Franconia
a name which was originally applied to the German country on both sides of the Main, which was colonized by Frankish settlers under Thierry I., eldest son of Clovis I., who succeeded to his father's German possessions in 511. Conrad, Duke or Count of Franconia, was elected King of Germany Nov. 8, 911, and princes of the FRANKAU same house occupied the throne from 1024 till 1250. The Emperor Wenceslaus, in 1387, divided the empire into fcur circles, of which Franconia and Thuringia constituted one; and Maximilian I., in 1512, erected Franconia into a distinct circle. In 1806 it was divided among Württemberg, Baden, Hesse-Cassel, the Saxon duchies, and Bavaria, but since 1814 the greater part has belonged to Bavaria, where the districts or circles of Upper, Middle, and Lower Franconia were established in 1837. Upper Franconia includes the N.
E. portion of Bavaria. It is watered by numerous rivers, as the Main, Raab, Saale, etc., and it is intersected by the Fichtelgebirge and by the hilly ravines of the Böhmer-, Franken-, and Steiger- Wald. The valleys produce good crops and fruit, and the district is rich in minerals. Middle Franconia, which abuts upon Württemberg, is intersected by branches of the Franconian Jura chain, but has few rivers of importance besides the Regnitz and Altmühl, which are connected by the great Ludwig canal. It produces good wine, but is principally celebrated for its hop-gardens. Lower Franconia, which occupies the N. W. part of Bavaria, is traversed by the Spessart, the Rhöngebirge, and the Steiger-Wald, and watered by the Main and Saale. It is the richest and best cultivated of the Franconian circles, and is celebrated for the excellence of its wines, the Steiner and Leisten. The district is noted for its mineral springs at Kissingen, Brückenau, Orb, and Wipfeld. See BAVARIA.