(Redirected from Frankfurt am Main)
(German: , English: American English: ) is the largest city in the German
state of
Hessen and the fifth-largest city in
Germany after
Berlin,
Hamburg,
Munich and
Cologne, with an end-2006 population of 661,877.
[1] The urban area had an estimated population of 1,468,140 in 2000.
[2] The city is at the center of the larger '
Frankfurt Rhine Main Area' which has a population of 5 million and is Germany's second largest metropolitan area.
Situated on the river
Main, Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany. Frankfurt is the place of residence of the
European Central Bank, the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is one of the two largest financial centres in
continental Europe (the other one being
Paris). Frankfurt was named Europe's richest city in 2001 as measured by
GDP per capita.
[3] It is also listed as one of nine
Alpha world cities.
[4]
Among
English speakers the city is commonly known simply as "Frankfurt", though Germans occasionally call it by its full name when it is necessary to distinguish it from the other (significantly smaller) Frankfurt in the German state of
Brandenburg, known as
Frankfurt (Oder). It was once called 'Frankfort-on-the-Main' in English, a translation of Frankfurt am Main.
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Overview
Frankfurt has played a central role in the political history of Germany and the German states for centuries. From 855 to 1792 Frankfurt was the electoral city for the Emperors of the
Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In the
1848-49 revolutions, it became a sort of revolutionary capital and was the seat of the first democratically elected German parliament, the
Frankfurt Parliament, which met in the ''
Frankfurter Paulskirche'', or St. Paul's Church.
The three pillars of Frankfurt's economy are finance, transport, and trade fairs. Frankfurt has been Germany's financial capital for centuries, and it is the home of a number of major banks and brokerages. The
Frankfurt Stock Exchange is by far Germany's largest, and is one of the world's most important. Frankfurt is also the seat of the
European Central Bank which sets monetary policy for the
Eurozone economy, and of the German
Bundesbank. A number of major German commercial banks, including
Deutsche Bank,
Dresdner Bank, and
Commerzbank, are based in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt has excellent transport infrastructure and the
Frankfurt International Airport is a major European transportation hub. Frankfurt Airport ranks among the world's top ten airports and serves 304 flight destinations in 110 countries. Depending on whether total passengers or flights are used, it ranks as the second or third busiest in Europe alongside London
Heathrow Airport and Paris'
Charles de Gaulle. Its central location at Europe's heart and its excellent accessibility by air, rail and road make Frankfurt Airport City especially attractive. In addition, many large trade fairs take place in Frankfurt each year, notably the
Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (''Frankfurt Motor Show'') and the
Frankfurt Book Fair, which have far over 100,000 visitors each, but also important special interest fairs like the ''LinuxWorld Conference & Expo'' or ''Musikmesse Frankfurt''.
Frankfurt is sometimes nicknamed "Bankfurt", "Mainhattan" (derived from the local
River Main) or "The Big Äppel" (a reference to "Äppelwoi", or apple wine, a type of cider which is produced and drunk mainly in the region). It is one of only four
European cities that have a significant number of high-rise
skyscrapers. With eleven skyscrapers taller than in 2004, Frankfurt is second behind
Paris (
La Défense and
Montparnasse, with twelve skyscrapers taller than 150 m, not counting the
Eiffel Tower), but ahead of
London (
Canary Wharf and the
City, with eight skyscrapers taller than 150 m) and
Moscow (seven skyscrapers taller than 150 m). The city of Frankfurt contains the tallest skyscraper in the European Union, the
Commerzbank Tower, which is also the second tallest on the continent (after the
Triumph-Palace building in
Moscow).
Frankfurt is also home to many cultural and educational institutions, the ''
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität'', many museums, most of them lined up along the
Main river on the ''
Museumsufer'' (museum embankment), and a large botanical garden, the ''
Palmengarten''. Frankfurt's second major university,
Business School of Finance and Management, focuses on finance. The best-known museums are ''das Städelsche Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie'', called ''
Städel'', and the ''
Senckenberg Natural History Museum''. Others include the ''
Museum for Modern Art'', the
Schirn Art Gallery, museums for architecture, films, communications and the
Jewish Museum/ Museum Judengasse.
