The journal Frankenland—the periodical of the Frankenbund—explores as many facets of the Franconian region as possible, with five issues each year. Capturing the diversity of Franconia and its regions is both the goal and hallmark of the journal, which is intended for a broad readership. It covers topics from Franconian history, art and culture, literature and music, folklore and architecture, as well as nature, environment, and regional studies.

The origins of the journal go back beyond the founding of the Frankenbund in 1920. The initiative to publish the periodical came from the printer and publisher Konrad Triltsch (1871–1921) of Dettelbach, who enlisted the Fürstlich Löwenstein court archivist Dr. Hans Walter of Kreuzwertheim as editor. Triltsch, as a successful businessman, sensed that an illustrated monthly dedicated to history, art, arts and crafts, literature, folklore, and heritage preservation in Franconia—as the subtitle of the first issue put it—would find a market. The issues were lavishly designed with front and end vignettes by the Würzburg painter Otto Rückert, who also created the ornate, color-printed cover. Numerous photos and engravings enriched the design, making clear by their quality that the publication was aimed at the educated middle class of Franconia.

The preface also offers insight, listing the advisory committee and the fields each member covered: in addition to experts on the history of the three Franconian districts of Bavaria, scholars for Baden-Franconia and Württemberg-Franconia were also included. Disciplines such as Franconian folklore, cultural history, Franconian literary history, Franconian legal history, and Franconian arts and crafts, as well as architecture, were all represented. Other areas included prehistory and monument preservation, historical geography, Franconian numismatics, genealogy, and even military and army history.

Already in 1914, the later founder of the Frankenbund, Dr. Peter Schneider, established contacts with the journal Frankenland and in 1916 assumed editorial leadership. With it, he found a platform to bring his ideas to a broader public. Thus, after founding the Frankenbund, it was only logical that he made Frankenland the “organ of the Frankenbund” and required all members to subscribe. The objective that Schneider had already given the journal upon taking over as editor, “education toward Franconian identity,” became the guiding principle for the Frankenbund as well.

Despite its success, the journal had to cease publication in 1922 due to hyperinflation. In 1923, the Mitteilungen des Frankenbundes appeared for a short time.Today’s journal is the “new series” of this original nucleus. Even though inflation made publication impossible, the Frankenbund continued to issue periodicals under different names: Werkblatt des Frankenbundes (1927–1930), Der Frankenbund (1931–1937), Bundesbrief des Frankenbundes (1938–1943), and after World War II, the Briefe des Frankenbundes (1949–1953). Finally, the name returned to Frankenland: the new series has appeared without interruption since 1954. Since 2013, it has been fully illustrated in color, with quarterly issues and an additional special edition dedicated to the annual “Franconian Theme Day.”

To make access easier to more than 90 volumes comprising around 34,000 pages, the journal has been available online through the digital journal collection of the University Library of Würzburg up to the year 2019.

The primary goal of Frankenland is to present the full diversity of Franconia in all its thematic breadth. Alongside history, art, and culture, literature and music have always been key components of the journal. At the same time, it addresses all of Franconia, its regions, and neighboring landscapes. The journal is aimed at a broad readership. Its contributions meet scholarly standards in both content and form, most of them based on academic research. Furthermore, the journal also serves as an internal forum for the Frankenbund, reporting on current developments within the association for Franconian regional studies and cultural preservation.

For members of Frankenbund groups, the subscription is included in their membership fee; members of affiliated associations can subscribe separately. For non-members, subscriptions can be obtained through the Frankenbund’s federal office.

After the death of Dr. Peter Schneider, the journal’s editors were: Dr. Erich Saffert (1960–1985), Paul Ultsch (1985–1989), Dr. Ulrike Schömig (1989–1993), Rudolf Erben M.A. (1993–2005), and Dr. Christina Bergerhausen (2005–2007). Since June 2007, Dr. Peter A. Süß, M.A., has been editor.

 

Contact for editorial matters:

Dr. Peter A. Süß

E-mail: schriftleitung@frankenbund.de