FRANCONIA, a name which was originally applied to the German coun try 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 pos sessions in 511. Conrad, Duke or Count of Franconia, was elected King of Ger many Nov. 8, 911, and princes of the same house occupied the throne from 1024 till 1250. The Emperor Wences laus, in 1387, divided the empire into four circles, of which Franconia and Thuringia constituted one; and Max imilian I., in 1512, erected conia into a distinct circle. In 1806 it was divided among Wurttemberg, Baden, Hesse-Cassel, the Saxon duchies, and Bavaria, but since 1814 the greater part has belonged to Bavaria, where the dis tricts 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 Bohmer-, Franken-, and Steiger Wald. The valleys produce good crops
and fruit, and the district is rich in min erals. Middle Franconia, which abuts upon Wurttemberg, is intersected by branches of the Franconian Jura chain, but has few rivers of importance besides the Regnitz and Altmiihl, which are con nected 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 Rh5ngebirge, and the Stei ger-Wald, and watered by the Main and Saale. It is the richest and best cul tivated 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 Kissin gen, Briickenau, Orb, and Wipfeld. See BAVARIA.