Upper Franconia (, ) is a (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region 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 ...

, the others being

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia, Germany, in the west of Bavaria bordering the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; the most populous and largest city is Nuremberg. Subdi ...

and

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (, ) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. It consists of nine districts and 308 municipalities (including three cities). History After ...

, which are all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern (''Bavaria''). With more than 200 independent

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

which brew approximately 1000 different types of

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

, Upper Franconia has the world's highest brewery-density per capita. A special Franconian beer route (''Fränkische Brauereistraße'') runs through many popular breweries.

Geography

The administrative region borders on

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

(''Thüringen'') to the north,

(''Unterfranken'') to the west,

(''Mittelfranken'') to the south-west, and

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...

(''Oberpfalz'') to the south-east,

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

(''Sachsen'') to the north-east and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

to the east.

History

After the founding 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 ...

the state was totally reorganized and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative government regions (German: Regierungsbezirke (singular

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 ...

)), 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 Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, addition of the Palatinate), the number of Kreise was reduced to 8. One of these was the Mainkreis (Main District). In 1837 king

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

renamed the Kreise after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps. Thus the name Mainkreis changed to Upper Franconia.

Main sights

Next to the former episcopal residence city of

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 ...

, the capital

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 ...

, the former residence city of

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

and the classicist centre of Hof, as well as the towns of Lichtenfels,

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 ...

Gößweinstein Gößweinstein is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany. It lies within the region known as Franconian Switzerland. Districts History The first record of ''Goswinesteyn'' Castle is from 1076. Prior to 1102 the Hoch ...

and

Kulmbach Kulmbach () is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town, once a stronghold of the Principality of Bayreuth, is renowned for its University of Life Sciences, a branch of the University of Bayreuth, the massive Plasse ...

, the Weißenstein Palace,

Banz Abbey Banz Abbey (), now known as Banz Castle (), is a former Benedictine monastery, since 1978 a part of the town of Bad Staffelstein north of Bamberg, Bavaria, southern Germany. History The abbey was founded in about 1070 by Countess Alberada o ...

and the

Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers The Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (German: Basilika Vierzehnheiligen) is a church located near the town of Bad Staffelstein near Bamberg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The late Baroque (Rococo) basilica, designed by Balthasar Neumann, w ...

, the scenic attractions of the River Main and the low mountain ranges of the

Fichtel Mountains The Fichtel Mountains (, ; ) is a mountain range in Germany and the Czech Republic. They extend from the valley of the Red Main River in northeastern Bavaria to the Karlovy Vary Region in western Czech Republic. The Fichtel Mountains contain an ...

with the town of

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 ...

and the Franconian Forest belong among the region's major tourist attractions. There are also numerous spas like Bad Rodach, Bad Steben,

Bad Staffelstein Bad Staffelstein is a town in the Bavarian Regierungsbezirk, Administrative Region of Upper Franconia in Germany. It has around 10,000 inhabitants. Bad Staffelstein is known for several landmarks, such as the Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen des ...

, Bad Berneck and Bad Alexandersbad.

Coat of arms

Administrative subdivisions

Oberfranken is subdivided into nine ''Landkreise'' (districts) and four ''Kreisfreie Städte'' (district-free or independent cities). The lowest level is divided into 214 municipalities (including four cities). ''Landkreise'': *

Forchheim Forchheim () is a Town#Germany, town in Upper Franconia () in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative Forchheim (district), district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Fr ...

* Hof *

* Lichtenfels *

''Kreisfreie Städte'': *

* Hof

Historical population

Economy

The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) of the region was 40.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 1.2% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €34,900 or 116% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 96% of the EU average.

References

External links

Official website
(in German)
Sights in Franconia
(in German) {{Authority control NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Wine regions of Germany Government regions of Germany Regions of Bavaria