Franconian Circle

The Franconian Circle as at the beginning of the 16th century

The Franconian Circle as at 1789, before the French Revolutionary Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.

The flag of Franconia as used by troops of the Franconian Circle when fighting with the Imperial Army.

The Franconian Circle (German: Fränkischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy — roughly corresponding with the present-day Bavarian Regierungsbezirke of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia — while western Rhenish Franconia belonged to the Upper Rhenish Circle. The title of a "Duke of Franconia" was claimed by the Würzburg bishops.

Composition[edit]

The circle was made up of the following states:

Name	Type of entity	Comments
Ansbach	Margraviate	Established in 1398, held by the House of Hohenzollern, acquired by Prussia in 1791
Bamberg	Prince-Bishopric	Diocese established in 1007 by King Henry II, Prince-Bishopric since about 1245
Bayreuth	Margraviate	Established in 1398 at Kulmbach, held by the House of Hohenzollern, personal union with Ansbach from 1769, acquired by Prussia in 1791
Castell	County	Imperial counts since 1202
Eichstätt	Prince-Bishopric	Established in 741 by Saint Boniface
Erbach	County	Imperial counts from 1532
Franconia (de)	Teutonic bailiwick	Seated in Bad Mergentheim
Hausen	Lordship	Held by Bamberg since 1007, condominium with Bayreuth and Nuremberg from 1538
Henneberg	Princely County	Principality since 1310, line extinct in 1583, acquired by Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Gotha in 1660
Hohenlohe	County	Immediate counts since 1450, raised to principality in 1744
Limpurg	Lordship	Territory around Limpurg Castle near Schwäbisch Hall, held by the Schenken von Limpurg, hereditary cup-bearers of the Empire for the Bohemian kings
Löwenstein	County	Imperial immediacy since 1494, Löwenstein-Wertheim from 1574, raised to principality in 1711
Nuremberg	Imperial City	Reichsfreiheit granted by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in 1219
Reichelsberg	Lordship	Territory around Reichelsberg Castle near Aub, originally a fiefdom granted by Bamberg to Hohenlohe, since 1401 a fief of Würzburg
Rieneck	County	Territory around Rieneck Castle, established in 1168, claimed as a fief by Mainz from 1366, line extinct in 1559, acquired by the Imperial counts of Nostitz in 1673
Rothenburg ob der Tauber	Imperial City	Reichsfreiheit granted by Rudolph of Habsburg 1274
Schwarzenberg	Lordship	Established in 1429 by the Lords of Seinsheim, territory around Schwarzenberg Castle near Scheinfeld, Imperial county from 1599, principality from 1670
Schweinfurt	Imperial City	Since 1254
Seinsheim	Lordship	Held by the Counts of Schwarzenberg from 1655
Weißenburg	Imperial City	Since 1296
Welzheim	Lordship	Fiefdom of Württemberg, from 1379 to 1713 in possession of the Schenken von Limburg
Wertheim	County	Established in 1132, acquired by Löwenstein in 1574
Wiesentheid	Lordship	Imperial county from 1678, acquired by the Counts of Schönborn in 1701
Windsheim	Imperial City	Since 1248
Würzburg	Prince-Bishopric	Established in 741 by Saint Boniface, prince-bishopric since 1168, titular "Duke in Franconia"