The city that launched Germany's economy — where Goethe was born, the Römerberg medieval square survived the bombs and was rebuilt stone by stone, and the Christmas market fills the entire Altstadt for six weeks every winter
Frankfurt am Main is Germany's financial capital and Europe's banking hub, home to the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (founded 1585 — the oldest surviving stock exchange in the world). The city of 770,000 on the Main River combines Germany's most dramatic modern skyline (the 'Mainhattan' tower cluster) with the carefully reconstructed Römerberg — the medieval old town square, 90% of which was destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt to original plans between 1950 and 2018. The Museumsufer along the south bank of the Main is a world-class museum row: 15 museums in 1.5km incl…
Frankfurt ('ford of the Franks') was a crossing point on the Main River since at least 500 CE and a royal Frankish residence from Charlemagne's time. The Holy Roman Emperors were elected in Frankfurt from 1356 (the Golden Bull) and crowned in the Cathedral of St Bartholomew — making Frankfurt the seat of German imperial legitimacy for 450 years. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born here in 1749; his childhood home (Goethehaus) was destroyed in WWII and meticulously rebuilt using surviving photographs and plans. The city was 85% destroyed in Allied bombing raids on 22 March 1944 (the 'Frankfurt…