50°07N 8°40E, pop (2000e) 661 000. Manufacturing and commercial city in Hesse province, WC Germany; port on R Main, 27 km/17 mi N of Darmstadt; most of the German emperors crowned here; meeting place of first German National Assembly (18489); international junction for rail, road, and air traffic; university (1914); headquarters of the leading German stock exchange; banking, river craft, precision engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, brewing, metals, machinery, packaging, publishing, oil products, domestic appliances, office machines, telecommunications; birthplace of Goethe; Gothic cathedral (13th15th-c), the Römer (ancient town hall), Goethe House (rebuilt, 1949); International Frankfurt Fair (Aug), and many other trade fairs; some of Germany's finest health resorts nearby.
Coordinates: 50°7′N 8°41′E
| Frankfurt am Main | |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| State | Hessen |
| Administrative region | Darmstadt |
| District | urban district |
| Population | 648,325 source (mid-2005) |
| Area | 248.31 km² |
| Population density | 2,611 /km² |
| Elevation | 112 m |
| Coordinates | 50°7′ N 8°41′ E |
| Postal code |
60001-60599, 65901-65936 |
| Area code | 069, 06109, 06101 |
| Licence plate code | F |
| Mayor | Petra Roth (CDU) |
| Website | frankfurt.de |
Frankfurt am Main (help·info) [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, with an estimated mid-2005 population of 648,325. The Frankfurt urban area, which extends beyond the city boundaries, had an estimated population of 1,468,140 in 2000.
Situated on the Main river, Frankfurt is the financial and transportation center of Germany. Frankfurt is the seat 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). According to the Liverpool University, Frankfurt is the wealthiest city in the European Union as measured by GDP per capita.
Among English speakers the city is commonly known simply as "Frankfurt", though Germans sometimes call it by its full name to distinguish it from the other 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.
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 the 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 Germany's largest, and one of the world's most important. Frankfurt houses the European Central Bank, which sets monetary policy for the Eurozone economy, and the German Bundesbank.
Frankfurt has an excellent transportation infrastructure and a major international airport and European transportation hub, the Frankfurt International Airport. Frankfurt Airport ranks among the world's top ten airports and serves 304 flight destinations in 110 countries.Depending whether total passengers or flights are used to measure, 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 &
Frankfurt is often nicknamed "Bankfurt", "Mainhattan" (derived from the local Main River) or "The Big Äppel" (named for its apple wine industry). With eleven skyscrapers taller than 150 m (492 ft) 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.
During World War II Frankfurt was heavily bombed and its medieval city centre was destroyed.
The name of Frankfurt on the Main is derived from the Franconofurt of the Germanic tribe of the Franks; However, since frank is also an old German word for frei ("free"), Frankfurt was a "free ford," an opportunity to cross the river Main without paying a toll.
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.
The Frankfurter Messe (en: Frankfurt trade fair) was first mentioned in 1150. 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.
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.
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.
Frankfurt lost its independence after Austro-Prussian War as Prussia annexed in 1866 several smaller states, among them the free city of Frankfurt.
In 1914 the citizens of Frankfurt founded the University of Frankfurt, later called Johann Wolfgang Goethe University.
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.
The city of Frankfurt was severely bombed in World War II. The reconstruction after the war took place in an (often-simple) modern style, thus irrevocably changing the architectural face of Frankfurt.
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. 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. 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. The Frankfurt Area is also home to the largest Korean community in Europe.
For a long time Frankfurt was a Protestant-dominated city. Frankfurt has the second largest Jewish community (after Berlin) in Germany.
Geography
Geographic location
The city is located on both sides of the Main River. The southern part of the city contains the Frankfurt City Forest (Frankfurter Stadtwald) Germany's largest urban forest. The centre of Frankfurt is located on the north of Main River.
Neighbouring communities and areas
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);
City divisions and districts
The city is divided into 46 Stadtteile or Ortsteile which is again divided into 118 Stadtbezirke or city districts. 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. It is the main church of Frankfurt.
Römer
For the full article, see Römer (Frankfurt am Main).
The name of the town hall means "Roman".
Saint Paul's Church
For the full article, see 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. 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.
Concert House Old Opera
For the full article, see Alte Oper.
Alte Oper, Frankfurt's famous opera house, was built in 1880 by the architect Richard Lucae.
Frankfurt Opera
The Oper Frankfurt is the 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 MeierSkyscrapers
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.
