Frankfurt am Main Duitsland

Frankfurt am Main, Engels Frankfurt aan de Main, stad, Hessen Land (staat), West-Duitsland. De stad ligt langs de rivier de Main, ongeveer 30 kilometer stroomopwaarts van de samenvloeiing met de Rijn bij Mainz. Knal. (2011) stad, 667.925; (2000 est.) Stedelijke agglom., 3,681,000.

Quiz

Plaatsen in muziek

Uit welk land komt de band Rush?

Geschiedenis

Er zijn sporen van Keltische en Germaanse nederzettingen in de stad die dateren uit de 1e eeuw voor Christus, evenals Romeinse overblijfselen uit de 1e en 2e eeuw na Christus. De naam Frankfurt ("Ford [Passage of Crossing] van de Franken") ontstond waarschijnlijk ongeveer 500 ce, toen de Franken de Alemanni naar het zuiden reden, maar de eerste schriftelijke vermelding van Franconofurt komt van de persoonlijke biograaf van Karel de Grote, Einhard, aan het einde van de 8e eeuw. De Pfalz (keizerlijk kasteel) diende vanaf de 9e eeuw tot de latere middeleeuwen als een belangrijke koninklijke residentie van de Oost-Frankische Karolingers. In de 12e eeuw bouwde de Hohenstaufen-dynastie een nieuw kasteel in Frankfurt en ommuurde de stad. De Hohenstaufen-heerser Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa) werd daar in 1152 tot koning gekozen,en in 1356 wees de Gouden Stier van Keizer Karel IV (de grondwet van het Heilige Roomse Rijk) Frankfurt aan als de permanente plaats voor de verkiezing van de Duitse koningen.

Frankfurt am Main was a free imperial city from 1372 until 1806, when Napoleon I made it the seat of government for the prince primate of the Confederation of the Rhine. In 1810 the city became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt, created by Napoleon. From 1815, when Napoleon fell, Frankfurt was again a free city, where in 1848–49 the Frankfurt National Assembly met. From 1816 to 1866 the city was the seat of the German Bundestag (Federal Diet) and thus the capital of Germany. After the Seven Weeks’ War in 1866, Frankfurt was annexed by Prussia and thereby lost its free-city status. It was only after its integration into a united Germany that Frankfurt developed into a large industrial city.

The contemporary city

Until World War II, Frankfurt’s Old Town, which had grown up around the imperial castle, was the largest medieval city still intact in Germany. The Old Town was mostly destroyed by Allied bombing campaigns in 1944, however, and was subsequently rebuilt with multistory office buildings and other modern structures. Among the city’s most famous old structures are the Römer (“the Roman”; formerly the site of the Holy Roman emperor’s coronation ceremonies and now Frankfurt’s city hall) and two other gabled houses on the Römerberg (the city square surrounding the Römer). Other historical landmarks include the 155-foot- (47-metre-) tall Eschenheimer Tower (1400–28); the red sandstone cathedral, which was dedicated to St. Bartholomew in 1239; and the Paulskirche, which was the meeting place of the first Frankfurt National Assembly.

International trade fairs have been held in Frankfurt since 1240, and the city is now a leading commercial, financial, and high-technology centre. There is an important stock exchange (first established in 1585). The Rothschild family started building its international banking empire in Frankfurt. The city also is the home of the European Union’s central bank. Annual book, automobile, and computer fairs are popular events, and there are many other fairs held throughout the year. Manufactures include automobiles, machinery, chemical and pharmaceutical products, printing materials, and foodstuffs. The city is traditionally known for its production of high-quality sausages (frankfurters).

Frankfurt has long been a key stopping point for river, rail, and road traffic from Switzerland and southern Germany northward along the Rhine River to the Ruhr region and across the Main River to north-central Germany. It is still the chief traffic hub for western Germany and has also been an important inland shipping port since the canalization of the Main in the 1880s. Frankfurt Airport is the largest airport in Germany and one of the busiest in Europe.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt (1914) is among the largest institutions of higher education in Germany. The Frankfurt am Main City Zoological Garden is one of the country’s finest zoos. Among the city’s other attractions are the Städel Art Institute and Municipal Gallery, the Senckenberg Natural History Museum, and the Liebieghaus Museum of Sculpture. The birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was burned to the ground in World War II but was later restored. Adjoining it is the Goethe Museum and Library.