During
World War II Frankfurt was heavily bombed and its mediaeval city centre was destroyed. The city recovered relatively quickly after the war, and its modern shape was formed. Part of the rebuilding process involved creating one of Europe's most efficient underground transportation systems in the 1970s. That system includes a light rail system (
S-Bahn) capable of reaching outlying communities as well as the city centre, and a deep underground rail system with smaller coaches (
U-Bahn) also capable of travelling above ground on street rails.
History
Main articles: History of Frankfurt am Main
In the area of the ''Römer'', Roman settlements were established, probably in the first century; some artifacts from that era are found to this ddday. The city district ''Bonames'' has a name probably dating back to Roman times — it is thought to be derived from ''bona me(n)sa''. ''Nida'' (Heddernheim) was also a Roman civitas capital.
The name of Frankfurt on the
Main is derived from the ''Franconofurt'' of the Germanic tribe of the
Franks; ''Furt'' (
cf. English ''
ford'') denotes a low point passage across a stream or river.
Alemanni and Franks lived there and by
794 Charlemagne presided over an imperial assembly and church synod, at which ''Franconofurd'' (-furt -vurd) is first mentioned.
In the
Holy Roman Empire, Frankfurt was one of the most important cities. From
855 the
German kings and emperors were elected in Frankfurt and crowned in
Aachen. From
1562 the kings/emperors were also crowned in Frankfurt,
Maximilian II being the first one. This tradition ended in
1792, when
Franz II was elected. He was crowned, on purpose, on
Bastille Day,
14 July, the anniversary of the
storming of the Bastille. The elections and coronations took place in St. Bartholomäus cathedral, known as the ''Kaiserdom'' (en: Emperor's Cathedral), or in its predecessors.
The ''Frankfurter Messe'' (en: Frankfurt trade fair) was first mentioned in 1150. In 1240,
Emperor Friedrich II granted an Imperial privilege to its visitors, meaning they would be protected by the Empire. Since 1478 book trade fairs have been held in Frankfurt, the ''
Frankfurter Buchmesse'' being still the most important in Germany and, some might say, the world.
In 1372 Frankfurt became a ''Reichsstadt'' (en:
Imperial city), i.e. directly subordinate to the
Holy Roman Emperor and not to a regional ruler or a local nobleman.
Frankfurt managed to remain neutral during the
Thirty Years' War, but it suffered from the
bubonic plague that was brought to the city by refugees. After the end of the war, Frankfurt regained its wealth.
In the
Napoleonic Wars Frankfurt was occupied or cannonaded several times by French troops. It nevertheless still remained a free city until the total collapse of the
Holy Roman Empire in 1805/6. In 1806 it become part of the principality of Aschaffenburg under the ''Fürstprimas'' ('
Prince-Primate', 25 July 1806 – 19 October 1813: Karl Theodor Anton Maria Kämmerer von Worms, Reichsfreiherr von Dalberg (b. 1744 – d. 1817), 1803–1806
Prince-archbishop of Regensburg). This also meant, that Frankfurt was incorporated into the
confederation of the Rhine. In 1810 Dalberg adopted the title of a Grand Duke of Frankfurt. Napoleon intended to make his adopted son
Eugène de Beauharnais, already ''prince de Venise'' ("
prince of Venice", a newly established primogeniture in Italy) Grand Duke of Frankfurt after Dalberg's death (since the latter as a Catholic bishop didn't have legitimate heirs). The Grand Duchy remained a short episode lasting from 1810 to 1813, when military tide turned in favor of the Anglo-Prussian lead allies, which turns over the Napoleonic order of central Europe. Dalberg abdicated in favor of
Eugène de Beauharnais, which of course was only a symbolic action, as the latter effectively never did rule after the ruin of the French armies and Frankfurt being taken by the allies.
After Napoleon's final defeat and abdication, the
Congress of Vienna (1812-1815, redrawing the map of Europe) dissolved the grand-duchy, and Frankfurt entered the newly founded
German Confederation (till 1866) as a free city, becoming the seat of its ''Bundestag'', the confederal parliament where the nominally presiding Habsburg Emperor of Austria was represented by an Austrian "presidential envoy".
