FRANKFORT 



3315 



FRANKFORT- ON-MAIN 



Frankfort. City of Kentucky, 

 U.S.A. It is capital of the state and 

 the co. seat of Franklin co. On the 

 Kentucky river, here spanned by a 

 fine suspension bridge, 55 m. E. of 

 Louisville, it is served by the 

 Chesapeake and Ohio and other 

 rlys. In addition to the capitol, 

 there are several state buildings, 

 including an arsenal, penitentiary, 

 library, a home for feeble-minded 

 children, and a coloured normal 

 school. A busy trade centre, 

 Frankfort manufactures lumber 

 products, carriages, glass, tobacco, 

 flour, and shoes. The city dates 

 from 1786, and became the state 

 capital in 1792. Pop. 11,180. 



Frankfort-on-Main. City of 

 Germany, called by the Germans 

 Frankfurt. It stands on the Main, 

 the city proper be- 

 ing on the right or 

 N. bank, 24 m. 

 from its junction 

 with the Rhine 

 and in the 

 Prussian pro- 

 vince of Hesse - 

 Frankfort arms Nassau. On the 

 left bank is Sachsenhausen, a 

 suburb with a history, while the 

 city also includes Bockenheim, 

 until 1895 a separate municipality, 

 and populous modern suburbs all 

 around. The city's population 

 is 350,000, about 32,000 being 

 Jews, who have always been 

 numerous. 



The interest of Frankfort is in its 

 buildings and historical associa- 

 tions on the one hand and in its 

 banking and commercial interests 

 on the other. It was, moreover, the 

 birthplace of Goethe, while from 

 it came the Rothschilds. In the 

 centre of the old town, with its 

 narrow streets, is the Romerberg or 

 market place. The Zeil is the chief 

 business street ; the Markt contains 

 the Goldene Wage, a 15th century 

 house, and other historic buildings. 

 Beyond the old town is the com- 

 paratively new town, begun in the 

 14th century. Beyond that are 

 the Anlagen. or promenades, laid 



out early in the 

 19th century 

 when thecity walls 

 were pulled down. 



Of the many 

 churches, the 

 cathedral was 

 founded in th e 

 9th century. 

 Much of the 

 present edifice 

 dates from the 

 14th century, but 

 it was thoroughly 

 restored in the 

 19th century after 

 a fire. In it the 

 German kings 

 were crowned 

 after the pope 

 ceased to perform 

 that ceremony in 

 Rome. Other 

 churches are S. 

 Leonard's, with 

 two 13th century 

 Rom ane s q u e 

 towers; S. 

 Nicholas; the 

 church of Our 

 Lady; S. Peter's, 

 with a fine in- 

 terior ; S. Paul's, 

 and several 

 synagogues. The 

 town hall, called 

 the Romer, which stands on the 

 Romerberg, consists of a num- 

 ber of old houses linked together 





Frankfort-on-Main. The Romer or town hall, containing 

 the famous Kaisersaal 



Frankfort-on-Main. The Central 

 railway station 



into one large building, to which 

 modern additions have been made. 

 In it are two historically interesting 

 ) apartments, the 

 ! election cham- 

 | ber, where the 

 ! electors met to 

 choose the Ger- 

 man king, and 

 the Kaisersaal, 

 where the 

 coronation 

 feast, described 

 by Schiller, was 

 held. The 

 latter, now 

 thoroughly re- 

 stored, contains 

 paintings of 

 the emperors 

 and kings. 



Frankfort-on-Main, The 14th century cathedral of 

 S. Bartholomew, to which the tower was added in 1414 



Other buildings include the Saal- 

 hof, which has a Romanesque 

 chapel, the oldest edifice in Frank- 

 fort. The hall of the linen drapers 

 still stands. The palace of the 

 prince of Thurn and Taxis, where 

 the federal parliament sat from 

 1816 to 1866, is now part of the 

 post-office pile. The opera house 

 is a magnificent building of the 19th 

 century, while there are several 

 theatres and many other places of 

 amusement. The law courts is a 

 fine modem building, and there is a 

 new exchange or bourse and a fine 

 central station. 



Of the museums the chief is the 

 Stadel Institution in Sachsen- 

 hausen. Tliis has some rare trea- 

 sures, as well as a fine collection of 

 paintings and antiquities. The 

 linen drapers' hall houses the muni- 

 cipal museum of paintings and an- 

 tiquities. Other museums are the 

 Bethmann Museum and the mu- 

 seum of ethnology. The house of 

 the Goethe family now contains 

 relics of the poet and a large library 

 of Goethe literature. The Roth- 

 schild house still stands, this being 

 the only existing remains of the 

 Jews' quarter. Another museum is 

 named after J. C. Senckenberg, one 

 of Frankfort's benefactors, who 

 also founded a hospital and an 

 almshouse. 



Several bridges cross the Main. 

 The most notable is the old bridge 



