Welcome to Frankfurt

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.

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 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.

Frankfurt is also home to many cultural and educational institutions, the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, many museums, most of them lined up along the Main river on the Museumsufer (museum embankment), and a large botanical garden, the Palmengarten.

The best-known museums are the 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.