After the ill-fated
revolution of 1848, Frankfurt was home to the first
German National Assembly (''Nationalversammlung''), which resided in St. Paul's Church (''Paulskirche'') (see
German Confederation for details) and was opened on
18 May 1848. The institution failed in 1849 when the Prussian king declared that he would not accept "a crown from the gutter". In the year of its existence, the assembly developed a common constitution for a unified Germany, with the Prussian king as its monarch.
Frankfurt lost its independence after
Austro-Prussian War as Prussia annexed in
1866 several smaller states, among them the free city of Frankfurt. The Prussian administration incorporated Frankfurt into its province of
Hesse-Nassau. The formerly independent towns of Bornheim and Bockenheim were incorporated in
1890.
In
1914 the citizens of Frankfurt founded the
University of Frankfurt, later called Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. This is the only civic foundation of a university in Germany; today it is one of Germany's largest universities.
After World War I Frankfurt was occupied by French troops as a means of reprisal, because the French found the German side guilty of having violated in some details the clauses of the peace treaty of Versailles concerning the demilitarisation of the Rhineland. In 1924
Ludwig Landmann became the first
Jewish Mayor of the city, and led a significant expansion during the following years. However, during the
Nazi era, the
synagogues of Frankfurt were destroyed.
The city of Frankfurt was severely bombed in
World War II. About 5,500 residents were killed during the raids, and the once famous medieval city centre, by that time the largest in Germany, was destroyed. The reconstruction after the war took place in an (often-simple) modern style, thus irrevocably changing the architectural face of Frankfurt. Only very few landmark buildings have been reconstructed historically, albeit in a simplified manner.
After the end of the war Frankfurt became a part of the newly founded state of Hesse, consisting of the old Hesse-(Darmstadt) and the Prussian Hesse provinces. The city was part of the American administered zone of Germany. The Military Governor for the United States Zone (1945-1949) and the United States High Commissioner for Germany (HICOG) (1949-1952) had their headquarters in the
IG Farben Building, intentionally left undamaged by the Allies' wartime bombardment. Frankfurt was the original choice for the provisional capital of West Germany — they even went as far as constructing a new parliament building that has never been used for its intended purpose, and is now a TV studio. In the end,
Konrad Adenauer (the first post-war Chancellor) preferred the tiny city of
Bonn, for the most part because it was close to his hometown, but also for another reason; many other prominent politicians opposed the choice of Frankfurt out of concern that Frankfurt, one of the largest German cities, and a former centre of the old German-dominated Holy Roman Empire, would be accepted as a "permanent" capital of Germany, thereby weakening the West German population's support for reunification and the eventual return of the capital city to
Berlin.
Population
Frankfurt is a multicultural city. Most immigrants are from Turkey, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Spain, North-African countries, Iran, Lebanon, and the United States. The Frankfurt Area is also home to the (now 2nd) largest Korean community in Europe. 180 different nationalities reside in Frankfurt.
For a long time Frankfurt was a Protestant-dominated city. However, during the 19th century an increasing number of Catholics moved to the city. Today a narrow plurality of citizens are Catholic. Frankfurt has the second largest Jewish community (after
Berlin) in Germany.
Geography
Geographic location
The city is located on both sides of the River Main. The southern part of the city contains the
Frankfurt City Forest (Frankfurter Stadtwald) Germany's largest forest within a city. The centre of Frankfurt is located on the north of river.
Neighbouring communities and areas
view from south, the "Taunus" as background
To the West, Frankfurt borders the
Main-Taunus district (Towns and Municipalities
Hattersheim am Main,
Kriftel,
Hofheim am Taunus,
Kelkheim (Taunus),
Liederbach am Taunus,
Sulzbach (Taunus),
Schwalbach am Taunus and
Eschborn); to the Northwest the
Hochtaunuskreis (Towns
Steinbach (Taunus),
Oberursel (Taunus), and
Bad Homburg v.d. Höhe; to the North the
Wetteraukreis (Towns
Karben and
Bad Vilbel); to the Northeast the
Main-Kinzig district (Municipality
Niederdorfelden and the town
Maintal); to the Southeast the city
Offenbach am Main; to the South the
Offenbach district (Town
Neu-Isenburg); and to the Southwest the
Groß-Gerau district (Towns
Mörfelden-Walldorf,
Rüsselsheim and
Kelsterbach).
