After the founding of theKingdom of Bavaria the state was totally reorganised and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative government regions (German:Regierungsbezirke, singularRegierungsbezirk), in Bavaria calledKreise (singular:Kreis). They were created in the fashion of the Frenchdepartements, quite even in size and population, and named after their main rivers.
In the following years, due to territorial changes (e.g., loss ofTyrol, addition of thePalatinate), the number of Kreise was reduced to 8. One of these was theUntermainkreis (Lower Main District). In 1837 kingLudwig I of Bavaria renamed the Kreise after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps. Thus the name Untermainkreis changed to Lower Franconia andAschaffenburg, but the city name was dropped in the middle of the 20th century, leaving just Lower Franconia.
From 1933, the regional NaziGauleiter,Otto Hellmuth, (who had renamed his party Gau"Mainfranken") insisted on renaming the government districtMainfranken as well. He encountered resistance from Bavarian state authorities but finally succeeded in having the name of the district changed, effective 1 June 1938.[3] After 1945 the nameUnterfranken was restored.
The municipal reform (Kreisreform) of June 1972 consolidated the 22 country districts of Lower Franconia into nine.
Würzburg, Ochsenfurt, part of Gerolzhofen, part of Marktheidenfeld
Unterfranken is the north-west part of Franconia and consists of three district-free cities (Kreisfreie Städte) and nine country districts (Landkreise).
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 53.7 billion € in 2018, accounting for 1.6% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 37,500 € or 124% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 102% of the EU average.[4]
The coat of arms includes the "Franconian Rake" (the arms ofDuchy of Franconia) in the upper portion, the "Rennfähnlein [de]", a banner, quarterly argent (silver) and gules (red), on a lance or (gold), in bend, on an azure (blue) field, associated withWürzburg in the lower left quadrant, and a white/silverwheel on a red field symbolizing the clerical state ofMainz, in the lower right quadrant.
