Gisela Elsner (2 May 1937, Nuremberg, Middle Franconia May 13, 1992, Munich) was a German writer.

The district was formed in 1817 under the name of Untermainkreis (Lower Main District) and renamed in 1837 as Unterfranken und Aschaffenburg (Lower Franconia and Aschaffenburg).

An able ruler, he continued to strengthen the position of his duchy within the developing Kingdom of Germany, frequently in conflict with his neighbors to the South, the dukes of Franconia.

A second definition extends the range of Franconian to include the lowlands to the west, to the east all the way to Bamberg in East Franconia, and to the south as far as, and including, Alsace, far from the Rhineland.