Culture
Festivals
Frankfurt hosts several festivals, fairs, and carnivals throughout the year. Frankfurt is also known for having one of the largest red light districts in Germany in vicinity of the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).
Museums
Städel Senckenberg Natural History Museum The Museum for Modern Art (Frankfurt am Main) Schirn Art Gallery Deutsches Filmmuseum Deutsches Architektur Museum Museum für angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, Museum of Design Deutsches Ikonenmuseum Museum für KommunikationCulinary specialties
Frankfurter Sausage Frankfurter Rindswurst Apfelwein Grüne Soße Bethmännchen Frankfurter Kranz Handkäs mit Musik Rippchen mit KrautTransport
Airports
The city is accessed from around the world via the Frankfurt International Airport. Frankfurt can also be accessed via Frankfurt-Hahn Airport which is located approximately 120 km from the actual city.
Railways
Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof recently underwent a major development to allow trains from all over Germany to arrive at the station.
Public Transport
The city comprises of two underground railway systems which are U-Bahn and S-Bahn as well as an above-ground tram system known as the Straßenbahn.
The S-Bahn is a far more extensive rail network which is above ground for the majority of the journey, however become subterranean in the city centre. The S-Bahn accesses the suburbs of Frankfurt and the main airport, as well as cities and larger towns in close distance (like Darmstadt, Hanau and Wiesbaden) as well as most towns on the way.
The Straßenbahn only operates within the direct city center of Frankfurt and some smaller suburbs, making it a popular option for mid-day business commuting.
A number of bus lines complete the public transportation system of Frankfurt.
Frankfurt has also a network of modern "bike ways" or "bike streets" in the whole city.
Roads
The roads and streets of Frankfurt city centre are usually congested and some areas are pedestrian-only streets. 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 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. Amongst others, the European Central Bank and the German Bundesbank have their headquarters in Frankfurt.
According to a ranking list produced by the University of Liverpool, Frankfurt is the richest city in Europe by GDP per capita.
With over 922 jobs per 1000 inhabitants, Frankfurt has the highest concentration of jobs in Germany. 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 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. 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. Frankfurt was connected with Leipzig, the second most important location 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.
Non-financial Businesses
Despite its reputation, Frankfurt is home not only to financial companies. 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 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.
A certain amount of economic power is given to Frankfurt by the German Football Association, which has its headquarters in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt is also home to the German and European headquarters of several foreign automobile businesses, such as Fiat (including Alfa-Romeo and Lancia) and KIA.
Finance
However, Frankfurt is above all known as a location of high finance. The headquarters of Germany's three largest banks are all located in downtown Frankfurt.
Despite what its name would suggest, the Dresdner Bank is also headquartered in Frankfurt. 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.
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.
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.
Frankfurt also hosts 88 consulates.
Media
Frankfurt was one of the first cities with daily newspapers, and is home to two international newspapers, with differing political perspectives. Furthermore, there is also another conservative regional newspaper, the Frankfurter Neue Presse, printed by the Frankfurt society, right next to the printing house of the Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung. Frankfurt has a new tabloid newspaper, NEWS Frankfurt from the Handelsblatt publishing company, printed on smaller tabloid-style leaf, with a modern layout.
Next to the newspapers, there are also several interesting magazines in Frankfurt's media landscape.
Frankfurt's oldest radio station was the Südwestdeutsche Rundfunkdienst AG (Southwest German Radio Service), founded in 1924. Purely-radio broadcasters are also located in Frankfurt, such as Main FM.
Frankfurt is also home to Reuters's German headquarters.
Since August 1945, the American Forces Network had broadcast from Frankfurt.
Education and Research
In Frankfurt am Main, there are two universities and several specialty schools.
For art, 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.
The Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main (Professional School of Frankfurt) was created out of several prior organizations in 1971, and offers courses in engineering and economics. This is a private institution with membership in the German Jesuit Association, and has been located since 1950 in Frankfurt's Sachsenhausen neighborhood.
Until 30 September 2003, Frankfurt was also home to a school for library science and administration, though that has since closed.
Furthermore, there exist in Frankfurt 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.
Sports
Frankfurt hosts several sport teams, such as
Eintracht Frankfurt, football (soccer) FSV Frankfurt, football (soccer) Frankfurt Lions, icehockey Deutsche Bank Skyliners — Basketball Frankfurt Galaxy, American FootballSister cities
Frankfurt's sister cities are:
— 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
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