18 Most Famous Historical Landmarks in Frankfurt, Germany

For centuries, the city of Frankfurt has been an important economic and cultural hub in Germany.

The former residence of the Rothschilds, the main synagogue in Frankfurt, the world’s 3rd-largest stock exchange, and the European Central Bank are just some of many landmarks that are found in Frankfurt.

It is also home to one of the largest squares in Europe. This square is called the ‘Römerberg’ and it is considered one of the most important landmarks because it was where the franks meet for their annual election. Let’s get into several historical landmarks in Frankfurt.

Famous Historical Landmarks in Frankfurt

1. Römer

The Römer is a medieval building in Frankfurt, Germany’s historic center, and one of the city’s most important attractions.

The Römer has served as the municipal hall (Rathaus) of Frankfurt for over 600 years and is located across from the Old St. Nicholas Church. The Haus Römer is one of three identical city halls that were built in the 14th century.

The Römer is not a museum in the strict sense, but it is occasionally used by the city for various purposes such as a Standesamt or civil registration office; wedding rooms are found on the first and second floors of the Haus Löwenstein.

The Dom-Römer Quarter, which incorporates several reconstructions of historical buildings on the Römerberg, was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

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2. New Town Hall

The New Town Hall (Neues Römer) is a town hall on the Main River in Frankfurt, Germany. The original building was the second as it stood opposite the Paulskirche and served as an administrative building of Prussia and the German Empire during the 19th century. The current Neue Römer building is now the seat of the city’s council.

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3. Städel Museum

The Städel Museum is an art museum with one of the country’s greatest collections. The Städel Art Institute and City Hall Gallery contain over 3,100 paintings, 660 sculptures, more than 4,600 photographs, and more than 100,000 drawings and prints.

With approximately 4,000 m2 of exhibition space, it is among the larger art museums in Germany. The museum houses an extensive collection of paintings and drawings from the 15th to the early 20th centuries with a focus on German-speaking painters.

The Städel was designated “Museum of the Year” by the German art critics’ association AICA.

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4. Grüneburg Park

Grüneburgpark is an urban park in Frankfurt, Germany. It was created in 1961 on the disused Stadtgut Grüneburg (Grüneburg Estate) and encompasses an area of 57 hectares with a length of 3.6 kilometers.

A wide range of attractions is presented throughout the year. There is an adventure playground and a petting zoo, as well as an area dedicated to children’s rail transport. A large outdoor swimming pool with grassed areas is set up in summer.

The park has two lawns: the Schwanenweiher (Swan Lake) and the Fürstengraben (Prince’s Ditch). The various theme gardens cover more than 2 hectares.

There is also a rose garden and a Japanese garden, as well as the Grüneburgpark’s two landmarks: the Mailänder Hochhaus (Milan skyscraper) and the wonderful Museum für Moderne Kunst (Museum of Modern Art).

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5. Palmengarten

The Palmengarten is one of three botanical gardens in Frankfurt, Germany. It is located in the Westend-Süd neighborhood. It has an area of 22 hectares and 20 different species of trees and bushes.

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6. Holzhausen Palace

The Holzhausenschlösschen (Little Holzhausen Palace), a moated former country home built by the patrician Holzhausen family on their farm, is now in the Nordend of Frankfurt.

After a design by Louis Remy de la Fosse, Johann Hieronymus von Holzhausen rebuilt the house in 1710. The small palace has an octagonal plan and is seen as one of the purest representatives of baroque old German architecture.

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7. Römerberg

The Römerberg is a public area in Frankfurt, Germany. It is located in front of the Römer building complex, which has housed the city administration of Frankfurt since the 15th century. The square served as the traditional core of the medieval Altstadt (old town) and is now a popular tourist attraction.

Römerberg is a major site for the Frankfurt Christmas Market, which takes place outside throughout December. It was the location of a Nazi book burning in 1933.

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8. Iron Footbridge

The Eiserner Steg (Iron Footbridge) is a footbridge that connects the city of Frankfurt with the Sachsenhausen district.

The first wrought iron bridge was built in 1868 and replaced in 1911/1912 by a cantilever steel structure. It has two bridge piers and is 170 meters long, made up of riveted steel beam construction.

The Wehrmacht detonated the bridge in the final days of World War II, but it was quickly rebuilt after. It was completely renovated in 1993.

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9. Main Tower

The Main Tower is a 56-story, 200 m (656 ft) skyscraper in Frankfurt, Germany’s Innenstadt district. The Main River runs nearby and was named for that reason. When the antenna spire is included, the building reaches 240 meters (787 feet). There are five underground levels and two public viewing platforms in the tower.

