The Mainkreis (German:
iver
Iver is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central nucleated village, clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets o ...
Main Circle) was one of the 15 administrative districts () of the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
between 1806 and 1837. The district was named after its main river
Main and renamed ''Obermainkreis'' (Upper Main Circle) in 1817. It was the predecessor of the ''
Regierungsbezirk
A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts
' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...
Oberfranken'' (Administrative Regional District of
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia (, ) is a (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle Franconia and Lower Franconia, wh ...
).
Independent cities
*
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...
*
Bayreuth
Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
(since 1812)
*
Hof an der Saale (since 1812)
*
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a town#Germany, city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding Schweinfurt (district), district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultur ...
(since 1810)
Subdivisions
The district was divided in the following judicial districts (''
Landgerichte'' = LG), according to the original borders of the districts of the former territories (''
Herrschaft
The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...
sgerichte'' = HG):
* Bamberg I
* Bamberg II
*
Banz LG (since 1813 HG)
*
Burgebrach
*
Ebermannstadt
Ebermannstadt (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Ärmaschdood'') is a town in the Forchheim (district), district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km northeast of Forchheim (Oberfranken), Forchheim and 25 km ...
*
Ebnath HG (since 1816)
*
Ebrach
* Eschenbach (since 1810)
*
Gefrees (since 1812)
* Gleusdorf
*
Hallstadt
*
Heinersreuth
Heinersreuth is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Bayreuth (district), Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany.
People
* Rolf Schmidt-Holtz (born 1948), German businessman and journalist
References
Bayreuth (distric ...
HG (since 1816)
*
Höchstadt
Höchstadt an der Aisch, commonly known as Höchstadt (), is a town in the Erlangen-Höchstadt district, in Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Höchstadt is situated on the river Aisch, 18 km northwest of Erlangen and 22 km south of Bamberg. O ...
(since 1810)
* Hof an der Saale (until 1812)
*
Hollfeld
*
Kemnath (since 1810)
*
Kirchenlamitz (since 1812)
*
Kronach
Kronach (; ) is a Town#Germany, town in Upper Franconia, Germany, located in the Franconian Forest area. It is the capital of the Kronach (district), district Kronach.
The town is equipped with a nearly complete city wall and Germany's biggest an ...
*
Kulmbach (since 1812)
*
Lauenstein
*
Lichtenfels
*
Mitwitz HG (since 1813)
*
Münchberg (since 1812)
*
Naila (since 1812)
*
Neustadt an der Waldnaab (since 1810)
*
Pegnitz (since 1812)
*
Pottenstein (since 1810)
*
Rehau (since 1812)
*
Scheßlitz
* Schweinfurt (until 1810)
*
Selb (since 1812)
*
Seßlach (since 1812)
*
Stadtsteinach
* Tambach HG (since 1814)
*
Teuschnitz
*
Tirschenreuth
Tirschenreuth (; Northern Bavarian: ''Dirschnrad'', ''Diascharad'') is the capital city of the district of Tirschenreuth (district), Tirschenreuth. It is located in the northeast of Bavaria, very close to the Czech-Bavarian border.
Geography
Tirs ...
(since 1810)
*
Waldsassen (since 1810)
*
Weidenberg (since 1812)
*
Weismain
*
Wunsiedel
(; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudolf ...
(since 1812)
History
In the years between 1806 and 1808 the Kingdom of Bavaria was divided in 15 (state) districts, whose names were taken from their rivers. The ''Mainkreis'', with Bamberg as its capital, was initially composed of 18 rural divisions and, since 1809, of the independent cities of Bamberg and Schweinfurt. In 1810 it grew significantly with the annexation of the ''Naabkreis''. It was again enlarged when it received 12 rural divisions from the former
Principality of Bayreuth
The Principality of Bayreuth () or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Since Burgrave Frederi ...
, whereupon the district administration was moved to Bayreuth. In 1817, the Mainkreis was renamed ''Obermainkreis'' (District of the Upper Main River) and slightly expanded. At the same time, a new district with the name of ''Untermainkreis'' (District of the Lower Main) was created downriver. The Territorial Reorganization (''Gebietsreform'') of 29 November 1837, implemented at the request of King
Ludwig I, split the judicial districts of the former ''Naabkreis'' from the Obermainkreis, assigning them to ''Oberpfalz'' (Upper Palatinate) instead, and renamed the shrunken ''Obermainkreis'' “''Oberfranken''” (Upper Franconia).
Literature
* (de) ''Handbuch der bayerischen Ämter, Gemeinden und Gerichte 1799–1980'' (Guide of the Bavarian Districts, Municipalities and Courts 1799–1980), written by Richard Bauer, Reinhard Heydenreuter, Gerhard Heyl, Emma Mages, Max Piendl, August Scherl, Bernhard Zittel and edited by Wilhelm Volkert, Senior Professor at the University of Regensburg, Munich, 1983,
{{Authority control
Kingdom of Bavaria