Franconian Circle
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The Franconian Circle as at the beginning of the 16th century
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The Franconian Circle as at 1789, before the French Revolutionary Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
![](../I/m/Flag_of_Franconia.svg.png)
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
The circle was made up of the following states:
Name | Type of entity | Comments |
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Margraviate | Established in 1398, held by the House of Hohenzollern, acquired by Prussia in 1791 |
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Prince-Bishopric | Diocese established in 1007 by King Henry II, Prince-Bishopric since about 1245 |
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Margraviate | Established in 1398 at Kulmbach, held by the House of Hohenzollern, personal union with Ansbach from 1769, acquired by Prussia in 1791 |
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County | Imperial counts since 1202 |
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Prince-Bishopric | Established in 741 by Saint Boniface |
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County | Imperial counts from 1532 |
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Teutonic bailiwick | Seated in Bad Mergentheim |
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Lordship | Held by Bamberg since 1007, condominium with Bayreuth and Nuremberg from 1538 |
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Princely County | Principality since 1310, line extinct in 1583, acquired by Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Gotha in 1660 |
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County | Immediate counts since 1450, raised to principality in 1744 |
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Lordship | Territory around Limpurg Castle near Schwäbisch Hall, held by the Schenken von Limpurg, hereditary cup-bearers of the Empire for the Bohemian kings |
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County | Imperial immediacy since 1494, Löwenstein-Wertheim from 1574, raised to principality in 1711 |
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Imperial City | Reichsfreiheit granted by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in 1219 |
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Lordship | Territory around Reichelsberg Castle near Aub, originally a fiefdom granted by Bamberg to Hohenlohe, since 1401 a fief of Würzburg |
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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 |
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Imperial City | Reichsfreiheit granted by Rudolph of Habsburg 1274 |
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Lordship | Established in 1429 by the Lords of Seinsheim, territory around Schwarzenberg Castle near Scheinfeld, Imperial county from 1599, principality from 1670 |
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Imperial City | Since 1254 |
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Lordship | Held by the Counts of Schwarzenberg from 1655 |
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Imperial City | Since 1296 |
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Lordship | Fiefdom of Württemberg, from 1379 to 1713 in possession of the Schenken von Limburg |
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County | Established in 1132, acquired by Löwenstein in 1574 |
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Lordship | Imperial county from 1678, acquired by the Counts of Schönborn in 1701 |
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Imperial City | Since 1248 |
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Prince-Bishopric | Established in 741 by Saint Boniface, prince-bishopric since 1168, titular "Duke in Franconia" |
See also
Sources
- The list of states making up the Franconian Circle is based on that in the German Wikipedia article Fränkischer Reichskreis.
External links
- Imperial Circles in the 16th Century – Historical Maps of Germany
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.