Franconia () is a region that is not precisely defined, but which lies in the north of the Free State of Bavaria, parts of Baden-Württemberg and South Thuringia and Hesse in Germany. It is characterised by its own cultural and linguistic heritage. Its history began with the first recorded human settlement about 600,000 years ago. Thuringii, Alemanni and Franks, who gave the region its name, settled the area in the Early Middle Ages. From the mid-9th century, the Stem Duchy of Franconia emerged as one of the five stem duchies of the Empire of East Francia. On 2 July 1500, during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I, as part of the Imperial Reform, the empire was divided into Imperial Circles. The Franconian Circle, which was formed as a result of this restructuring, became decisive in the creation of a Franconian national identity. A feature of Franconia in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period was its Kleinstaaterei, an extreme fragmentation into little states and territories. In the 19th century under Napoleon, large parts of Franconia were incorporated into the newly created Kingdom of Bavaria.
Prehistory and Antiquity
Archaeological finds of artifacts in Kronach and on the Schalksberg in Würzburg show that the region had already been settled by the middle ice age (the Pleistocene), about 600,000 years ago, by primitive man (Homo erectus). Fossils have also been found dating to the later phases of the Pleistocene. But the oldest find of human remains in Franconia comes from the cave ruins of Hunas at Pommelsbrunn in the county of Nürnberger Land.
In the early Bronze Age, the region was probably inhabited only relatively sparsely, as few noble metals occur here and the soils are only moderately fertile. However, in the late Bronze Age, a warrior elite of the so-called Urnfield culture (1200-800 BC) began to establish themselves on hilltops like the Ehrenbürg, the Hesselberg or the Marienberg above Würzburg. A particularly large site from this period was located on the Heunischenburg near Kronach in Upper Franconia. In nearby Thonberg, a helmet has been found dating to this period. Another helmet of this era was discovered at Ebing near Bamberg.
In the course of the Iron Age which followed (from about 800 BC), the Celts became the first identifiable tribe in the region. They built a chain of hillforts in northern Franconia as a defensive line against the Germani who were pressing in from the north. On the Staffelberg they built a mighty settlement, which was mentioned by Ptolemy under the name of oppidum Menosgada. Another was built on the Gleichberge: the largest surviving oppidum in Central Germany, the Steinsburg. With the accelerating expansion of Rome in the first century BC and the simultaneous advance of the Elbe Germanic tribes from the north, Celtic culture began to decline. A Germanic cemetery from this period, which was used for a long time, is located in what is now Altendorf in the county of Bamberg.
The southern parts of present-day Franconia soon fell under Roman control; however, most of the region was permanently in free Germania. This area was populated by the Marcomanni until, following their defeat by Rome roughly between 7 and 3 BC, they moved away further to the east into present-day Bohemia and were replaced by other Elbe Germanic tribes such as the Hermunduri. Initially Rome tried to extend its immediate influence far to the northeast, as witnessed by the legion camp at Marktbreit that was discovered in 1986 at the top of the River Main triangle. In the longer term, however, the Germanic-Roman frontier was established further southwest.Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig. Unterfränkische Geschichte. Von der germanischen Landnahme bis zum hohen Mittelalter, Volume 1. Echter Verlag, Würzburg, 1989; 2nd edition, 1990, , pp. 27-37
Under the emperors Domitian (81-96 AD), Trajan (98-117 AD) and Hadrian (117-138 AD) the Roman Limes formed the boundary with the tribes to the north. This defensive line bisected the south of Franconia and describes an arc through the region whose northernmost point was located at today's Gunzenhausen. To oversee it, the Romans built several forts, such as Biriciana near Weißenburg or Ruffenhofen at the foot of the Hesselberg. However, by the middle of the third century, the Limes border could no longer be maintained because by 250 AD the Alemanni occupied the areas south of the Limes as far as the Danube.
Fortified settlements as on the Gelbe Bürg near Dittenheim and Reisberg at Scheßlitz controlled the new regions. But north of the former Limes, for example on the Ehrenbürg, the Staffelberg or the Houbirg, more such "Gau castles" (Gauburgen) have been detected. What tribe their occupants belonged to is unknown in most cases. Especially in southern areas it might well have been the Alemanni and the Juthungi. On the lower and middle Main they were certainly Burgundians. They are also believed to have had a site on the Wettenburg near Urphar. But by no later than 500 AD, many of these hill forts appear to have been destroyed. The exact reasons for this are not clear, but they could have fallen prey to invasions by the Huns and the resulting mass migration of Vandals and Suebi that crossed southern Germany. In many cases, however, it was probably conquest by the Franks that spelt the end of these hilltop settlements.
Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
Until the beginning of the 6th century, the East Francian region was caught in the area of tension between the Thuringians and the Alemanni. For example, the Cosmographer of Ravenna in the 7th century, wrote that the rivers Naab and Regen in today's Upper Palatinate joined the Danube in the land of the Thuringians.The early medieval burial site at Westheim, guide which accompanies the exhibition. Gunzenhausen Museum, 1987, p 10 He apparently obtained this information from older sources, which makes the periodic expansion of Thuringian influence in the 5th and early 6th centuries, at least into Upper Franconia, probable.
