City Overview Frankfurt
Frankfurt, the “Mainatten” of Germany, has more to offer than skyscrapers, the annual book fair, Goethe, the airport and Äppelwoi. Frankfurt has the largest city park in the republic, the Museumsufer, a beautiful old town and the Sachsenhausen nightlife district.
The fifth largest city in Germany owes its economic power to the fact that as a central transport hub it is a popular location for international trade exhibitions and other major events in the global economy. Located in the middle of the productive Rhine-Main region, the city is not only the financial center of Germany, but also that of the European Union because it pumps euros into the global economy. The modern skyscrapers of banks and businesses in the business district are powerful symbols of Frankfurt’s economic strength and form a silhouette of the city that looks more North American than European.
The city is not only the seat of the European Central Bank and many other financial institutions, it also has thousands of corporations, including some moguls from German publishing and a large number of companies from the PR, marketing, media and telecommunications industries. As Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) said in 1843: “Here you can see and hear what is happening in the world”.
Thanks to Europe’s third busiest airport (after London-Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle), Frankfurt Airport, and as an important transport hub in the country’s road and rail network, Frankfurt is at the center of international transport and communication.
Most visitors to Frankfurt come for one of the numerous trade fairs, exhibitions and congresses. The largest annual international trade fairs include the Frankfurt Book Fair and the International Exhibition Congress for Chemical Technology, Environmental Protection and Biotechnology (ACHEMA).
But Frankfurt (to the surprise of many) has yet another side to show the business travelers who are heavily involved. As the birthplace of Germany’s most revered poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), the city takes great pains to impress with its cultural heritage. The Alte Oper, outstanding museums, top-class artist groups and local festivals will attract every guest with open eyes and ears from the conference room and the exhibition halls.
Important facts
Area code: (0) 69
Population: 753.056 (2020)
Latitude: 50.111512
Longitude: 8.680506
City History of Frankfurt
As early as 3000 BC Chr. Frankfurt was a settlement. The city came to the name Frankfurt around 500 AD, when the Franks were in power in the region and the settlement along the main commercial street was known as “Franconovurd”.
From the very beginning, the long success story of business has come from its central location on the Main and from the Frankfurt trade fair. Masses have been held since the 12th century (mentioned in a Jewish manuscript from 1160) and in 1240 the city received the official imperial privilege of holding an annual mass.
Frankfurt’s remarkable political and cultural reputation is based on a series of decisive and happy events. From 855, the elections for the future monarchs took place in the city. From 1562 German emperors were crowned in St. Bartholomew’s imperial cathedral. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange started trading in 1585 and moved to its current location, Börsenplatz, in 1879. In 1815 Frankfurt was declared a free city and a member of the German Confederation. At the same time, the city was the seat of the Bundestag, the highest body of the federal government.
Frankfurt University, which in 1932 named itself after the city’s most famous son, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, opened in 1914 shortly before the war, which was to change the face of Germany and that of the whole of Europe forever. At the end of the Second World War, the old town of Frankfurt was almost completely destroyed by the Allied bombers.
During the post-war period, Frankfurt’s political endeavors were dampened by the election of Bonn in 1949 as the capital of the Federal Republic. The city has put all of its energies into its undisputed role as a financial center. “Bankfurt” or “Mainhattan” now houses some of the tallest buildings in Europe, including the 300-meter high skyscraper of Commerzbank. These modern giants have replaced part of the destroyed old town. Nevertheless, the reconstructed buildings on the Römerberg still allow you to experience a bit of pre-war Frankfurt, including the Imperial Cathedral and the Roman – Frankfurt City Hall since 1405.
