Middle Franconia (, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in the west of

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 ...

bordering the state of

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 ...

. The administrative seat is

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 ...

; the most populous and largest city is

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 ...

Subdivisions

The region is divided into seven districts ('Landkreise') and five independent cities ('Kreisfreie Städte'). The lowest level is divided into 210 municipalities (including five cities).

Independent cities

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

* Fürth *

* Schwabach

Districts

* Erlangen-Höchstadt * Fürth * Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim * Nürnberger Land * Roth * Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen

History

After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally reorganised and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative government regions (German: Regierungsbezirke (singular Regierungsbezirk)), in Bavaria called Kreise (singular: Kreis). They were created in the fashion of the French departements, quite even in size and population, and named after their main rivers. In the following years, due to territorial changes (e. g. loss of Tyrol, addition of the Palatinate), the number of Kreise was reduced to eight. One of these was the Rezatkreis (Rezat District). In 1837 king Ludwig I of Bavaria renamed the Kreise after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps. Thus the district name of Rezatkreis changed to Middle Franconia.

Main sights

Next to the major city

, the capital

and the former residence city

, the towns of the Romantic Road

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...

and Dinkelsbühl belong to the major tourist attractions. The Lichtenau Fortress, Rothenberg Fortress, Hohenstein and

Cadolzburg Cadolzburg (outdated also ''Kadolzburg'' , colloquially pronounced "Kalschbuʳch" or "Sporch" in the local dialect) is a municipality in the Middle Franconian Fürth (district), district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated west of F� ...

belong to the most important castles of Middle Franconia. The Franconian Jura and the northern valley of the River Altmühl are among the scenic attractions.

Coat of arms

''For the German Imperial Eagle, see Reichsadler''

Population

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 78.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 2.4% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 40,900 € or 136% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 105% of the EU average.

References

External links

(Middle Franconia State Government; Regierung von Mittelfranken

Bezirk Mittelfranken
{{Authority control NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Wine regions of Germany Government regions of Germany Regions of Bavaria