day

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

n ''Regierungsbezirke'' of

Upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

and

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was total ...

—while western Rhenish Franconia belonged to the Upper Rhenish Circle. The title of a "Duke of Franconia" was claimed by the Würzburg bishops.

Emergence and location

As early as the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Franconia had very close links to king and empire. Located between the Rhenish territories of the empire and the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

, Franconia, which included the former Duchy of Franconia, had been one of the centres of empire for a long time. By order of Emperor

Louis of Bavaria Ludwig of Bavaria or Louis of Bavaria may refer to: Dukes *Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (1173–1231), Duke of Bavaria in 1183 and the Count of Palatinate of the Rhine in 1214. He was a son of Otto I *Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (1229–1294), Duke of Ba ...

, Bamberg, Würzburg, Eichstätt and Fulda with the Hohenzollern Burgraves of Nuremberg, Counts of Henneberg, the Castell and Hohenlohe, the three episcopal cities, and the imperial cities of Nuremberg and Rothenburg united for the first time in a '' Landfrieden'' union. But this union (the Franconian ''Landfrieden'') did not last long; it disintegrated in the face of opposition from cities and princes.Pfeiffer, Gerhard (1971)
königlichen Landfriedenseinungen in Franken''
he Royal Landfrieden Agreements in Franconiain: Vorträge und Forschungen: Der deutsche Territorialstaat im 14. Jahrhundert II (1986, 2nd edn.) Vol. 14: Vorträge und Forschungen: Der deutsche Territorialstaat im 14. Jahrhundert II (1986, 2nd edn.) Konstanzer Arbeitskreis für mittelalterliche Geschichte (eds.), p. 231 On 2 July 1500, at the Reichstag of Augsburg, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was divided into six imperial circles. These first circles were originally numbered, the Franconian Imperial Circle being given the number 1: The circles were later given names that corresponded to their geographical location, which gave rise to the name Franconian Imperial Circle, which appeared for the first time in 1522. In the late Middle Ages, Franconia was understood to mean the area between the forested uplands of the

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

and the Steigerwald, mainly comprising the estates of the Bishopric of Würzburg. The imperial circle extended from the

Franconian Saale The Franconian Saale (german: Fränkische Saale) is a 140 km long river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right-bank tributary of the Main, in Lower Franconia. It should not be confused with the larger Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) ...

river to the

Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in

river and encompassed most of the upper and middle reaches of the River Main, roughly corresponding to the modern Bavarian provinces of

and

, but without the Electoral Mainz estates of the Upper Stift around

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

. Using the name Franconia, created an awareness of an inner unity and with an increased sense of togetherness and solidarity which, however, did not exist in the political or sovereign arenas.

Composition

The circle was made up of the following states:

References

Sources

* The list of states making up the Franconian Circle is based on that in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia) ...

article '' Fränkischer Reichskreis''.

External links

Imperial Circles in the 16th Century
– Historical Maps of Germany {{Authority control Circles of the Holy Roman Empire History of Franconia 1500s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1500 establishments in Europe

Emergence and location

Composition

See also

References

Sources

External links