In Which We Briefly Visit Germany

When I mentioned to a Swiss friend that we were going to Frankfurt, she expressed surprise that we would take the trouble.  It seems that Frankfurt is not generally considered a prime tourist destination.  It was, in fact, to be a business trip, one that The Spouse has made for many years.  The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest book trade show and draws everyone who is anyone in the publishing business to a huge convention center near the city's main train station.  Because many never bother to leave the center, their view of Frankfurt is confined to what can be seen from the train from the airport.

Undaunted, I looked forward to exploring a new European city.  While TS went off to meetings, I began by taking a walking tour recommended by friends who had been to Frankfurt last summer.  It's a perfect way to get to know the city; I love walking, and Frankfurt happens to be eminently walkable.  Moreover, the guide, an American expatriate named Jo, was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and good company.  The tour group included visitors from Texas, Hamburg, China, England and Malaysia, many also in town for the book fair.

A Roman Lion

Jo stressed that Frankfurt is an old city, dating back at least to the Romans who built a bridge at a natural ford of the Main River, which channeled trade from all over Europe and points beyond.  The area became a trading center where merchants gathered regularly for fairs.  The settlement that grew up beside the bridge was given special privileges, especially status as a free city, exempt from control by local nobles.  As Jo pointed out, Frankfurt was "always about the money" and today is the financial center of Germany and one of the major centers of Europe.  This might help explain the negative attitudes of other Europeans.  Focused on trade, Frankfurt was not a center for culture or learning.  Moreover, much of it was destroyed during several days of American fire-bombing in 1944, so that today's city dates only from the 1950s.  Europeans respect nothing so much as antiquity.  Even so, Jo emphasized that some buildings did survive, including the cathedral tower and a number of stone buildings, and these served as the basis for postwar restoration

Medieval Frankfurt was a densely packed warren of half-timbered houses.  Only one survived the American bombers' conflagration; standing nearest to the river, it had been selected as an exit point for a network of underground escape passages.  The city's firemen focused their energies on protecting it.  Although some of the new buildings in the area copied the half-timbered style, the streets were laid out on a wider plan to allow for passage of cars as well as pedestrians.

Jo with Book-Burning Plaque

Not surprisingly, the Holocaust and World War II were major themes of the tour.  We began at the central square in front of the Rathaus, or City Hall, and one of the first things Jo showed us was a bronze plaque marking the spot where in 1933 Nazi-inspired students held a bonfire of controversial books.  Among the names listed there were Karl Marx and Berthold Brecht, but also Sigmund Freud.

Frankfurt had one of the largest Jewish populations in Germany, and we visited an area where one of the main synagogues stood.  It was destroyed on Krystalnacht, in 1938, and the cemetery nearby was desecrated.  Today a modern city government building stands on the site of the synagogue, but the cemetery has been restored.  Around it runs a rough wall lined with small stone plaques recording the names of all Jews born in Frankfurt who died in the Holocaust.  Jo showed us the memorials for Anne Frank and her family, who were from Frankfurt but had fled to to Amsterdam in an attempt to escape the Nazis.

There were many other sights to see:  the Cathedral, where for centuries Holy Roman Emperors were elected and crowned; the birthplace of the great German writer Goethe, a lovely Romanesque church with several excellent portals (as you will soon note, we are huge fans of Romanesque architecture).  There was a wonderful urban market that reminded me of Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.  The Rathus' rooftops sported a number of playful cats:

The central impression I gained of Frankfurt was of a city both old and new, where a medieval tower that had survived firebombing stood tall near brand new sky scrapers.   It seemed forward-looking as well as respectful of its history -- a good combination in my mind.

Statue of Goethe and Europe's Tallest Building

After leaving the tour I decided to see how department stores in Germany compared with those in the U.S.  Though the Galerie seemed pretty familiar, I found it much superior in one respect: the entire top floor was given over to a cafeteria, with outdoor seating affording panoramic views of the city.  So I settled down to rest my weary feet and take in the view along with kaffee und kuchen.