Aschaffenburg (dpa/lby) – Since the incorporation of Franconia into the newly formed Kingdom of Bavaria at the beginning of the 19th century, the region has been an integral part of Bavaria. Nevertheless, the more than four million citizens of Central, Upper and Lower Franconia insist on a certain independence within the Free State and demonstrate this every year at the “Day of the Franconia” – this year it will be on July 3rd in Aschaffenburg.
“We in Franconia had to do without our holiday for two years,” said Lower Franconia’s District President Erwin Dotzel on Wednesday when the program was presented in Aschaffenburg, according to the speech manuscript. “After the compulsory Corona break, the attraction will be all the greater if we can present our culture and our tradition to the rest of the Free State again on “Day of the Franconia”.
Traditionally there is always jealousy, prejudice and resentment between the Franconians and the Bavarians. In order to strengthen Franconian self-confidence as part of Bavaria’s success story and to promote Bavarian understanding of the country team, the state parliament decided in 2005 to hold a Franconian Day every year in the future. This day is intended as a showcase for the clubs and crafts, to commemorate, among other things, the Franconian customs that were pushed back about 200 years ago and the history of the three Franconian districts.
Many visitors come to Frankentag in traditional Franconian costumes or in red and white T-shirts with inscriptions such as “Iech moog Franconian”. Most recently, the “Day of the Franks” took place in 2019 in Neustadt near Coburg in Upper Franconia and its neighboring town in Thuringia, Sonneberg.