Frankfurt

Standing in the center of the Römerberg (medieval town square), you'll see the city's striking contrasts at once. Re-creations of neo-Gothic houses and government buildings enfold the square, while just beyond them modern skyscrapers pierce the sky. The city cheekily nicknamed itself "Mainhattan," using the name of the Main River that flows through it to suggest that other famous metropolis across the Atlantic. Although modest in size (fifth among German cities, with a population of 667,000), Frankfurt is Germany's financial powerhouse. Not only is the German Central Bank (Bundesbank) here, but also the European Central Bank (ECB), which manages the euro. Some 300 credit institutions (more than half of them foreign banks) have offices in Frankfurt, including the headquarters of five of Germany's largest banks. You can see how the city acquired its other nickname, "Bankfurt am Main."

According to legend, a deer revealed the ford in the Main River to the Frankish emperor Charlemagne. A stone ridge, now blasted away, made the shallow river a great conduit for trade, and by the early 13th century Frankfurt (Furt means "ford") had emerged as a major trading center. The city's stock exchange, one of the half-dozen most important in the world, was established in 1585, and the Rothschild family opened their first bank here in 1798. The long history of trade might help explain the temperament of many Frankfurters—competitive but open-minded. It's also one of the reasons Frankfurt has become Germany's most international city. More than a quarter of its residents are foreign, including a large number of Turks, Italians, Eastern Europeans, and others who relocated here for business.

Because of its commercialism, Frankfurt has a reputation for being crass, cold, and boring. But people who know the city think this characterization is unfair. The district of Sachsenhausen is as gemütlich (fun, friendly, and cozy) as you will find anywhere. The city has world-class ballet, opera, theater, and art exhibitions; an important piece of Germany's publishing industry; a large university (35,000 students); and two of the three most important daily newspapers in Germany. There may not be that much here to remind you of the Old World, but there's a great deal that explains the success story of postwar Germany.

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