The Franconian Circle was an Imperial Circle

Imperial Circle

An Imperial Circle comprised a regional grouping of territories of the Holy Roman Empire, primarily for the purpose of organizing a common defensive structure and of collecting the imperial taxes, but also as a means of organization within the Imperial Diet and the Imperial Chamber Court.Each...

 established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconia

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...

n stem duchy — roughly corresponding with the present-day Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

n Regierungsbezirke of Upper

Upper Franconia

Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...

, Middle

Middle Franconia

Middle Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is in the west of Bavaria and adjoins the state of Baden-Württemberg...

 and Lower Franconia

Lower Franconia

Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....

 — while western Rhenish Franconia

Rhenish Franconia

Rhenish Franconia or Western Franconia denotes the western half of the central German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms...

 belonged to the Upper Rhenish Circle

Upper Rhenish Circle

The Upper Rhenish Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former Duchy of Upper Lorraine and large parts of Rhenish Franconia including the Swabian Alsace region and the Burgundian duchy of Savoy....

. The title of a "Duke of Franconia" was claimed by the Würzburg bishops

Bishopric of Würzburg

The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...

.

Composition

The circle was made up of the following states:

Name	Type of entity	Comments
Ansbach Principality of Ansbach The Principality of Ansbach or Brandenburg-Ansbach was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Ansbach...	Margraviate	Established in 1398, held by the House of Hohenzollern House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near... , acquired by Prussia Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...  in 1791
Bamberg Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg The Bishopric of Bamberg was established in 1007, to further expand the spread of Christianity in Germany. The ecclesiastical state was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from about 1245 until it was subsumed to the Electorate of Bavaria in 1802...	Prince-Bishop Prince-Bishop A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office... ric	Diocese established in 1007 by King Henry II Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004... , Prince-Bishopric since about 1245
Bayreuth Principality of Bayreuth The Principality of Bayreuth or Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Until 1604 its capital city was Kulmbach; then the margraves used their palaces in Bayreuth as their residence...	Margraviate	Established in 1398 at Kulmbach Kulmbach Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its famous sausages, or Bratwürste.-Location:... , held by the House of Hohenzollern, personal union Personal union A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...  with Ansbach from 1769, acquired by Prussia in 1791
Castell	County Graf Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...	Imperial counts since 1202
Eichstätt Bishopric of Eichstätt The Bishopric of Eichstätt was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Centered on the town of Eichstätt, it was located in the present-day state of Bavaria, somewhat to the west of Regensburg, to the north of Neuburg an der Donau and Ingolstadt, to the south of Nuremberg, and...	Prince-Bishopric	Established in 741 by Saint Boniface Saint Boniface Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
Erbach Erbach im Odenwald -Location:The town lies in the Odenwald at elevations between 200 and 560 m in the valley of the Mümling.-Neighbouring communities:Erbach borders in the north on the town of Michelstadt, in the east on the market town of Kirchzell , in the south on the community of Hesseneck and the town of...	County	Imperial counts from 1532
Franconia (de)	Teutonic bailiwick Bailiwick A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...	Based around Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.-History:Mergentheim is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe, who early in the 13th century assigned the greater part of their estates in...
Hausen Hausen, Upper Franconia Hausen is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....	Lordship Freiherr The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...	Held by Bamberg since 1007, condominium Condominium (international law) In international law, a condominium is a political territory in or over which two or more sovereign powers formally agree to share equally dominium and exercise their rights jointly, without dividing it up into 'national' zones.Although a condominium has always been...  with Bayreuth Principality of Bayreuth The Principality of Bayreuth or Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Until 1604 its capital city was Kulmbach; then the margraves used their palaces in Bayreuth as their residence...  and Nuremberg Nuremberg Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...  from 1538
Henneberg House of Henneberg -Origins:The distant origins of this family are speculative yet seem to originate in the Rhine Valley, east of modern-day France. Charibert, a nobleman in Neustria is the earliest recorded ancestor of the family, dating before 636. Five generations pass between Charibert and the next descendant...	Princely Princes of the Holy Roman Empire The term Prince of the Holy Roman Empire denoted a secular or ecclesiastical Imperial State, who ruled over an immediate fief directly assigned by the Holy Roman Emperor...  County	Principality since 1310, line extinct in 1583, acquired by Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar.-Division of Leipzig:...  and Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Gotha was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine of the Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha....  in 1660
Hohenlohe Hohenlohe Hohenlohe is the name of a German princely family and the name of their principality.At first rulers of a county, its two branches were raised to the rank of principalities of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and 1764 respectively; in 1806 they lost their independence and their lands formed part of...	County	Immediate counts since 1450, raised to principality in 1744
Limpurg Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and capital of the district of Schwäbisch Hall. The town is located in the valley of the river Kocher in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg....	Lordship	Territory around Limpurg Castle near Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and capital of the district of Schwäbisch Hall. The town is located in the valley of the river Kocher in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg.... , held by the Schenken von Limpurg, hereditary cup-bearer Cup-bearer A cup-bearer was an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty it was to serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues, a person must be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold this position. He must guard against poison in the king's cup, and... s of the Empire for the Bohemian Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...  kings
