Special Sub-Topic: Franconia Click Here To Play: Franconia

Which of the following does NOT exist?

Greater Franconia. Those are the three parts that make up the region of Franconia (Franken). In German they are called Oberfranken, Mittelfranken and Unterfranken.

Franconia is a part of which state (Bundesland)?

Bavaria. Franconia covers the three northern districts of the seven districts within Bavaria. Just a little piece of advice: Don't call people from Franconia "Bavarian". Most of them won't like it! They usually prefer to be called "Franconian" instead.

Which of these cities is NOT located in Franconia?

Augsburg. Augsburg is located in Southern Bavaria, in the district of Swabia (Schwaben). Nuremberg (Nürnberg) is Franconia`s largest city. (population approx. 500,000)

Which of these cities is NOT a Franconian capital?

Nuremberg. Middle Franconia's largest city is Nuremberg, but its capital is Ansbach. Bayreuth is the capital of Upper Franconia, and Würzburg is the capital of Lower Franconia.

In Bayreuth there is an annual festival, which is dedicated to one German composer. Which one is it?

Richard Wagner. Richard Wagner (1813-1883)lived in Bayreuth for a couple of years. The festival was first held in 1876, and the festival was regularly patronized by the German Emperor Wilhelm I.

If you want to visit the "Medieval Criminal Museum", the "German Christmas Museum" and the "Doll and Toy Museum", which city do you have to go to?

Rothenburg on the Tauber. Rothenburg ob der Tauber - to use the German name - is a very well preserved old German town on the "Romantische Straße". I just love the "German Christmas Museum". Especially if you go there in summer - you will just start to feel really Christmassy in the middle of August!

In what year was the city of Nuremberg first mentioned in an official document?

1050. In the year 2000 Nuremberg was 950 years old!

Which of these annual events takes place in Nuremberg?

Christchild's Market. In German this is called the "Christkindlesmarkt". For those of you who picked Rock am Ring: its sister event Rock im Park is the one that takes place in Nuremberg. Those music festivals feature the same bands and they take place at the same weekend.

Which of these castles is located in Würzburg?

Feste Marienberg. The Kaiserburg is in Nuremberg and one of the most significant features of the city´s skyline. Neuschwanstein is in the south of Bavaria. It served as a model for the castle in Walt Disney World! Sanssouci is in Potsdam (near Berlin).

And now a question on Franconian vocabulary: what does "aweng" mean?

a little bit. It comes from the German "ein wenig". One feature of the Franconian dialect is that people tend not to distinguish between "t" and "d". So you will for example hear people talking about "Mudder und Vadder" (instead of "Mutter und Vater", which means mother and father). Cf. American English. :)