By order of Emperor Louis of Bavaria, Bamberg, Würzburg, Eichstätt and Fulda with the Hohenzollern Burgraves of Nuremberg, Counts of Henneberg, the Castell and Hohenlohe, the three episcopal cities, and the imperial cities of Nuremberg and Rothenburg united for the first time in a Landfrieden union.

But this union (the Franconian Landfrieden) did not last long; it disintegrated in the face of opposition from cities and princes.

[1][2] On 2 July 1500, at the Reichstag of Augsburg, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was divided into six imperial circles.

In the late Middle Ages, Franconia was understood to mean the area between the forested uplands of the Spessart and the Steigerwald, mainly comprising the estates of the Bishopric of Würzburg.

Using the name Franconia, created an awareness of an inner unity and with an increased sense of togetherness and solidarity which, however, did not exist in the political or sovereign arenas.