FRANKFURT AM MAIN

English Frankfort on the Main largest city of Hessen Land (state), western Germany. The city lies along the Main River about 19 miles (30 km) upstream from its confluence with the Rhine River at Mainz. There is evidence of Celtic and Germanic settlements in the city dating from the 1st century BC, as well as Roman remains from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The name Frankfurt (Ford [Passage, Crossing] of the Franks) probably arose about AD 500, when the Franks drove the Alemanni south, but the first written mention of Franconofurt stems from Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, in the late 8th century. The Pfalz (imperial castle) served as an important royal residence of the East Frankish Carolingians from the 9th century through later medieval times. In the 12th century the Hohenstaufen dynasty erected a new castle in Frankfurt and walled the town. The Hohenstaufen ruler Frederick Barbarossa was elected king there in 1152, and in 1356 the Golden Bull (the constitution of the Holy Roman Empire) designated Frankfurt as the permanent site of the election of the German kings. Frankfurt am Main was a free imperial city from 1372 until 1806, when Napoleon I made it the seat of government for the prince primate of the Confederation of the Rhine. In 1810 the city became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt created by Napoleon. From 1815, when Napoleon fell, Frankfurt was again a free city, and in 184849 the Frankfurt National Assembly was held there. From 1816 to 1866 the city was the seat of the German Bundestag (Federal Diet) and thus the capital of Germany. After the Seven Weeks' War in 1866, Frankfurt was annexed by Prussia, thereby ending its free-city status. It was only after its integration into a united Germany that Frankfurt developed into a large industrial city. Until World War II, Frankfurt's Old Town, which had grown up around the imperial castle, was the largest medieval city still intact in Germany. The Old Town was mostly destroyed by Allied bombing campaigns in 1944, however, and was subsequently rebuilt with multistory office buildings and other modern structures. The Rmer (the old town hall) and two other gabled houses along Romerberg Square are among the city's most famous old structures. Other historical landmarks include the 155-foot- (47-metre-) tall Eschenheimer Tower (140028); the red sandstone cathedral, which was dedicated to St. Bartholomew in 1239; and the Church of St. Paul (Paulskirche), which was the meeting place of the Frankfurt National Assembly. International trade fairs have been held in Frankfurt since 1240, and the city is now a leading commercial and financial centre. There is an important stock exchange (first established in 1585), and Frankfurt was the site from which the Rothschild family started its international banking empire. Frankfurt's annual book, automobile, and computer fairs are popular events, and there are many other fairs throughout the year. The city's manufactures include machinery, chemical and pharmaceutical products, printing materials, leather goods, and foodstuffs. The city is traditionally known for its production of high-quality sausages (hence frankfurters). Frankfurt has long been a key stopping point for river, rail, and road traffic from Switzerland and southern Germany northward along the Rhine River to the Ruhr region and across the Main River to north-central Germany. It is still the chief traffic hub for western Germany and has also been an important inland shipping port since the canalization of the Main River in the 1880s. The Rhein-Main airport nearby is the largest airport in Germany and one of the busiest in Europe. Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt (1914) is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Germany. The Frankfurt am Main City Zoological Garden is one of the nation's finest zoos. Among the city's other attractions are the Stdel Art Institute, the Senckenberg museum of natural history, and the Liebighaus museum of sculpture. J.W. von Goethe's birthplace was burned to the ground in World War II but has since been restored. Adjoining it is the Goethe Museum and Library, one of the city's chief attractions. Pop. (1995 est.) 652,412.