History of Frankfurt

There is no doubt that Frankfurt was one of the most important cities during the Holy Roman Empire. When 855 arrived, emperors and German kings were crowned and elected in Aachen but later in 1562, the emperors and kings were crowned in Frankfurt.

As we dig deep in to the history of Frankfurt, we come to know that in 1150, the Frankfurter Messe (Frankfurt Trade Fair) was mentioned for the first time. When the Thirty Years’ War started, Frankfurt managed to remain neutral but refugees brought bubonic plague which became the reason of suffering. Frankfurt successfully regained its wealth after the war ended.

The Napoleonic Wars

Frankfurt was bombarded and occupied several times by French troops. In 1805/6, Holy Roman Empire collapsed and Frankfurt was no longer a free city. After Napoleon’s final abdication and defeat, Frankfurt entered the newly founded German Confederation as a free city and Grand-Duchy was dissolved by the Congress of Vienna. Frankfurt later on, reserved the seat of its Bundestag.

After revolution of 1848, the seat of the first democratically German parliament was elected by Frankfurt and Saint Paul’s Church was opened on May 18, 1848. “A crown from the gutter” was not accepted by the Prussian king and it became the reason of institution fail in 1849. In the same year, the Prussian king became monarch of the assembly developed by a common constitution for a unified Germany.

Austro-Prussian War

In 1866, Frankfurt lost its independence after the war, while Prussia annexed several smaller states. The free press of Frankfurt bothered the Prussians and took the opportunity to occupy the city by force whereas Frankfurt stayed neutral in the war. In 1890, the formerly independent towns of Bockenheim and Bornheim were incorporated.

Afterwards, the citizens founded the University of Frankfurt which was later named as Goethe University, Frankfurt. This university is one of the largest ones in Germany.

World War II

Frankfurt was severely bombed in the war which lasted from 1939 to 1945. The famous medieval city centre was almost completely destroyed being the largest in Germany and around 5,500 residents were killed during the raids. On March 26, 1945, it became a ground battlefield when Germany was forced to take the city in urban combat including a river assault when the allies advanced into the city. Frankfurt was captured after several days of intense fighting by the United States Army, and on March 29, 1945 it was declared as largely secured.

After the war ended, Frankfurt became part of the state of Hesse which was recently found and it consisted the old Prussian Hesse and Hesse Darmstadt provinces. Frankfurt became part of the American Zone of Occupation of Germany.

Re-Establishment

In 1948, Frankfurt’s financial institutions were re-established. Stock exchange of Frankfurt regained its position as the country’s leading stock exchange in the 1950s. Frankfurt Airport became Europe’s second-busiest airport and got re-emerged as Germany’s transportation centre in 1961. Frankfurt created one of Europe’s most efficient underground transportation systems during the 1970s and in 1988; Frankfurt founded the European Central Bank in 2011.

If the history of Frankfurt is so amazing and heartbreaking, imagine being at the spots where wars were going on for years. Everyone must visit Frankfurt to discover more about the city’s historic places and if you do, don’t forget to stay in hotels which are simply mesmerizing. Hotels in Frankfurt are affordable and you get a comfortable night’s sleep to get up fresh the next morning for a better experience. One of the luxurious and budget hotels is Moxy.