Löwenstein Löwenstein-Wertheim Löwenstein-Wertheim was a county of the Holy Roman Empire, part of the Franconian Circle. It was formed from the counties of Löwenstein and Wertheim ....	County	Imperial immediacy since 1494, Löwenstein-Wertheim Wertheim am Main Wertheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of 24,202. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main.It is known for its wine, castle and medieval town centre.-Geography:...  from 1574, raised to principality in 1711
Nuremberg Nuremberg Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...	Imperial City Free Imperial City In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...	Reichsfreiheit granted by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...  in 1219
Reichelsberg Aub Aub is a town in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 29 km southeast of Würzburg, and 21 km northwest of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.It is on the Gollach River, not far from the border of Baden-Württemberg...	Lordship	Territory around Reichelsberg Castle near Aub Aub Aub is a town in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 29 km southeast of Würzburg, and 21 km northwest of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.It is on the Gollach River, not far from the border of Baden-Württemberg... , originally a fiefdom Fiefdom A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...  granted by Bamberg Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg The Bishopric of Bamberg was established in 1007, to further expand the spread of Christianity in Germany. The ecclesiastical state was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from about 1245 until it was subsumed to the Electorate of Bavaria in 1802...  to Hohenlohe Hohenlohe Hohenlohe is the name of a German princely family and the name of their principality.At first rulers of a county, its two branches were raised to the rank of principalities of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and 1764 respectively; in 1806 they lost their independence and their lands formed part of... , since 1401 a fief of Würzburg Bishopric of Würzburg The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...
Rieneck County of Rieneck The County of Rieneck was a comital domain within the Holy Roman Empire that lay in what is now northwestern Bavaria...	County	Territory around Rieneck Castle Rieneck Castle Rieneck Castle is a castle built by Ludwig I, Count of Loon and Rieneck, in the year 1151. The city of Rieneck is situated about 80 km east of Frankfurt. The castle now serves as a Scouting facility and is owned by the German Christian Guide and Scout Association, VCP... , established in 1168, claimed as a fief by Mainz Archbishopric of Mainz The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...  from 1366, line extinct in 1559, acquired by the Imperial counts of Nostitz Nostitz (family) The Nostitz family are a Silesian aristocratic family, named after Nostitz in Saxony, with a history dating back to 1280.Famous members of the family have included:* Helene von Nostitz, , writer and salon Dame...  in 1673
Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken , the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City...	Imperial City	Reichsfreiheit granted by Rudolph of Habsburg Rudolph I of Germany Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...  1274
Schwarzenberg House of Schwarzenberg -History:The family was first mentioned in 1172. A branch of the Seinsheim family was created when Erkinger I of Seinsheim acquired the Franconian barony of Schwarzenberg, the castle Schwarzenberg and the title Baron of Schwarzenberg, in 1405–21. At this time, they also possessed some fiefdoms in...	Lordship	Established in 1429 by the Lords of Seinsheim Seinsheim Seinsheim is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria in Germany. It is best known for its connection with the countly Seinsheim family which died out with the exception of the princely House of Schwarzenberg branch of the family.... , territory around Schwarzenberg Castle near Scheinfeld Scheinfeld Scheinfeld is a town in the Neustadt -Bad Windsheim district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 14 km northwest of Neustadt , and 40 km east of Würzburg. Schloss Schwarzenberg is adjacent to the town. The town is home to an Adidas testing factory.... , Imperial county from 1599, principality from 1670
Schweinfurt Schweinfurt Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...	Imperial City	Since 1254
Seinsheim Seinsheim Seinsheim is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria in Germany. It is best known for its connection with the countly Seinsheim family which died out with the exception of the princely House of Schwarzenberg branch of the family....	Lordship	Held by the Counts of Schwarzenberg from 1655
Weißenburg	Imperial City	Since 1296
Welzheim Welzheim Welzheim is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 35 km east of Stuttgart, and 15 km northwest of Schwäbisch Gmünd....	Lordship	Fiefdom of Württemberg Württemberg Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia.... , from 1379 to 1713 in possession of the Schenken von Limpurg
Wertheim Wertheim am Main Wertheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of 24,202. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main.It is known for its wine, castle and medieval town centre.-Geography:...	County	Established in 1132, acquired by Löwenstein in 1574
Wiesentheid Wiesentheid Wiesentheid is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria in Germany.-History:First time vouched in 918 as "wisenheida". The Mediatization in 1806 brought former shire Schönborn to grand duchy Würzburg so that in 1814 it belonged to Bavaria again...	Lordship	Imperial county from 1678, acquired by the Counts of Schönborn in 1701
Windsheim Bad Windsheim Bad Windsheim is a small historic city in Bavaria, Germany. It lies in the district Neustadt an der Aisch - Bad Windsheim, west of Nuremberg....	Imperial City	Since 1248
Würzburg Bishopric of Würzburg The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...	Prince-Bishopric	Established in 741 by Saint Boniface Saint Boniface Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz... , prince-bishopric since 1168, titular "Duke in Franconia"

Sources

• The list of states making up the Franconian Circle is based on that in the German Wikipedia
  German Wikipedia
  The German Wikipedia is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and mostly publicly editable online encyclopedia.Founded in March 2001, it is the second-oldest and, with over articles, the second-largest edition of Wikipedia, behind the English Wikipedia...
  
   article Fränkischer Reichskreis.