The municipality is divided into 27 Ortsteile: the main town and the 26 villages of Dettenheim, Emetzheim, Gänswirtshaus, Haardt, Hagenbuch, Hammermühle, Hattenhof, Häuser am Wülzburger Berg, Heuberg, Holzingen, Kattenhochstatt, Kehl, Laubenthal, Markhof, Niederhofen, Oberhochstatt, Potschmühle, Rohrwalk, Rothenstein (Weißenburg), Schleifer am Berg, Schmalwiesen, Stadelhof, Suffersheim, Weimersheim, Weißenhof and Wülzburg.

The settlement, which included Thermae, lay on the border of the Roman Empire and on the Tabula Peutingeriana from the 4th century it had the name Biriciana.

The city became the seat of a royal residence during the reign of the Franks and according to legend, Charlemagne stayed there to supervise the construction of Fossa Carolina.

Following World War II over 6,000 refugees and people expelled from the territories which Germany lost settled in the city and have since played an important role in its industry and culture.

The Nazis also used it as a prison camp during World War II; it was here that the Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff was held for over a year before he died of TB.