According to recent investigations, however, the expansion of Thuringian power into the area of the River Main is not established with certainty. Upper Franconia appears to have had a relationship with Bohemian culture groups until their conquest by the Franks. It is clear that an autochthonous Elbe Germanic people group dominated this area as a bearer of tradition.Jochen Haberstroh: Der Reisberg bei Scheßlitz-Burgellern in der Völkerwanderungszeit. Überlegungen zum 5. Jahrhundert n. Chr. in Nordbayern. Mit einem Beitrag von Jörg Faßbinder. GERMANIA 81-1, 2003 (PDF; 109 kB) The heartlands of the present region of Franconia fell to the Franks following victories over the Alamanni in 507 AD and the Thuringians (529-534 AD). At first they were only loosely attached to the Francian Empire. However, it is established that by the 6th century the region was colonized by the Franks, primarily from the Lower Main. In the 7th century, Frankish settlers advanced to the area of the great arc of the Upper Main and the River Regnitz. Shortly thereafter, at least by the mid-7th century, Slavs from the east began to settle the northeastern parts of the region. The Frankish king Dagobert I appointed a man named Hruodi in the central communications hub of Wurzburg to be the duke over the Main lands. It is occasionally speculated that this was the Thuringian duke, Radulf. More likely, however, is that even at that time the Franks had established their own duchy, to create a counterweight to the powerful Thuringian duke. Typical linear burial grounds from this period have been discovered in Westheim, Dittenheim, Gnotzheim, Hellmitzheim, Hettstadt, Kleinlangheim, Klepsau, Neubrunn, Niedernberg, Sulzheim, Weißenburg and Zeuzleben. Individual graves or grave goods from this era have also been discovered in Bad Staffelstein, Hirschaid and Eggolsheim.
The majority of the population in the area probably continued to follow pagan practices well into the Early Middle Ages. Only the king and his subordinate leadership were likely to have been fully Christian. The first to try to spread the Christian faith strongly, were itinerant Irish Anglo-Saxon monks. One of the first was Kilian, who became the apostle to the Franks. Around 685 the Irish preacher and his companions, Colman and Totnan, went to Würzburg where he became a type of bishop. On being murdered, he and his companions became martyrs. Around 741/742, the first Franconian bishopric was founded under Saint Boniface: the Bishopric of Würzburg. In 742 or possibly even a little later, Saint Willibald founded the Bishopric of Eichstatt, which included the southeastern parts of Franconia, but also parts of Bavaria and Alemannic areas.
Until about the 8th century, the region, which was becoming increasingly important to the Empire, still had no independent name. From the 9th century on, the Main area was referred to as East Francia (Francia Orientalis). However, the same name was given to the whole of the East Francian empire by Charlemagne's successor. Under Charlemagne, attempts were made to build a navigable channel between the River Altmühl and the Swabian Rezat and thus between the Rhine and the Danube near the present site of Graben at Treuchtlingen. Whether this Fossa Carolina or Karlsgraben was ever completed, is still disputed.
High Middle Ages
In the mid-9th century, the Stem Duchy of Franconia emerged, one of the five stem duchies of the East Francian Empire. Present-day Franconia, however, only covers the eastern part of this duchy. Until the 10th century, Franconia also comprised Rhenish or West Franconia. This part covered present-day Hesse, Rhenish Hesse, the Palatinate region, and North Baden, and also included parts of modern Thuringia south of the Rennsteig path.
In the 9th century, the so-called older Babenberg family, also called the Popponids, had a significant position of power in the Main region until a rift developed with the Carolingian kings. The last Carolingian, Louis the Child, finally seized a number of their estates and granted it to members of the Conradine clan, a wealthy family from Rhenish Franconia. In the subsequent Babenberg feud, the Conradines fought the Babenbergs. In the end, most of their estates, including Bamberg, were seized.
When, in 911 AD, Louis the Child died, the Conradine, Conrad I, who had hitherto been Duke of Franconia, was elected in Forchheim as king of East Francia. He gave regional authority over the Duchy of Franconia to his brother, Eberhard of Franconia. After Conrad's death, Henry, Duke of Saxony was elected as the German king. Eberhard of Franconia fell in 939 in the Battle of Andernach fighting Henry's son, Otto the Great. Thereafter, no successor was appointed and the Frankish duchy was directly subordinated to the king. Unlike other tribal duchies, Franconia was from then on the homeland and power base of the East Frankish and German kings. As a result, it never became a strong regional power during the Middle Ages like the duchies of Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia.
Otto I endowed the Schweinfurt counts, who were probably descendants of the Frankish Babenbergs, with numerous offices such as the episcopal seat in Würzburg, and made them counts of the most important Frankish gaus. Consequently, the Franks therefore remained loyal to the crown under Otto and his immediate successors. Otto the Great often stayed in Franconia, including the time in 957 when he met with his rebellious son, Liudolf of Swabia, in Zenna (today Langenzenn) in the Palatinate near Nuremberg.