Frankfurt, << FRANGK fuhrt or FRAHNGK furt >> (pop. 667,925), is the transportation hub of Germany. The full name of the city is Frankfurt am Main. It stands on the Main River. A network of railroads and highways links the city with all parts of western Europe. Frankfurt has one of the largest airports in Europe. A river and canal system links the city with the North Sea. Frankfurt has three harbor areas and ranks as one of the busiest inland ports in Germany.
The city is a world center of banking and commerce. The Rothschild family opened its first bank there in 1798 (see Rothschild ). The 56-story Commerzbank building, which opened in 1997, is one of Europe’s tallest buildings. Frankfurt holds two great trade fairs a year. The fair held in September opened first in 1240, and the February fair started in 1330. Frankfurt also holds many specialized trade fairs, including its famous annual book fair. Factories in Frankfurt produce chemicals, machinery, and electrical equipment.
Frankfurt is an important center of German intellectual and cultural life. The city is the birthplace of famous German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whose home is now a museum. Frankfurt’s attractions include the Romer town hall, a building that dates from the 1400’s. The building contains the Kaisersaal, the meeting room at one time of the German emperors and princes. Also in the city is the Paulskirche, a church where leaders of the unsuccessful Revolution of 1848 met to draft a German national constitution.
Frankfurt’s geographical position made it important from the time of the Roman Empire. The shallow ford in the Main River provided the easiest north-south river crossing in all Germany. The Franks forded the river in early times, and the city’s name means ford of the Franks (see Franks ). Merchants traveling between Mediterranean countries and northern Europe naturally passed through Frankfurt. In about A.D. 500, the Franks seized a Roman fort at the crossing and founded a settlement. Allied bombers leveled nearly half of Frankfurt during World War II (1939-1945), but the city was rebuilt after the war.
