Frankfurt am Main Old Town

Frankfurt am Main saw its historical old town area almost completely destroyed by air raids at the end of the Second World War. For centuries one of the foremost trading and financial centers in Germany, Frankfurt decided after the war to rebuilt fast, cost-efficient, and modern in a style often described as post-war hideous. With the exception of some churches, very few buildings were rebuilt in its original form and it was only in the 1980s, by which time Germany’s financial center had earned a reputation for being both boring and ugly, that some effort was made to beautify the old town and restore some of the former half-timbered buildings.

Frankfurt’s old town is small and not that old but well worth a stroll through. Römerberg is where it all started and this square near the Main River is still the heart of Old Town Frankfurt. In December, the largest Christmas market and largest Christmas tree in Germany are on Römerberg. In summer, a similar market is held that spills over to the banks of the Main River.

Römer is the old Town Hall and contains the Kaisersaal where the newly inaugurated Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was feasted. Nowadays it is mostly sport heroes, such as the national football team, which appear on the balcony to be hailed by the people.

There are several churches in the old town. Don’t miss the Kaiserdom, where the Emperor was traditionally crowned. The oval Paulskirche housed the first democratically elected German parliament from 1848 until the collapse of the German Union in 1850s. Its interior is a modern conference hall.

On the way from Römerberg to the River Main, pass the History Museum and to the right is Haus Wertheym, the only half-timbered house in the old Town to have survived the bombing of 1945. It is now a well regarded restaurant/bar serving traditional German food. Cross the pedestrian Eisernbrücke (Iron Bridge) for magnificent views of the Frankfurt skyline.

Quick Tips:

Frankfurt lays claim to many biggest and largest in Germany – not all that can be proven. It does have the largest airport in Germany, the busiest passenger railway station in Europe, the highest office blocks in Europe, and the largest Christmas market and tree in Germany. The pedestrian Zeil shopping street claims to be the richest shopping street in Germany but I honestly haven’t been in a German city with more than 100,000 inhabitants that have a less exciting array of shops.

Frankfurt also sells more bed nights per year than any other German city – unfortunately more due to business and exhibitions than tourist sites. Truth be told Frankfurt simply is not big on big tourist sites. However, the Old Town is beautifully restored and compact enough to see in a few hours. It is a pleasant city to stroll in and the weather is seldom too cold or too hot to spoil being outdoors. In addition Frankfurt has a reputation to partake at partying and feasting at not more than the drop of a hat and open-air festivals of various sizes and inclinations are common especially during the summer months.

Best Way To Get Around:

Frankfurt’s compact Old Town is best explored on foot. The public transportation system is well developed and incorporates trains (S-Bahn), underground metro (U-Bahn), trams and buses. Buy your ticket shortly before boarding – the ticket machine time stamp the ticket and not a separate machine on the train or bus as in many other German cities. Frankfurt has an extraordinary number of plain-clothes inspectors to enforce the honor system. Inspectors dish out €40 spot fines and may kick you off the train or bus at the next stop. If you can’t pay prepare to see the inside of the local police station.

Driving inside Frankfurt is slow and parking often problematic. Roads marked yellow on most maps are designed to move traffic along. Trying to take a short cut simply doesn’t work as the maize of one way roads are designed not to make this difficult but rather to make it impossible. One-way roads will always redirect you to re-enter the main road a few blocks back from where you turned off.

The airport is only 20 minutes away by direct train so even with a few hours of stop-over time the Old Town can be explored.

The Frankfurter Hof is the flagship hotel of Germany’s Steigenberger luxury hotel group. It is also the Grande Dame of luxury hotels in Frankfurt – it offers stylish, understated luxury, never flashy and for many the place of choice despite competition from newer establishments nearby such as the Hilton and Inter-Continental.

The entrance into the hotel is through a small door on a quiet side street rather than through the porticos facing the small Kaiser Square. Personnel are helpful and check in was swift.

We made reservations through the Steigenberger Website (www.steigenberger.de) where Standard, Deluxe, and Superior double rooms were all going for the same price of €140. There were no descriptions of the different rooms so we opted for Superior and that was not a bad choice. The room was positively big. The main room has a sleeping area at one end a comfortable lounge area at the other. Just off the entrance was a separate walk in closet storeroom with sufficient space for six suitcases, lots of hangers, and a pants press.

A large desk and several telephone plugs may be of interest to the mainly business clientele. Phone charges are however high and "toll free" numbers are charged at €5 per call making the use of even phone cards expensive. The price list of the minibar is another reminder that the Internet special is not the regular price.