City divisions and districts
The city is divided into 46 ''
Stadtteile'' or ''
Ortsteile'' which is again divided into 118 ''
Stadtbezirke'' or city districts. The largest ''Ortsteil'' in area is
Sachsenhausen-Süd. Most ''Stadtteile'' are incorporated suburbs, or
Vororte, or previously separate cities. Some like
Nordend arose during the rapid growth of the city in the
Gründerzeit after the unification of Germany. Others were formed from settlements, which previously belonged to other city divisions, like
Dornbusch (Frankfurt am Main).
The 46 city divisions are combined into 16 area districts or ''
Ortsbezirke'', which each have a district committee and chairperson.
History of incorporation
Until the middle of the 19th century, the city territory of Frankfurt consisted of the present-day ''
Stadtteile'' of
Altstadt,
Innenstadt,
Bahnhofsviertel,
Gutleutviertel,
Gallusviertel,
Westend,
Nordend,
Ostend and
Sachsenhausen. After 1877, a number of previously independent areas were incorporated into the city, see .
Main sights
Frankfurt Cathedral.
Römer.
St. Paul's Church
''Alte Oper'', now a concerthall.
City Theater at night.
Cathedral
Saint Bartholomeus' Cathedral (''Dom Sankt Bartholomäus'') is a
Gothic building, which was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the
Merovingian time. It is the main church of Frankfurt. From 1356 onwards, kings of the
Holy Roman Empire were elected in this church, and from 1562 to 1792, emperors were crowned here.
Since the 18th century, Saint Bartholomeus' has been called "the
cathedral" by the people, although it has never been a bishop's seat. In 1867, the cathedral was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in its present style. The height of the cathedral is 95 m.
Römer
Main articles: Römer (Frankfurt am Main)
The name of the
town hall means "Roman". In fact, nine houses were acquired by the city council in
1405 from a wealthy merchant family. The middle house became the town hall and was later connected with the neighbouring buildings. In the upper floor, there is the ''Kaisersaal'' ("Emperor's Hall") where the newly crowned emperors held their banquets.
The Römer was partially destroyed in World War II, and later rebuilt.
Saint Paul's Church
Main articles: Frankfurter Paulskirche
St. Paul's Church (''Paulskirche'') is a national historic monument in Germany with great political symbolism, because it was the seat of the first democratically elected Parliament in
1848. It was established in
1789 as a Protestant church but was not finished until
1833. Its importance has its root in the
Frankfurt Parliament, which met in the church during the revolutionary years of 1848/49 in order to write a constitution for a united Germany. The attempt failed because the monarchs of Prussia and Austria did not want to lose power, and in
1849 Prussian troops ended the democratic experiment by force of arms and the parliament was dissolved. Afterwards, the building was used for church services again.
St. Paul's was partially destroyed in
World War II, particularly the interior of the building, which now has a modern appearance. It was quickly and symbolically rebuilt after the war; today it is not used for religious services, but mainly for exhibitions and events.
Concert House Old Opera
Main articles: Alte Oper
''Alte Oper'', Frankfurt's famous opera house, was built in
1880 by the architect
Richard Lucae. It was one of the major opera houses of Germany, until it was destroyed in World War II. It was not until 1981 that the old opera was fully rebuilt and reopened. Today it functions as a concert hall, while operas are performed in the
Oper Frankfurt.
The inscription on the
frieze of the Old Opera says: "''Dem Wahren, Schönen, Guten''" ("To the true, the beautiful, the good").
Frankfurt Opera
The
Oper Frankfurt is a leading opera company of Germany and one of the most important opera houses in the world.
20th century architecture
★
IG Farben Building
★
New Frankfurt, housing estates 1925-1930
★
Museum für angewandte Kunst, designed by
Richard Meier
Skyscrapers
Frankfurt is unique for its skyscrapers, and it is one of only a few European cities to allow skyscrapers within the old central part of town. Along with
Paris,
London and
Warsaw, it also is one of the few European cities to have a significant number of skyscrapers.
The major skyscrapers are:
★
Commerzbank Tower — Europe's tallest building (1997–2005), designed by British Architect
Sir Norman Foster.
★
Silver Tower
★
MesseTurm — Europe's tallest building (1990–1997)
★
Kronenhochhaus (DZ-Bank) with its "statue of liberty" like roof structure.
