Frankfurt

Today all roads converge on Frankfurt

The thriving industrial metropolis of Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city and Goethe's hometown, may well be your first glimpse of Germany. As the country’s travel hub, most international flights land at Frankfurt's huge airport, and its massive 19th-century railway station is the busiest in Europe. As the home of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, Frankfurt is also the country's financial center. It's been a major banking city ever since the Rothschilds opened their first bank here in 1798. Frankfurt also has a leading stock exchange.

When bombs rained down on Frankfurt in 1944, nearly all the old half-timbered buildings were leveled. In what seemed like record time, residents of Frankfurt rebuilt their city into a fine mélange of modern and traditional architecture and faithfully restored some of their most prized old buildings as well. Although Frankfurt doesn't have the monuments or museums to equal Munich or Berlin, its museums and exhibition halls still lure some 2 million visitors annually. Many of the grandest museums lie along the Main on the south bank--often called "Museum Embankment," in itself a dazzling array of contemporary architecture even before you go inside to look at the exhibits.

© 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.