The Untermainkreis (German: Lower Main District) was one of the administrative districts (German: Bezirke or Regierungsbezirke) 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 named after its main river Main. It was the predecessor of the administrative district of

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 ...

(''

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 ...

Unterfranken''). Administrative headquarters were in Würzburg.

Independent Cities

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

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

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 ...

Subdivisions

The district was divided in the following judicial districts ('' Landgerichte''), 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''): *

Alzenau Alzenau (; until 31 December 2006 officially ''Alzenau i.UFr.'') is a town in the north of the Aschaffenburg (district), Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Until 1 July 1972 ...

* Amorbach * Arnstein *

Aub Aub () is a town in the Würzburg (district), district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany, southeast of Würzburg and northwest of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, near the border of Baden-Württemberg. It is fed by the river Gollach and divided into t ...

(since 1840) * Aura (until 1829) * Baunach (since 1840) * Bischofsheim * Brückenau (since 1819) * Dettelbach *

Ebern Ebern () is a Town#Germany, town in the Haßberge (district), Haßberge district of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated southwest of Coburg and northwest of Bamberg. Its population is about 8,000. Its mayor is Robert Herrmann. Ebern is about 1,000 ...

* Eltmann (since 1819) * Eschau (until 1849) * Euerdorf * Fechenbach (until 1818) *

Fladungen Fladungen is a town in the Rhön-Grabfeld district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 11 km northwest of Ostheim, 20 km west of Meiningen, and 33 km east of Fulda. It is the northernmost town in Bavaria, b ...

(until 1828) * Famersbach (until 1823) ( Frammersbach?) * Gemünden * Gerolzhofen * Gersfeld (1820-1843) * Gleusdorf (since 1840) *

Hammelburg Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Francon ...

(since 1819) *

Haßfurt Haßfurt (; English: Hassfurt) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the Haßberge (district), Haßberge district. It is situated on the river Main (river), Main, 20 km east of Schweinfurt and 30 km northwest of Bamberg. In 1852, Ludw ...

*Hilden * Hofheim * Homburg (until 1840) * Kaltenberg (until 1829) * Karlstadt *

Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the Germany, German state of Bavaria, capital of the Kitzingen (district), district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County i ...

* Kleinwallstadt (until 1829) * Klingenberg * Königshofen * Kreuzwertheim (until 1848) * Krombach (until 1820) * Lohr *

Marktbreit Marktbreit am Main () is a town in the district of Kitzingen in the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated at the most southern point of the Main river. Marktbreit is the birthplace of Alois Alzheimer who first ident ...

* Marktheidenfeld (since 1840) * Marktsteft * Mellrichstadt *

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the Miltenberg (district), like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old ...

* Münnerstadt * Neustadt an der Saale *

Obernburg Obernburg am Main (, ; officially ''Obernburg a.Main''; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Omborsch''), commonly known as Obernburg, is a town in the Miltenberg (district), Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Francon ...

Ochsenfurt Ochsenfurt () is a town in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. Ochsenfurt is located on the left bank of the River Main and has around 11,000 inhabitants. This makes it the largest town in Würzburg district. Name Like Oxford, the ...

* Orb * Remlingen (until 1849) * Röttingen (until 1840) *

Rothenbuch Rothenbuch is a community in the Aschaffenburg (district), Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 1,700. Geography Location Rothenbuch lies in t ...

* Rüdenhausen (1848 – 1853 with Wiesentheid) *

Schöllkrippen Schöllkrippen is a market community in the Aschaffenburg (district), Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and seat of the ''Municipal association, Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ...

(since 1858) * Sommerhausen (until 1849) * Stadtprozelten (until 1829 und after 1853) * Sulzheim (until 1852) * Tann (until 1834) * Triefenstein (until 1821) * Volkach * Werneck * Weyhers (since 1819) * Wiesentheid (1848 – 1853 with Rüdenhausen) *

right of Main *

left of Main

History

In the years between 1806 and 1808 the Kingdom of Bavaria was divided into 15 districts. Their names were taken from their main rivers. The ''Untermainkreis'' was only established in 1817 after the

Grand Duchy of Würzburg The Grand Duchy of Würzburg () was a German grand duchy centered on Würzburg existing in the early 19th century. History As a consequence of the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville, the Bishopric of Würzburg was secularized in 1803 and granted to the ...

, the Principality of Aschaffenburg and other territories had been annexed to Bavaria. Some of the judicial districts had already been established in 1814 and 1816. In the process of another territorial reorganization initiated by King Ludwig I on 29 November 1837, the Untermainkreis was renamed Lower Franconia and Aschaffenburg (Unterfranken und Aschaffenburg). The town name of Aschaffenburg was dropped in 1946.

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