★
Maintower, among others "Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen" (HeLaBa)
★
Trianon (Frankfurt am Main).
Other structures
;
Henninger Turm: a grain silo owned by
Henninger Brewery with observation deck and restaurant, offering a breath-taking view over downtown Frankfurt from its south shore. The tower has been closed to the public since October 31, 2002.
;
Europaturm :a telecommunications tower known as the "Frankfurt TV Tower". Until 1999, it was open to the public, with an entertainment establishment in the revolving top. It is normally referred by the locals as the "Spargel" (Asparagus) due to its tall circular central structure.
Culture
Festivals
Frankfurt hosts several festivals, fairs, and carnivals throughout the year. The most famous is the
Rheingau-Music-Festival with many (mostly classical) concerts at castles and under the open sky surrounded by vineyards. It's an annual festival, taking place in May.
Another major festival in the city is the "Museumsuferfest"; "Museum-Riverbank-Festival". It is one of the biggest cultural festivals in Germany, which offers the opportunity to see, buy, smell, taste and hear new things from all around the world. The festival takes place yearly at the end of summer and attracts an average of 3 million visitors. The festival goes over a period of 3 days and ends with a spectacular show of fireworks. Frankfurt is also known for having one of the largest
red light districts in Germany in vicinity of the
Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).
Museums
"
Museumsufer":
'South side', in this order:
★
Ikonenmuseum
★
Museum für Angewandte Kunst
★
Museum der Weltkulturen
★
Deutsches Filmmuseum
★
Deutsche Architekturmuseum
★
Museum für Kommunikation
★
Städel
★
Liebieghaus
★
Museum Giersch
'North side:'
★
Jewish Museum (Frankfurt)
★
Historisches Museum (Frankfurt)
The street (south-side) itself (
Schaumainkai) is on Saturday most partially closed to traffic for Frankfurt's largest
flea market.
'Downtown':
★
Museum of Modern Art (MMK, Frankfurt am Main)
★
Schirn Art Gallery
★
Senckenberg Natural History Museum
Culinary specialties
★
Frankfurter Sausage
★
Frankfurter Rindswurst
★
Apfelwein
★
Grüne Soße
★
Bethmännchen
★
Frankfurter Kranz
★
Handkäs mit Musik
★
Rippchen mit Kraut
Transport
Frankfurt International Airport.
Frankfurt Central Station.
Frankfurt underground train.
A tram in Frankfurt.
Airports
The city is accessed from around the world via the
Frankfurt International Airport. The airport has three
runways and is one of the busiest airports in
Europe, along with
London Heathrow Airport,
Charles de Gaulle International Airport and
Schiphol International Airport. It is the biggest cargo-airport in Europe. Frankfurt can also be accessed via
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport which is located approximately 120 km from the actual city.
Railways
Frankfurt Central Station recently underwent a major development to allow trains from all over
Germany to arrive at the station. Long distance trains run by
Deutsche Bahn exit and arrive at the station everyday and less luxurious
EuroCity and
InterCity trains do the same. The Airport Long Distance Station is a modern station for the ICE highspeed trains at the Airport beside the A3 Motorway.
Local trains are integrated in the
Public transport system
Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (''RMV''), the second largest integrated public transport systems in the world. Only the
Berlin integrated public transport system (''VBB'') is larger.
Public Transport
The city comprises two underground railway systems: the
U-Bahn and the
S-Bahn, as well as an above-ground tram system known as the ''Straßenbahn''. Information about the U and S Bahn can be found on the
RMV website.
The S-Bahn is a far more extensive rail network and is above ground for the majority of the routes, however, they are largely subterranean in the city centre. The S-Bahn provides access to the
suburbs of Frankfurt and to the main airport, as well to nearby cities and larger towns (such as Darmstadt, Hanau and Wiesbaden), and most smaller towns that are on the way.
The U-Bahn has seven lines serving the city centre and some larger suburbs. The
trains that run on the line are in fact
lightrails as many lines travel along a track in the middle of the street instead of underground further from the city centre. There is only one line that is completely underground.
The Straßenbahn (tram) only operates within the centre of Frankfurt and some smaller suburbs, making it a popular option for mid-day business commuting. It also provides extensive access to the district of Sachsenhausen on the southern bank of the river Main.