The building’s foyer houses two artworks that are open to the public: “The World of Appearances” by Bill Viola and a wall mosaic by Stephan Huber entitled “Frankfurter Treppe / XX. Jahrhundert” ( (“Frankfurt’s Steps/20th century”).

The tower’s structure appears to include two connected towers between which a sky lobby is situated.

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10. Alte Nikolaikirche

The Old St Nicholas Church (in German: Alte Nikolaikirche) in Frankfurt, Germany is a medieval Lutheran church and a top attraction in Frankfurt.

It is located in the old town of Frankfurt, known as Altstadt, near the Römer city hall. There are 51 bells at the church; 4 of them are used for peals and 47 for carillons.

The Old St Nicholas Church is part of the present-day Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, which includes Lutheran, Reformed, and United Protestant congregations.

Despite significant damage to the adjacent old city during the bombing of Frankfurt am Main in World War II, the Old St Nicholas Church was largely intact.

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11. Bethmann Park

Bethmannpark is a public city park in Frankfurt am Main. It was designed and built by the landscape architect Gustav Meyer (1841-1897) and opened to the public on September 28, 1897.

The park has an area of 11 hectares and extends down from the Hotel Nassauer Hof to the banks of the River Main. It is lined on both sides by chestnut trees (Castanea sativa).

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12. Museumsufer

The Museumsufer (Museums Riverbank) is a long, continuous urban promenade in Frankfurt am Main along the river Main’s left bank. It connects six museums and two art schools with nine exhibition halls on an area of about 22,500 m².

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13. St. Paul’s Church

St. Paul’s Church (Paulskirche) is a national historic monument in Germany because it was the seat of the first democratically elected parliament in 1848. In 1886, Paulskirche was torn down and replaced with a reproduction built between 1910 and 1914 after plans by architect Max Littmann.

Reconstruction of the church began in 1999, through an organization called “Pro Paulskirche” which relies mostly on private donations. The church was re-inaugurated on 29 October 2014.

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14. Goethe House

The Goethe House is a writer’s house museum in Frankfurt, Germany’s Innenstadt District. It was the birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

It provides an accurate setting for Goethe to spend his youth, with period furnishings and paintings. It is also where Goethe wrote his famous works Götz von Berlichingen, Faust, and The Sorrows of Young Werther.

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15. Brockhaus Fountain

The Brockhaus Fountain is a monumental public fountain in Frankfurt, Germany. It was created in 1881 by the sculptor Rudolf Bosselt and donated to the city after his retirement. It was inaugurated on May 12, 1882, and lies in front of the St. Leonhard church.

The fountain is designed as a pedestal with four ionic columns supporting a dome on which lies a warrior taking aim with his bow while riding on top of two dolphins at the base.

A six meters tall column stands behind this pedestal at whose top stands an obelisk on which the year AD 1839 is inscribed.

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16. Zoo Frankfurt

The Frankfurt Zoological Garden is a zoo in Frankfurt. More than 4,500 animals representing more than 510 species live on over 11 hectares at the zoo.

The zoo was established in 1858 and is the country’s second oldest after Berlin Zoo. It is located near the Innenstadt (inner city) east of the center. The gate’s architecture represents the neoclassicism of the 19th century.

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17. Schiller-Denkmal

The Schiller Monument in Frankfurt am Main is dedicated to the German dramatist and historian Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805). It was created by Reinhold Begas, who also designed the statue of Bismarck at St. Paul’s Church (Paulskirche) in 1888.

After various disputes about its location, the statue was finally erected in 1883 outside the Alte Nikolaikirche. The site for this church had been set up by Schiller during his time as a student at this former Stift gymnasium back in 1773.

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18. Schloss Isenburg

The Schloss Isenburg is a small palace in the city of Frankfurt am Main. It was owned by the counts of Isenburg but sold to Frankfurt’s city council in 1317.

The building now houses offices for some lawyers, among them Helmut Heinen. Since 2000, there has been a permanent exhibition about him and his wife, Martha, who was among the most famous German resistance fighters against the Nazis.

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Conclusion

There are a variety of and numerous landmarks to enjoy and a plethora of things to do in Frankfurt. Whether you like history or the arts, you’ll find something to interest you.

If you want to see any of these monuments while you’re there, schedule your visit ahead of time so that it doesn’t go by too fast and leave you with little time at each site.

It would also be wise to check out our article on how tourism impacts local economies because it could help with your itinerary planning process if this city is a stop on your vacation plans!

We hope we’ve given you some ideas about where to start when exploring this beautiful German City!

Related Resources:

• Best Hotels in Frankfurt
• Germany Tourist Information
• Famous Castles in Germany