Franconian Jura

Franconian Jura, also called Franconian Alps, a piedmont area located in southern Germany, extending in a broad crescent from the Ries Basin on the Danube River and ending at the great bend of the upper Main River. A continuation of the Swabian Jura to the southwest, the Franconian Jura is a series of hills dotted with old castles and little towns.

The tilting of sedimentary rock strata during the Triassic and Jurassic periods of the Mesozoic Era form irregular cliffs to the west and northwest. The area is noted for its numerous limestone caves and caverns, containing stalactites and fossils. The most northerly extension of the Franconian Jura is called the Franconian Switzerland, which forms a rough triangle between the German cities of Bamberg, Bayreuth, and Nürnberg.