A number of bus lines complete the public transportation system of Frankfurt.
Night buses take over the service of the U-Bahn and Straßenbahn at 1:30 am to 3:30 am on Friday and Saturday nights.
Taxis
Most
taxis can be found outside all S-Bahn, U-Bahn stations and major intersections. The normal way to obtain a taxi is to either call a taxi operator or go to a taxi rank. However, although not the norm, one can hail one down on the street.
Bicycles
Velotaxi in Frankfurt, Germany
Deutsche Bahn also rent out
bicycles to the public. One finds them at many major road intersections and railway stations. All one has to do is make a phone call to hire them for €0.06/min or they can be hired per day for €15,-. The bicycles are a bit heavy but they do have
shock absorbers to ensure a smooth journey. The
silver-
red colour of the bikes with their unique frame make them easily visible and difficult to steal.
The public can now use a
velotaxi which involves the operator using a
tricycle with a sheltered capsule on top. There is room for two people and the operators cover all of the city centre.
Frankfurt has also a network of modern cycle routes throughout city.
Roads
The roads and streets of Frankfurt city centre are usually congested and some areas are
pedestrian-only streets. Despite these congested streets, there are numerous car parks located throughout the city. Frankfurt is also a traffic hub of the German
Autobahn system. Within the direct city vicinity Frankfurt connects to the
A 1,
A 3,
A 5,
A 66,
A 67,
A 648, A 661 and
A 45 Autobahns.
Buses
Frankfurt has an extensive city bus system that augments the
streetcar and
U-Bahn system run by the
RMV
Economy and Business
Frankfurt am Main is a financial and service centre of global importance and, as the focal point of the dynamic Rhine-Main economic region, is one of the leading locations for companies in Europe. Its central location, its well-developed infrastructure with the largest airport on the continent, the concentration of internationally active companies (many of them have headquarters in the city) of various sectors provide Frankfurt with one of the top positions in Europe.
As one of the leading financial centres, more than 300 national and international banks are represented in the Main metropolis. Amongst others, the European Central Bank and the German Bundesbank have their headquarters in Frankfurt. This is also where the
Deutsche Börse Group is located.
According to a ranking list produced by the University of Liverpool, Frankfurt is the richest city in Europe by
GDP per capita. After Frankfurt are
Karlsruhe,
Paris and then
Munich.
With over 922 jobs per 1000 inhabitants, Frankfurt has the highest concentration of jobs in Germany. The high number of around 600,000 positions with only 650,000 inhabitants of the city itself is explained by the high number of commuters who work in the city, which raises the per capital GDP of the resident population significantly. Furthermore, it is only on work days and certain Saturdays when shops are open that Frankfurt can claim to have a million inhabitants. On other days, the statistics regarding Frankfurt's wealth are reduced, in favor of the communities and towns of the so-called
Speckgürtel (literally ''bacon belt''), such as
Bad Homburg v.d. Höhe,
Königstein im Taunus,
Kronberg im Taunus and
Bad Soden am Taunus, many of whose inhabitants work in Frankfurt. Frankfurt has the highest concentration of lawyers in Germany, with one lawyer per 99 inhabitants, and also the highest per-capita level of debt in Germany (excepting Germany's three city-states), because of a set of massive public works projects in the 1980s under
CDU mayors
Walter Wallmann and
Wolfram Brück.
Frankfurt also occupies the fifth position on another list ranking major cities according to
quality of life. Despite that, Frankfurt also had, as of
2003, the highest levels of crime per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany. However, this statistic is a result of the commuter population, for it is calculated based on the 650,000-inhabitant figure, and also includes crimes committed at the airport, such as smuggling. Frankfurt is therefore a very safe city, confirmed by surveys among the inhabitants.
The
Frankfurt Airport is the single largest place of work in Germany.
Electronic communication
Frankfurt is also an important location for the internet. Frankfurt is home to Germany's largest
internet exchange point,
DE-CIX, and is where domain names are registered for the top-level-domain
.de.
Trade
Fairs have a long tradition in Frankfurt, which, with the
Frankfurt Trade Fair is recognized as the premier city for medieval fairs and modern-day trade shows. Even in the Middle Ages, traders could sell their goods in Frankfurt. Frankfurt was connected with
Leipzig, the other of the two most important locations for fairs in the
Holy Roman Empire, by means of the
Via Regia.
