Frankfurt

Ok it’s a quick one today on our last day in Germany. We checked out of the hotel but left the bags in storage so we could scoot into Frankfurt for a look around (but without walking too much).  How do you do that?  Easy.  Grab a day ticket for use on the S-Bahn & U-Bahn and use them!.  The S-Bahn gets you into the main station and from there it’s the underground until we return to the airport.  So we popped up at the Dom/Romer station and in front of us was the massive St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral (Frankfurter Dom) which is built of red sandstone in Gothic style between the 13th and 15th centuries, and is 95m high, so it kind of stands out around here.  Here’s a corner of it!

Into Romerburg (the heart of Old town Frankfurt).  This where they have the  Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market).  The history of Christmas markets goes back to the late Middle Ages in the German-speaking part of Europe. Here in Frankfurt this was first mentioned in 1393, and now mentioned again by me in 2015!  Google it if you want more coz it sounds boring to me.  But what isn’t boring here are the beautiful old buildings that are reconstructions of the 15th & 16th century houses that stood here prior to the March 1944 bombings which obliterated virtually the whole of the old town district.  Regardless, today this is Frankfurt’s most picturesque public square.

The Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice) at the centre of the square was built in 1543. The statue is goddess Justitia, holding the scales of justice but without the usual blindfold.


Adjacent to the Romerburg is Bethmann Street where we see Frankfurt’s own Seufzerbrücke  or ‘Bridge of Sighs’ (named after the real deal we saw in Venice).  You can see a slight resemblance.  It was built to connect the town hall in the Romer to it’s ‘extension’ across the street.  Another part of the town hall complex are the two towers we can see here.  The largest (at the back) was nicknamed Langer Franz (Tall Franz) and the smaller is Kleiner Cohn (Little Cohn). At 70m (230 ft), Langer Franz was the tallest structure in the city back at the start of the 20th century.  But of course, the towers were smashed in WW2 and had to be reconstructed.  However, Langer Franz was ‘topped’  and now has a flat roof where once it had a rooftop decorated with turrets, coat of arms and a spire.  Apparently there are plans however to reconstruct the ornate top of the tower which would bring Langer Franz back to its original height and appearance.  And why not!
False alarm at Romerburg.
Back to the fountain. Inappropriate fountain art.
Another statue in the square.
Here is Rententurm (Toll Tower, built 1454) which secured the important side entrance to Romerberg and also snared customs duties and port charges at the Main river.  This one of the only 3 preserved gothic towers that date back to medieval times.
A view from the iron walk bridge (Eiserner Steg – 1869) with its vast collection of ‘love locks’.
Here’s the brand new European Central Bank building.  The ECB is of course the central bank for Europe’s single currency, the Euro, and the seat of European financial power and decisions. The ECB’s main task is to maintain the euro’s purchasing power and retain price stability in the euro area (which comprises the 19 European Union countries).
This quirky ‘buried tram’ entrance is quite cool. Enough to keep the students amused as Frankfurt’s University (Goethe University) is right here on this block.

Outside the Senckenberg Natural History Museum (Naturmuseum Senckenberg) are a couple of life size dinosaurs. Here’s big T.
Alte Oper (old Opera House) at Opernplatz is a reconstruction of the original (1873-80) which was destroyed by bombs in WW2. The rebuild (completed in 1981) shows off exactly how impressive it once was.
It says what!  (A train ticket machine).
The Hauptwache (main guard house) – a baroque style building originally built in 1729 as the seat of the city’s defense authorities. Later in 1866 it was used as a police station, and from 1904 a cafe. It was rebuilt in 1954 after being heavily damaged in the WW2 bombings, but then in 1967 it got in the way of the construction of the U-bahn (subway) and was dismantled stone by stone before being rebuilt on top of the U-bahn station (which has the same name).  It’s still a cafe. The building that refused to die!!  Masses of people in this area and the adjacent streets. It’s Wednesday.  Why aren’t they at work!! Temperature is probably touching 30C. Quite warm today.
From here I can see the Eschenheimer Turm (tower) built in 1428, is the finest relic from Frankfurt’s old town walls. At 47-meters high (154ft), it dominates the Eschenheimer Gate district.  The tower was once just one of about sixty towers encircling the city. Most were demolished between 1806 and 1812 when the old city walls were torn down.
Shopping time. We headed into this hugely impressive building. Look at the glass work.  (It’s MyZeil – monstrous 4 storey mall.
Some pics from inside. Very impressive.
Ok… a quick burst is all I have time for.  We’ll be boarding soon.  So to Germany we say….