The German word —Franconians—also refers to the ethnic group, which is mainly to be found in this region. They are to be distinguished from the Germanic people of the Franks, and historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the Elbe Germanic people in the Main River area, known from the 9th century as East Francia (). In the Middle Ages the region formed much of the eastern part of the Duchy of Franconia and, from 1500, the Franconian Circle.Rudolf Endres: "Der Fränkische Reichskreis. In: Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29, published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Regensburg, 2003, p. 6, see online version (PDF). The restructuring of the south German states by Napoleon, after the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, saw most of Franconia awarded to Bavaria.Manfred Treml: "Das Königreich Bayern (1806–1918). In: Politische Geschichte Bayerns, published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte as Issue 9 of the Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur, 1989, pp. 22–25, here: p. 22.
The German word —Franconians—also refers to the ethnic group, which is mainly to be found in this region. They are to be distinguished from the Germanic people of the Franks, and historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the Elbe Germanic people in the Main River area, known from the 9th century as East Francia (). In the Middle Ages the region formed much of the eastern part of the Duchy of Franconia and, from 1500, the Franconian CircleRudolf Endres: "Der Fränkische Reichskreis. In: Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 29, published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte Regensburg, 2003, p. 6, see online version (PDF). The restructuring of the south German states by Napoleon, after the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, saw most of Franconia awarded to Bavaria.Manfred Treml: "Das Königreich Bayern (1806–1918). In: Politische Geschichte Bayerns, published by the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte as Issue 9 of the Hefte zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur, 1989, pp. 22–25, here: p. 22.