This was our first stay in a Steigenberger Hotel but as we have since learned and got to expect is that the Steigenberger Hotels give more thought about bathrooms than the average hotel. It is beautiful – shiny stainless steel fittings, white tiles and a dark marble floor and countertop. All well lit. The bath has shower fittings and a glass divider that actually manages to keep the floor dry should you prefer to shower rather than bath. The stream of hot water is strong. The ventilation is superb keeping not only the mirror clear but making a total mockery of the old hang-the-creased-blazer-behind-the-door-while-showering technique. And above all the plumbing is quiet – you can hardly hear it while inside the bathroom and not at all while in the sleeping area.

The Frankfurter Hof offers value for money when Internet specials are available. During trade shows – and there are many in Frankfurt – expect to pay full price. During the main trade shows such as the annual Book fair in October not even the manager’s mother dreams of staying here – rooms are booked out years in advance.

Some stay in the Frankfurter Hof because of its location. Others stay there because of the understated luxury and class. For me the quiet plumbing alone will be reason enough to return.

Liv’in Apartments offer an attractive alternative to staying in a hotel for visitors to Frankfurt. The smaller studios are like a bed-sit while the larger apartments have a separate bedroom and large walk-in closet with a small electronic safe.

Check in was simple enough and fortunately the receptionist accompanied us to our unit as the front door promptly fell out of its hinges when she opened it. So we were moved to a unit across the passage.

The apartments use a very modern dark blue, red, and yellow colour scheme – it looks a lot better than it sounds. The kitchen has a two plate electric stove, microwave oven, small fridge, coffee maker, and dishwasher. An electric kettle and toaster are notable omissions. The two setting china is expensive looking arctic white complemented by decent stainless steel flatware and large crystal wine glasses. Champagne flutes hint that the guests here like to live it up. A high-top counter with two bar-type chairs separates the kitchen from the living area.

The living area has a TV, stereo, a comfortable two-seat coach, which can convert to a double bed, two additional chairs, a desk, and sufficient lights to set the mood for all occasions.

The telephone seems to be a vital source of added income to the establishment. It is impossible to use phone cards and the rates charged for all calls comparable to the exorbitant fees used by five star hotels.

The bathroom is all white with shiny stainless steel fittings. It has a bath with showerhead and a glass door that kept the floor dry. The bathroom is very well lit and has sufficient countertop space and storage racks for the needs of even the most discerning make-up artist.

A coin operated washing machine and drier are available in the basement of the building. An iron can also be borrowed but after three unsuccessful attempts to get our hands on one we simply bought a €15 one, which still worked fine three years later.

A shopping service is offered, which may be convenient for especially business travellers as the nearby supermarkets tend to close early and open late.

Separate air-conditioner units are installed in the living area and bedroom. The one in the living area was extremely noisy, especially at high fan speeds. The technician explained that the filter flapped in the wind and usefully suggested that fan speed one only be used. I assumed fan speeds two and three are only to improve the look of the control panel? Both units actually broke down completely during our three-week stay in the height of summer but were promptly repaired. Ditto for the shower fitting. The knobs of the closet and bedroom doors kept falling off though and after the second repair we started to push them back ourselves and just pressed down hard before pulling on them.

Liv’In Apartments are adjacent to the Steigenberg Frankfurt City hotel, ten minutes walk from the Zeil and a block from the Main.

It certainly pays to advertise. One sunny summer afternoon, while making my way down the Zeil, Frankfurt’s main shopping street, someone pushed a pamphlet for a Thai restaurant in my hand. Having just finished lunch, it was of little immediate interest but I duly noted the location. Five months later in the dead of winter when hunger pangs struck and the prospect of yet another Bratwurst was just too much to contemplate, I knew where to step half a block off the Zeil and return to the Orient.

The interior of Thai Express is unassuming – the emphasis here is on Express in the “eat and leave” fashion that is popular during lunchtime in Asia. Most tables are two seaters close to each other that can easily be shifted together to make a temporary bigger table should the need arise. A few tables are high with bar stools or standing, as is kind of popular with Germans enjoying their repast in a hurry.

Roving through the 49 dishes on the permanent menu and ten new specials took some time. Drinks are limited to a few soft drinks, beer, and juice. You order by number at the counter and then wait for your receipt number to be called. We went on a pretty busy day but no one waited more than ten minutes for the food.

East Europeans rather than Asians manage the place and the owner / manager was so busy counting an impossibly thick pile of five-euro notes – fantasizing about an equally thick pile of €50s? – that he could not take our order for a while. I did not mind waiting as it gave me more time to study the open kitchen where sparks were flying from the woks as a number of cooks produced food at a furious pace.

Portions were big without being disgustingly so. I had fried rice with duck, which was excellent and not oily. My wife had a chicken curry with vegetables and rice, which was mild without being bland. I assume for most dishes the spicy Thai flavor will be turned down a bit to German tastes.

As you would expect the menu runs the full gambit of what constitutes Thai or Asian fast food. There are soups, starters, and salads but I did not see anybody order any of these as everyone went for the rice, noodle, or meat main dishes. (That said the salad choice is limited to a chicken and a beef salad – no risk overloading on the greens here.)

