History of Frankfurt

History of Frankfurt

The history of the city of Frankfurt dates back to Roman times. Romans settled in the Römer area in the first century AD. Artifacts like coins and roman weapons have had been found in huge quantity. In fact these artifacts are still being discovered from this area. Likewise historians believe that the Bonames district near Frankfurt city got its name from Roman Bona me(n) sa.

Main is the lifeline of Frankfurt. This 524 kilometer long tributary of the Rhine River flows through the German state of Bavaria. Historians believe that the Main River got its name from the Franconofurt of the Germanic tribe of the Franks. The two Germanic tribes named Alemanni and Franks lived here. “Furt” in German language means a low point passage across a river. Besides, “Frank” in “Frankfurt” is a derivation of an old German term “Frei” which means free. So combined together the name of the city means free passage. Closely resembling to its modern name, the term “Franconofurd” was first coined in the assembly of Charles the Great in around 794 AD.

Frankfurt History suggests that this city played a pivotal role in the Holy Roman Empire. Though German emperors used to be elected from Frankfurt from 855 AD, the crowning ceremony however used to be held in Aachen. But all this changed from 1562 as the election and crowning ceremony of German Emperors were both started being held in Frankfurt.

In the beginning of the 19th century, Frankfurt was cannoned and occupied by the victorious army of Napoleon. Ending over thousand years of Roman rule; the Holy Roman Empire finally collapsed in 1805. The city of Frankfurt in 1866 was inducted into German Federation. This city was occupied by Prussia in 1866 after Germany had lost in the Astro-Prussian War. In 1914 this city was again occupied by the French Army and later on vacated. However Frankfurt suffered most damage during the Second World War. The allied bombers almost flattened this city with the medieval city centre bearing the maximum brunt. A massive renovation in post war years however has removed all the scars and modern times have seen this city getting transformed into a busy metropolis.

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