Alongside the
Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt hosts the
International Automobile Exhibition, the
Achema, and the
Ambiente Frankfurt, the largest consumer goods trade show in the world.
Finance
Frankfurt's ''Bankenviertel'' (financial district)
Frankfurt is known as a centre of high finance. The headquarters of Germany's three largest banks are all located in central Frankfurt. The
Deutsche Bank is located on the ''Mainzer Landstraße'' in the vicinity of the Taunus foothills. A few avenues further into the city, one can recognize the
Commerzbank's skyscrapers, the highest of which is almost 300 meters tall.
Despite what its name would suggest, the
Dresdner Bank is also headquartered in Frankfurt. Dresdner Bank now belongs to
Allianz Bank in
Munich. Frankfurt is also the location of the largest Dutch "direct bank",
ING. Several important non-public banks are also located in Frankfurt, such as
Bankhaus Metzler,
Hauck and Aufhäuser,
Delbrück Bethmann Maffei (which belongs to the Dutch
ABN Amro) and
BHF-Bank.
Among the largest non-public banks are the
DZ Bank, the
DekaBank, the
Frankfurter Sparkasse (savings bank), and the
Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (HELABA). Most of the remaining 300 banks are small domestic businesses.
With the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and
XETRA, which belong to the
Deutsche Börse, Frankfurt has the second largest
stock exchange in Europe, and accounts for the largest proportion of trades in Germany. In terms of market capitalization, the Deutsche Börse is the largest stock exchange in the world.
Other businesses
Frankfurt is home to
chemical industries,
advertising,
software business and
call centers. Business development and other important departments of the
Deutsche Bahn are located at the DB-Headquarters in Gallus. Because of
Hoechst AG, Frankfurt is considered the "Apothecary of the World". Höchst's industrial park in Frankfurt is one of the three largest locations for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Europe. Frankfurt is also home to several large German industrial associations, such as the Chemical Industry Association; the Association for German Machine- and Equipment-building; the Electrotechnical, Electronic, and
Information Technology Association e.V. with its affiliated electrotechnical standards commission; and the Association of German Automobile Producers, which is currently moving to Franfurt. The Union of German Automobile Producers meets in Frankfurt every two years to coincide with the International Automobile Exhibition, mentioned above. Furthermore, the Trade Association of German Booksellers has its headquarters in Frankfurt, and organizes the Frankfurt Book Fair. In terms of labor unions, Frankfurt is home to the headquarters of
IG Metall and
IG Bau, two of Germany's largest labor unions.
Businesses with regional headquarters or based in and near Frankfurt include:
Establishments and organization
Frankfurt am Main is a banking metropolis also with respect to state-owned banks. Alongside the
Bundesbank (the German central bank) and the
KfW Banking Group, the German office of the
International Finance Corporation (part of the
World Bank group) and the
European Central Bank have their headquarters in Frankfurt.
Beyond that, Frankfurt is the home to the
German National Library, the Hessian State Supreme Court, and the Hessian State Employment Court, and has its own police academy. The fire department, founded in 1874, and the volunteer fire department have eight firehouses. Until their dissolution at the end of 2003, Frankfurt was the location of the Federal Disciplinary Court.
Frankfurt also hosts 88
consulates. Only
New York and
Hamburg have more foreign representation, excluding capital cities. Russia and China have recently opened general consulates in Frankfurt. The
Consulate General of the United States in Frankfurt in Eckenheim is the largest American consulate in the world.
Media
Frankfurt was one of the first cities with daily newspapers, and is home to two international newspapers. The conservative
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has its editorial offices and its printing houses in the vicinity of Mainzer Highway in the Gallus neighborhood. The left-of-center
Frankfurter Rundschau moved its editorial offices and printing houses to the Sachsenhausen neighborhood in July 2005. Another conservative regional newspaper, the
Frankfurter Neue Presse, printed by the Frankfurt society, is next to the printing house of the Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung. Frankfurt has a
tabloid newspaper,
NEWS Frankfurt from the
Handelsblatt publishing company, printed on smaller tabloid-style leaf, with a modern layout. The
Welt Kompakt is printed in a similar format, and appears in Frankfurt and
Berlin. Frankfurt is also home to
Reuters's German headquarters in the
Messeturm.
