Franconia - Geography

Geography

The Franconian lands are situated north and south of the winding Main River, which together with the left (southern) Regnitz tributary, including its Rednitz and Pegnitz headstreams, drains the most parts of Franconia. Other large rivers are the upper Werra in Thuringia and the Tauber, as well as the upper Jagst and Kocher streams in the west, both right tributaries of the Neckar. In southern Middle Franconia, the Altmühl flows towards the Danube, the European Watershed is crossed by the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. The artficial Franconian Lake District is a popular destination for day-trippers and tourists.

The landscape is characterized by numerous Mittelgebirge ranges of the German Central Uplands. The Western natural border of Franconia is formed by the Spessart and Rhön Mountains, separating it from the former Rhenish Franconian lands around Aschaffenburg (officially part of Lower Franconia), where Hessian dialects are spoken. To the north it is framed by the Rennsteig ridge of the Thuringian Forest, the Thuringian Highland and the Franconian Forest, the border with the Upper Saxon lands of Thuringia. The Franconian lands include the present-day South Thuringian districts Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Hildburghausen and Sonneberg, the historic Gau of Grabfeld held by the House of Henneberg from the 11th century and later part of the Wettin duchy of Saxe-Meiningen.

In the east, the Fichtelgebirge leads to Vogtland, Bohemian Egerland (Chebsko) in the Czech Republic, and the Bavarian Upper Palatinate. The hills of the Franconian Jura in the south mark the border with the Upper Bavarian region (Altbayern), historic Swabia, and the Danube basin. The northern parts of the Upper Bavarian Eichstätt District, territory of the historic Bishopric of Eichstätt, are also counted as part of Franconia.

In the west, Franconia proper comprises the Tauberfranken region along the Tauber River, which today is largely part of the Main-Tauber-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg. The state's larger Heilbronn-Franken region also includes the adjacent Hohenlohe and Schwäbisch Hall Districts. In the city of Heilbronn, beyond the Haller Ebene plateau, South Franconian dialects are spoken. Furthermore, in those easternmost parts of the Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis which had formerly belonged to the Bishopric of Würzburg, the inhabitants have preserved a Franconian identity.

The largest cities in Bavarian Franconia are Nuremberg, Würzburg, Fürth, Erlangen, Bayreuth, Bamberg, Aschaffenburg, Schweinfurt, Hof, Coburg, Ansbach and Schwabach. The major (East) Franconian towns in Baden-Württemberg are Schwäbisch Hall on the Kocher—the Imperial City declared itself "Swabian" in 1442—and Crailsheim on the Jagst River, the main towns in Thuringia are Suhl and Meiningen.

• Rothenburg is one of the best known towns in Franconia

• Walberla in Franconia

• Water wheel at the Regnitz

• Nuremberg is the largest city of Franconia