History

Frankfurt was originally a roman town and royal residence of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne in 100AD. The emperor granted the town to the convent at St Emmeram although by then it was already established as a trading center. Later, Frankfurt held a place of power in the Holy Roman Empire of Germany.

As its market flourished, so did its importance as an trading center. By the 12th century Frankfurt acted as a host town for trade fairs and attracted business from the Mediterranean to the Baltic. An industrial city had been born.

In 1356 Frankfurt was chosen as the seat of imperial elections, the Golden Bull, by Charles IV, which took place in the chapel of the Church of St. Bartholomew.

The last German emperor was elected in 1792, and by the time the Holy Roman Empire dissolved in 1806, Frankfurt became part of the ecclesiastic principality of Regensburg and Aschaffenburg the entire region fell under French control.

The Frankfurt Parliament, the first German national assembly, met for the first time in 1848 at Paulskirche. In 1866 Frankfurt was annexed by Prussia, and in 1871 the Treaty of Frankfurt incorporated Frankfurt into the German Empire. Though the parliament was disbanded by the Prussians, Frankfurt was later hailed as Germany's 'cradle of democracy'.

Heavily damaged in the war, Frankfurt was completely rebuilt and became the German, and ultimately European capital of trade and commerce. Today the banking district with its high rise buildings and posh office and commercial centers is a symbol of Germany's postwar economic development.

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