Several magazines also originate from Frankfurt. The
Journal Frankfurt is the best-known magazine for events, parties, and "insider tips", and has its editorial offices in the Gallus neighborhood. An "ecological magazine",
Öko-Test, publishes materials for the
Green Party of Germany in Bockenheim. Bockenheim is known for the quiz magazine of the same name, and is home to the editorial office of the satire magazine, Titanic.
Frankfurt's first radio station was the Südwestdeutsche Rundfunkdienst AG (Southwest German Radio Service), founded in 1924. Its successor service is the public broadcaster
Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcast). Its "Funkhaus am Dornbusch" station is one of the most important
radio and
television broadcasters. There is also the
ARD-Stern that broadcasts from individual senders via a high-service network.
Bloomberg TV and
RTL have regionals studios on the ''Neuen Mainzer Straße'', downtown. Other broadcasters in Frankfurt include
Main FM and
Radio X. The largest private radio station in the region
FFH, is located nearby in
Bad Vilbel.
Since August 1945, the
American Forces Network had broadcasted from Frankfurt. Due to troop reductions, the AFN's Frankfurt location has been abandoned. Since October 2004, the AFN has broadcast its European programs from
Mannheim.
Education and research
In Frankfurt am Main, there are two universities and several specialist schools. The oldest and most well-known university in the city is the
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, with locations in Bockenheim, Westend, and Riedberg, and university hospital in Niederrad. Alongside the university is the banking academie
HfB - Business School of Finance & Management, formerly known as the ''Hochschule für Bankwirtschaft'' (Institution of Higher Learning for Banking Economics), with its campus in the Ostend (Eastend) neighborhood. Since 2001, it has been a specialist institution for the teaching Economics and Management, or FOM.
Frankfurt has the State Institution of Higher Learning for Artistic Education known as the
Städelschule, founded in
1817 by
Johann Friedrich Städel, that was taken over by the city in
1942 and turned into a state art school. Another art school is the State Instutution for Music and Performance Art, initially as a private school known as ''
Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium'' founded in
1878. The ''Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main'' (Professional School of Frankfurt) was created out of several older organizations in 1971, and offers courses in engineering and economics. Until September
2003, Frankfurt was also home to a school for library science and administration.
The Philosophical-Theological Institution of Saint George (''
Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen'', a private institution with membership in the German Jesuit Association, has been located in Frankfurt's Sachsenhausen neighborhood since
1950. The city is also home to three
Max-Planck-Institutes: the
Max Planck Institute for European History of Law (MPIER),
Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, and the
Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. The
Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, sponsored by several institutional and private sources, is involved in theoretical research in physics, chemistry, neurology, and computer science.
Sport
Frankfurt hosts the following sports teams or clubs:
Frankfurt used to host these former teams or clubs:
Sister cities
Frankfurt has several
Sister cities
★
Toronto,
Canada
★
Birmingham,
United Kingdom, since
1966
★
Budapest,
Hungary, since
1990
★
Kraków,
Poland, since
1991
★
Granada,
Nicaragua, since
1991
★
Guangzhou,
China, since
1988
★
Lyon,
France, since
1960
★
Milan,
Italy, since
1971
★
Prague,
Czech Republic, since
1990
★
Tel Aviv,
Israel, since
1980
★
Chennai,
India, since
2005
★
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, since
2002
★
Islamabad,
Pakistan
See also
★
Free City of Frankfurt
★
Frankfurt Trade Fair
★
Frankfurt Book Fair
★
Frankfurt Transit
★
Frankfurt School
★
List of mayors of Frankfurt
References
1. "Stadt Frankfurt - Statistiken"
2. Urbanized areas of Germany from 1950 to 2000
3. "Europe's 61 richest cities"
4. World Cities
★ ''Frankfurt — City Guide'', Kraichgau Verlag (ISBN 3-929228-21-1)
External links
★
Official website
★
Frankfurt Zoo
★
★
Yeckes, Jewish travel guide for Frankfurt
★
Satellite view
★ Frankfurt Panoramas:
[1],
[2],
[3],
[4]
★
Architecture of Frankfurt
★
Frankfurt before and after World War II
★
Frankfurt webcam links
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