OBERFRANKEN - Geography and history
Until the unification of Germany, the Regierungsbezirk of Upper Franconia in northeast Bavaria was a border area, sharing a 300 km-long border with the former GDR. Now this has all changed, and the region is enjoying an entirely new position within the economic structure of Europe and a unified Germany. Its neighbours are no longer just the Regierungsbezirke of Lower Franconia, Central Franconia and Upper Palatinate, but also Thuringia and Saxony. The landscape consists of the terraced Franconian Stufenland in the south and west, Franconian Switzerland (a recreation area of outstanding natural beauty), the Fichtelgebirge and the Franconian forest in the north and east of the region. No single centre dominates in Upper Franconia. Four towns - Bamberg, Bayreuth, Coburg and Hof - form the main centres of population. With a population of 69 700, Bayreuth just beats Bamberg as Upper Franconia's largest town. It is also the seat of government. The Bayreuth festival is famous, attracting thousands of visitors every summer.
Almost the half of the total area of Upper Franconia (7 230 km2) is used for agricultural purposes, and almost 40% is woodland. The fertile valleys between Nuremberg and Bamberg are home to the largest single vegetable and fruit-growing area in Bavaria.
Homogeneity in settlement structure and economic power
The absence of a major conurbation means that Upper Franconia has a fairly homogeneous settlement structure. The towns of Bayreuth, Bamberg, Hof and Coburg act as regional centres, each exerting its own influence. Upper Franconia is also more homogeneous as an economic area than the other Regierungsbezirke. Regional differences exist in that the rural districts in the west and the kreisfreie Städte have lower unemployment rates than the eastern districts, where the highest rates are in Hof (rural district and kreisfreie Stadt). With its motorways from Nuremberg via Hof to Leipzig and Berlin and to Chemnitz and Dresden, Upper Franconia has become an important junction for road traffic to the new Länder. The Rhine-Main-Danube canal, which flows from Bamberg to Nuremberg, has become much more important over the past few years.
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