The Franconian Heights
[Bavarian State Chancellery, ''Information about Bavaria'', 1981, p. 11.] () are a hill ridge, up to , 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 ...
and
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
in
South Germany.
Location and boundaries
The Franconian Heights lie in the west of
Franconia
Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
on either side of the border between Bavaria in the east (with the districts of
Neustadt a.d.Aisch-Bad Windsheim and
Ansbach
Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...
) and Baden-Württemberg in the west (
Schwäbisch Hall and a small area of the
Ostalbkreis
The Ostalbkreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Schwäbisch Hall (district), Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach ( ...
).
The larger part lies in Bavaria; the markedly smaller southwestern element is in Baden-Württemberg. It includes the southern part of the so-called Crailsheim Hardt (''Crailsheimer Hardt''), which extends in an arc around the town of
Crailsheim from the ramp of the A 6 northeast of
Satteldorf in the north as far as Jagst near
Stimpfach in the south, where it transitions into the
Virngrund. It also includes the little basin of the upper ''Zwergwörnitz'' to the southeast, near
Kreßberg.
The Franconian Heights, whose plateau has a
hill country character in places, lie south of the somewhat lower hills of the
Steigerwald, east of the
Hohenlohe Plain and northeast of the
Ellwangen Hills, and not quite half way on a line from
Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
to
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, east of
Rothenburg.
Geology
Geologically, the Franconian Heights belong to the
Keuper Uplands, which run through both the Franconian Keuper-Lias Land and through the adjacent
Swabian Keuper-Lias Land to the southwest, and is also surrounded by
lias country. Its northern continuation is the
Steigerwald, up to 499 m high, which transitions into the
Haßberge (up to 512 m) on the far side of the
River Main. Its southern continuation, the
Swabian-Franconian Forest, runs from the southern boundary of the Heights, mainly westwards, and is a little higher, climbing to 586 m.
On its western side, the Franconian Heights end in a steep scarp (also called the ''Trauf''), and in the east, descends to the plains. The dominant rock type is (
keuper-)sandstone; the soils are relatively sandy.
Old quarries, such as those in Obergailnau near
Wettringen bear witness to the former importance of this rock for house construction in the region.
Nature park
The
Franconian Heights Nature Park covers most of the region, but not its southern part. In addition, it extends westwards near Rothenburg and as far as the
Sulzach north of
Feuchtwangen, well beyond the ridge itself.
Settlements
The towns and villages of the region include:
*
Burgbernheim
*
Colmberg
*
Crailsheim with subdistricts east of the Jagst
*
Diebach
*
Dombühl
*
Feuchtwangen
*
Fichtenau with its subdistrict of
Wäldershub
*
Kreßberg
*
Marktbergel
*
Markt Erlbach
*
Obernzenn
Obernzenn is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim in Bavaria in Germany.
Personalities
* Johann Michael Zeyher (1770-1843), Baden director of the theater
* Johann Appler (1892-1978), NSDAP ...
*
Satteldorf and its eastern subdistricts
*
Schillingsfürst
*
Schnelldorf
*
Stimpfach with several villages
*
Trautskirchen
*
Wettringen
*
Wörnitz
Transport
The Franconian Heights are crossed by the
A 6 and
A 7 motorways, which meet in the valley of the Wörnitz at the Feuchtwangen/Crailsheim intersection. The ramp on the A 6 after the Crailsheim exit which is still on the Hohenlohe Plain up to the western ''Trauf'' or edge of the Heights, clearly shows the morphological border. A rest stop on the A 6 about 10 km east of the motorway intersection is named after the landscape.
References
[Emil Meynen, Josef Schmithüsen (eds.): '' Handbook of the Natural Region Divisions of Germany.'' Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen/Bad Godesberg, 1953–1962 (9 issues in 8 books, updated 1:1,000,000 with major units, 1960).]
External links
* Landscape fact file by the
BfN
*
Frankenhöhe(boundaries do not cover the entire Franconian Heights, because the upper Altmühl valley is excluded)
*
(only in the northwest of the Franconian Heights)
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Bavaria
Mountain and hill ranges of Baden-Württemberg
Regions of Bavaria
Regions of Baden-Württemberg
Schwäbisch Hall (district)
Ostalbkreis
Natural regions of the South German Scarplands