Frankfurt history

A settlement since at least 3000BC, and settled by the Romans, as the name of the Römer district implies, Frankfurt am Main, to give it its full name and differentiate it from Frankfurt and der Oder in the east of the country, has been Germany's financial centre for centuries.

Frankfurt's long history of commerce stems from its central geographical location on the Main River and the Frankfurt Messe (fair). The Messe has been going since the 12th century and the city received its official Imperial privilege to hold an annual trade fair 100 years later.

The Frankfurt Börse (stock exchange) began trading in the late 16th. If Frankfurt's political aspirations were dashed by the choice of Bonn as capital of the Federal Republic in 1949, the city has directed its post-war energies all the more wholeheartedly into its uncontested financial role.

Frankfurt has been subject to the deprivations of war on numerous occasions, notably during the Napoleonic Wars, when it was seized and occupied by the French on several occasions. And it was severely bombed during WWII, action that resulted in the almost complete destruction of the city's medieval centre – hence its present mainly modern architecture.

However, a number of old buildings in the Römerberg area were reconstructed in their original style, as was the cathedral.

In latter years, Frankfurt has become a remarkably cosmopolitan city – it's estimated that people of 180 different nationalities live and work there. It has large Turkish, Korean and Sri Lankan communities among these.