Historical Places in Frankfurt

Today we visit historic places in Frankfurt, like the Emperors’ Hall at the Roemer, and the St. Paul’s Church.

The evening before we heard by chance that people asked for an ATM at the Roemer. The answer was: “There is none here. They have to go to the Hauptwache. There are the ATMs.”

The next morning we are surprised to see the sign ATM at the other end of the Roemer in the half-timbered building, called Grosser Engel.

The cash dispenser is inside the Cafe of the exchange office. The exchange office is run by the banker Peter S. Biberfield and the Cafe by his wife Natascha. The first exchange office was established here already in 1458.

We take the opportunity for a small breakfast while the owner explains the history of the house and shows various publications.

The exchange office was just redesigned and renovated. During the next weeks, one will change the color and decoration of the exchange counter that it fits the Cafe.

The Fountain of Justice in the middle of the Römerberg donated wine to the people of Frankfurt during coronations.

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After breakfast, we visit the Emperors’ Hall at the Roemer. Painted portraits of all Roman Emperors of the German Nation are on display here. Today, one uses the hall for banquets and special occasions. If one compares the hall with paintings, you notice that the ceiling was once much higher. Prominent is the painting of Charlemagne.

For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that most of the imperial elections took place in Aachen. Later the Habsburgs preferred Frankfurt, as this was closer to Vienna.

From the Emperors’ Hall, we have a nice view over the Christmas market on the Römer.

We walk to the nearby Paulskirche, St Paul’s Church. In the foyer is the huge mural, the Procession of the People’s Representatives to the Paulskirche by Johannes Gruetzke that surrounds an interior. It shows the situation before the revolution of 1848 when the leading classes dominated and the normal people (the poor pigs) tried to escape from their predicament.

In the basement is a Christmas market run by artists, where you find paintings and sculptures.

The upper floor houses the Plenary Chamber. The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is awarded here annually in the presence of numerous prominent politicians.

From here we made a short detour to the cathedral, where the Archaeological Museum Frankfurt has set up a branch, the Kaiserpfalz Franconofurd, in the basement of the Stadthaus Frankfurt.

The Romans had already built a small settlement on this site and the remains of a Merovingian royal court from later times can be traced. However, the place gained importance as a Carolingian-Ottonian royal palace in Frankfurt.

On their journeys through their empire, the kings needed places where they and their court could spend the night and rest for a few days. The Kaiserpfalz Frankfurt was one of these. In 793 Charlemagne arrived here, spend the winter, and stayed until his fourth wife Fastrada died in August. In June a synod with several thousand participants from all over Europe took place here.

After so much history, we visit Wagner’s honey house at the Christmas Market in front of St Paul’s Church. Besides all kinds of products with honey, we find a selected collection of alcoholic beverages on the first floor. Preferred drink seems to be the Viking blood with up to 18% alcohol.

But first, we had a coffee in the Stern-Kaffee-Rösterei Wissmüller, a former coffee roasting house on the opposite side of Paulsplatz.

We then go direction Main to the Eisernen Steg, the famous iron and concrete footbridge. We pass the Young and the Historical Museum of Frankfurt and come along some market stands with hearty meat and sausage products.

On the banks of the river Main, we notice the stand of the company Jodi Winkels from Düsseldorf. Small replicas of medieval half-timbered houses give the smell of fumigating candles from their chimneys.

We cross the Main river to go to Sachsenhausen. We still find the Struwwelpeter cider restaurant, which looks traditional.

But we continue to the inn Feuerrädchen. It was the home of Frankfurt’s first cider queen in the 1950s. Fortunately, the restaurant was not very crowded, so that we could film.

After dinner, we moved on to Schweizer Straße, the center of Sachsenhausen. We passed the Depot 1899, an inn that leaves a good impression from the outside.

In the Schweizer Straße we pass the Gemalte Haus (painted house) of Apfelwein Wagner, which enjoys a good reputation, but also has a somewhat touristic touch.

We gain the impression that Sachsenhausen has been modernized. Well-off young people seem to meet in bars with a cool neon ambiance. The old Sachsenhausen seems to be a thing of the past.

On the way to the hotel, we enjoy the illuminated skyline of Frankfurt.

The next morning we take a look at the pink Christmas market, which just opens its gates.

In the pouring rain, we reach the main station and take the train back home.

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Dieser Beitrag in: Deutsch