Frankfurt am Main

The name of Frankfurt on Main is derived from the Franconofurd of the Germanic tribe of the Franks and was the place where the river was shallow enough to be crossed by wading. Frankfurt was one of the most important cities in the Holy Roman Empire. From 855 the German Kings and Emperors were elected in Frankfurt. The Frankfurter Messe (Frankfurt Trade Fair) was first mention in 1150. In 1240, Emperor Friedrich II granted an imperial privilege to its visitors, meaning they would be protected by the Empire. Book trade fairs have been held in Frankfurt since 1478, and the Frankfurter Buchmesse is still the most important in Germany and, some might say, the world. In 1914 the citizens of Frankfurt founded the university of Frankfurt, later called Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. This is the only civic founded university in Germany. Today it is one of Germany's largest universities. After World War I, Frankfurt was occupied by French tropps in reprisal for having violated, from the French viewpoint, some details of the peace treaty of Versailles concerning the demilitarization of the Rhineland.

The city of Franfurt was severly bombed in World War II. About 5,500 residents were killed during the air raids and the once famous medieval city center, by that time the largest in Germany, was destroyed irrevocably changing the architectural face of Frankfurt. Only very few landmark buildings have been rebuilt historically, albeit in a simplified manner.

After the end of the war Franfurt became a part of the newly founded state of Hesse. Since the postwar period Franfurt has emerged once again as the financial and transportation center of Germany.