As early as the Middle Ages, Franconia had very close links to king and empire. Located between the Rhenish territories of the empire and the Kingdom of Bohemia, Franconia, which included the former Duchy of Franconia, had been one of the centres of empire for a long time.
By order of Emperor Louis of Bavaria, Bamberg, Würzburg, Eichstätt and Fulda with the Hohenzollern Burgraves of Nuremberg, Counts of Henneberg, the Castell and Hohenlohe, the three episcopal cities, and the imperial cities of Nuremberg and Rothenburg united for the first time in a Landfrieden union. But this union (the Franconian Landfrieden) did not last long; it disintegrated in the face of opposition from cities and princes.[1][2]
On 2 July 1500, at the Reichstag of Augsburg, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was divided into six imperial circles. These first circles were originally numbered, the Franconian Imperial Circle being given the number 1:
The first circle comprises the princes, principalities, states and territories described below, namely the Bishops of Bamberg, Wirtzburg, Eystett, the Margrave of Brandenburg as Burgraves of Nuremberg, the Counts, free and imperial cities, where they are seated and located.[3]
The circles were later given names that corresponded to their geographical location, which gave rise to the name Franconian Imperial Circle, which appeared for the first time in 1522. In the late Middle Ages, Franconia was understood to mean the area between the forested uplands of the Spessart and the Steigerwald, mainly comprising the estates of the Bishopric of Würzburg.
Using the name Franconia, created an awareness of an inner unity and with an increased sense of togetherness and solidarity which, however, did not exist in the political or sovereign arenas.
Established in 1398 at Kulmbach, held by the House of Hohenzollern, personal union with Ansbach from 1769, acquired by Prussia in 1791, 30th seat to the Reichstag
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
Established in 1429 by the Lords of Seinsheim, territory around Schwarzenberg Castle near Scheinfeld, Imperial county from 1599, principality from 1670
^Endres, Rudolf (1967). Zur Geschichte des fränkischen Reichskreises [On the History of the Imperial Franconian Circle], p. 168.
^Pfeiffer, Gerhard (1971). Die königlichen Landfriedenseinungen in Franken [The Royal Landfrieden Agreements in Franconia] in: Vorträge und Forschungen: Der deutsche Territorialstaat im 14. Jahrhundert II (1986, 2nd edn.) Vol. 14: Vorträge und Forschungen: Der deutsche Territorialstaat im 14. Jahrhundert II (1986, 2nd edn.) Konstanzer Arbeitskreis für mittelalterliche Geschichte (eds.), p. 231
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