Shrimp and duck main courses can go up to €8 but most of the other dishes are less than €6. Drinks are €1.80 per half liter, which is a bargain by any definition. All dishes are also available for take away.

The advertising certainly paid off and tasting the food has ensured our continued and frequent custom.

Thai Express is on a small square at the side entrance Peek & Cloppenburg clothing emporium.

Römerberg is the heart of Old Town Frankfurt. It is in this uneven slightly sloping five-sided square that the original Frankfurt exhibitions were held and newly crowned emperors presented to the people. Nowadays it is still the center of public events ranging from the huge Christmas and Summer Markets to the presentation of sport heroes and the finishing line for marathons. It is also used for rallies such as election speeches and peace demonstrations.

Black-and-white postcards on sale at the numerous souvenir shops tell the sad story of the Old Town’s destruction during air raids in World War II. It is worth comparing some of these cards with what is seen today. Most of what is seen today are reconstructions. The facade of Römer, the tower of St Nikolai, and the two fountains are basically the only major constructions that survived the war. The beautiful half-timbered buildings are in pristine condition, partly because they were only completed during the 1980s. The only half-timbered house in the Old Town that survived the bombings and subsequent fires is Haus Wertheym on the way to the Main River.

The most important building on the square is Römer – the town hall. This building consists of 16 buildings that were joined through the centuries, as more space was required. The three facades facing the square are often used as the symbol of Frankfurt. The neo-Gothic decorations of the center building were only added in the nineteenth century. The newly crowned emperors were feasted in the Kaisersaal, which is open to the public when not used for official functions. The life size paintings of the Emperors where painted in the late 19th century long after the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist. From 1356 to 1792, all German kings (and Holy Roman Emperors of the German Nation) were elected, and from 1562 also crowned, in Frankfurt.

Römer means Romans in German and the name was given to the building because it was traditionally occupied by traders from Rome during the trade fairs. Many visitors and some English guidebooks think the name relates to Romans as in Roman Empire. That mistake is easy to make due to the presence of some Roman excavations between Römerberg and the Cathedral. These excavations of three periods – Roman, Carolingian, and medieval are not really worth going out of your way more than ten steps but on your way to the Cathedral you’ll pass it directly and may take a quick glance.

The fountain in front of Römer has a lady justice, which in contrast to many similar ones is not blindfolded. She faces the town hall directly as reminder to the town governors to treat the citizens fairly. Contrary to popular believe this fountain did not spout wine on the day that emperors were elected. That happened only once, at the coronation of Matthias in 1612 but naturally the locals still talk about that event with considerable nostalgia.

From 25 November until 24 December, Germany’s largest Christmas market is in operation in Frankfurt. The center of activities is on Römerberg, where the largest Christmas tree in Germany is decorated in front of the Town Hall. However, the market spreads out in all directions and reaches parts of the Zeil shopping street and the banks of the Main River. To make sure even those on brief stopovers do not miss out, small Christmas markets also operate at the Main Station and in the Airport.

Although the market operates during the day, the best time to visit is after onset of darkness when the lights enhance the mood dramatically. It also gets progressively busier as the number of visitors increase after normal businesses start to close. Most stalls remain open until nine at night. If you love crowds visit over the weekend – Sunday can get especially busy as virtually all commercial establishments in Germany are closed on Sundays save the Christmas markets. Expect lots of families.

A wide variety of items is sold at a German Christmas market. Most items of course relates to Christmas such as decorations and cakes traditionally associated with Christmas. Plastic junk and cheap clothes are generally not sold and most Christmas markets will sell mainly hand made decorations – often crafted from wood in rural areas during the long winters.

Occasionally live music is played – a pleasant surprised during a visit last year was a band playing on the roof balcony of St Leonard’s Church at Römerberg.

Various rides are available – none that will put Six Flags out of business but they are generally aimed at younger children anyway. On some adults may accompany children for free.

Most people head directly for the food stalls. The range of food can be astonishing. At the Frankfurt market sausages are a perennial favorite but you can also buy Dutch poffertjes, waffles, pancakes (generally assumed to be the worst value for money but still selling well), Rebkuchen (potato pancakes with applesauce), soups, goose, pretzels – the list is endless. The drink of choice is Glühwein – hot wine with spices. An assortment is available including cherry and berry flavored wines. The wine is not heated to the point where alcohol evaporates and warm alcohol apparently enters the blood stream faster. Kinderpunsch is a similar spiced drink but non-alcoholic and made of fruit juice – usually apple or orange. You pay a deposit on the mug and either return it for a refund or keep it if you like the design. A local favorite is apple wine – very much an acquired taste with the distinction between wine and vinegar occasionally a mental rather than a physical one.