| **Premises and Equipment - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands** | 12 Months Ended |         |         |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|---------|---------|
||
| **Premises and Equipment [Line Items]**                                   |            |    |    |   |   |
| Rent expense                                                              | $ 3,456         | $ 3,258 | $ 2,608 |   |   |
| Merger with Ameriana Bancorp                                              |            |    |    |   |   |
| **Premises and Equipment [Line Items]**                                   |            |    |    |   |   |
| Premises and equipment acquired                                           | $ 14,491        |    |    |   |   |
| Merger with C Financial Corporation                                       |            |    |    |   |   |
| **Premises and Equipment [Line Items]**                                   |            |    |    |   |   |
| Premises and equipment acquired                                           |            |    |    | $ 7,290 |   |
| Merger with Community Bancshares, Inc.                                    |            |    |    |   |   |
| **Premises and Equipment [Line Items]**                                   |            |    |    |   |   |
| Premises and equipment acquired                                           |            |    |    |   | $ 3,610 |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
The amount of property, plant, and equipment recognized as of the acquisition date.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56956791&loc=d3e4845-128472Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 55 -Paragraph 37 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744172&loc=d3e2207-128464
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of rent expense incurred for leased assets, including but not limited to, furniture and equipment, that is not directly or indirectly associated with the manufacture, sale or creation of a product or product line.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_LeaseAndRentalExpense**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                  |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis=frme_AmerianaBancorpMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                                  |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis=frme_MergerwithCFinancialCorporationMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                                    |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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