The city of Frankfurt developed from an early settlement on the Main into one of the most important political and commercial centres of Germany. Its location at the intersection of major trade routes contributed to its importance from the Early Middle Ages. Frankfurt was first mentioned in written sources in the late 8th century. In the following centuries, it acquired an increasingly important role within the Holy Roman Empire.
From 1147 onward, Frankfurt was the site of most elections of the German kings, a role formally confirmed by the Golden Bull of 1356. Beginning in 1562, most Holy Roman emperors were also crowned in Frankfurt Cathedral. Alongside its political importance, Frankfurt became a major centre of long-distance trade. The Frankfurt Trade Fair developed into one of the most significant fairs in Europe, while the city's status as a free imperial city gave it substantial political and economic autonomy.
Frankfurt lost its independence with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and became part of the Napoleonic Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. In 1815 it regained the status of a sovereign city as the Free City of Frankfurt and became the seat of the German Confederation's Federal Convention. During the German revolutions of 1848–1849, the Frankfurt Parliament convened in St. Paul's Church in an attempt to establish a unified constitutional German state. After the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the city was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. Industrialisation and rapid population growth subsequently transformed Frankfurt into a major city of the German Empire.
During the Second World War, large parts of the historic city centre were destroyed by Allied air raids. After the war, Frankfurt became part of the state of Hesse in West Germany. It was considered as a possible seat of government for the newly established Federal Republic of Germany, but Bonn was ultimately chosen instead. In the post-war period, Frankfurt developed into Germany's leading financial centre and an important centre of transport and international commerce.
Early history
Frankfurt is located in what was originally a swampy portion of the Main valley, a lowland criss-crossed by channels of the river. The oldest parts are therefore to be found on the higher portions of the valley, through which passed the Roman road from Mainz (Roman Moguntiacum) to Heddernheim (Roman Nida). The Odenwald and Spessart ranges surrounded the area, lending a defensive advantage, and placenames show that the lowlands on both sides of the river were originally wooded.
The oldest part of the Altstadt, the old city center, is the Cathedral Hill (Domhügel), upon an island created by arms of the Main. Only from the West could it be reached by foot without getting wet; this, together with its location at a ford, gave it significant military and economic advantages.
Stray archeological finds on the Domhügel go back to the Paleolithic, but the first proven settlement and land development date to the Roman era. It is assumed that the Romans settled on the hill in the last quarter of the 1st century CE; amongst other things, a Roman bath has been found, which may have belonged to a larger complex, possibly a fortress. Apparently the military occupation was abandoned during the 2nd century and replaced by a villa. Several farm buildings have also been excavated. A similar building complex was discovered at the modern Günthersburgpark in the Frankfurt-Bornheim portion of the city.
With the retreat of the Roman border to the west bank of the Rhine in 259/260, the Roman history of Frankfurt came to an end.
Early Middle Ages
The name Frankfurt first appears in writing in the year 793, but it seems to have already been a considerable city. In 794 a letter from the Emperor to the bishop of Toledo contained "in loco celebri, qui dicitur Franconofurd", which reads "that famous place, which is called Frankfurt."
It seems Cathedral Hill was already permanently settled in Merovingian times (possibly first by Romans). In 1992 excavations at the cathedral found the rich grave of a girl, that has been dated to the late Merovingian period of the 7th century.
Charlemagne built himself a royal court at "Franconovurd", the "ford of the Franks", and in the summer of 794 held a church council there, convened by the grace of God, authority of the pope, and command of Charlemagne (canon 1), and attended by the bishops of the Frankish kingdom, Italy and the province of Aquitania, and even by ecclesiastics from England. The council was summoned primarily for the condemnation of Adoptionism. According to the testimony of contemporaries two papal legates were present, Theophylact and Stephen, representing Pope Adrian I. After an allocution by Charlemagne, the bishops drew up two memorials against the Adoptionists, one containing arguments from patristic writings; the other arguments from Scripture. The first was the Libellus sacrosyllabus, written by Paulinus, Patriarch of Aquileia, in the name of the Italian bishops; the second was the Epistola Synodica, addressed to the bishops of Spain by those of the Empire, Gaul and Aquitania. In the first of its fifty-six canons the council condemned Adoptionism, and in the second repudiated the Second Council of Nicaea of 787, which, according to the faulty Latin translation of its Acts (see Caroline Books), seemed to decree that the same kind of worship should be paid to images as to the Blessed Trinity, though the Greek text clearly distinguishes between latreia and proskynesis; this constituted a condemnation of iconoclasm. The remaining fifty-four canons dealt with metropolitan jurisdiction, monastic discipline, superstition etc.
Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son, selected Frankfurt as his seat, extended the palatinate, built a larger palace, and in 838 had the city encircled by defensive walls and ditches.
After the Treaty of Verdun (843), Frankfurt became to all intents and purposes the capital of East Francia and was named Principalis sedes regni orientalis (principal seat of the eastern realm). Kings and emperors frequently stayed in Frankfurt, and Imperial Diets and church councils were repeatedly held there. The establishment of religious monasteries and numerous endowments to the local church furthered the urban community. Also, as the Holy Roman Emperor had no permanent residence anymore, Frankfurt remained the center of imperial power and the principal city of Eastern Francia.
Late Middle Ages
After the era of lesser importance under the Salian and Saxon emperors, a single event once again brought Frankfurt to the fore: it was in the local church in 1147 that Bernard of Clairvaux called, amongst others, the Hohenstaufen king Conrad III to the Second Crusade. Before leaving for Jerusalem, Conrad selected his ten-year-old son as heir, but the boy died before his father. Due to this, an election was held in Frankfurt five years later, and after the emperor Frederick Barbarossa was elected, Frankfurt became the customary place for the election of the German kings.
Free Imperial City of Frankfurt By 1180 the city had expanded greatly, and by 1250 had seen an increase in privileges in addition to economic growth. A free imperial city under the Hohenstaufen emperors, Frankfurt experienced strong growth and rising national importance. Responsibility for the maintenance of public order lay with the bailiffs and reeves; however, the citizens selected their own mayors and officials, who were responsible for some judicial duties. These officials enjoyed the favor of the emperors, who had eliminated the reeves entirely by the end of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Soon, Frankfurt became a fully self-governing Imperial estate with seat and vote on the Rhineland bench of the College of towns of the Imperial Diet. On the Reichsmatrikel (Imperial tax-schedule) of 1521, Frankfurt's contribution to the defense of the Empire was assessed at 500 gulden, 140 foot soldiers and 20 horsemen, ranking fifth among the 85 free imperial cities, behind Nuremberg, Ulm, Strasburg and Lübeck.G. Benecke, Society and Politics in Germany 1500–1750, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1974, appendix II.
Early modern period Starting from the 16th century, trade and the arts flowered in Frankfurt. Science and innovation progressed, and the invention of the printing press in nearby Mainz promoted education and knowledge. From the 15th to 17th centuries, the most important book fair in Germany was held in Frankfurt, a custom which would be revived in 1949.
In the early 17th century tensions between the guilds and the patricians, who dominated the city council, led to substantial unrest. The guilds asked for greater participation in urban and fiscal policies as well as for economic restrictions of the Jewish community's rights. In 1612, following the election of Emperor Matthias, the council rejected the Guild's request, to read out publicly the imperial privileges given to the city. This caused the Fettmilch uprising, named after its leader, the baker Vincenz Fettmilch. A part of the populace, mainly craftsmen, rose up against the city council. In 1614, the mob began a pogrom in the city's Jewish ghetto, and the emperor had to ask Mainz and Hessen-Darmstadt to restore order.
In the Thirty Years' War, Frankfurt was able to maintain its neutrality; the city council had avoided siding with one opponent or another after its negative experiences in the Schmalkaldic War. This issue became critical between 1631 and 1635, when the Swedish regent Gustav Adolf came to Frankfurt demanding accommodation and provisions for himself and his troops. But the city mastered these adversities more easily than what was to follow the war: the plague ravaged the city, as it would most of Europe at this time. In the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, Frankfurt was confirmed as an Imperial Free City, and soon reached new heights of prosperity. The Palais Barckhaus at Zeil in Frankfurt even served as residence of Emperor Charles VII until 1744.
From the French Revolution to the end of the Free State During the French Revolutionary War, General Custine occupied Frankfurt in October 1792. On December 2 of the same year, the city was retaken.
In January 1806, General Augereau occupied the city with 9,000 men and extorted 4 million francs from it. Frankfurt's status as a free city ended when it was granted to Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg in the same year. In 1810 Dalberg's territories were reorganized into the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt.
During this time, the city experienced serious changes in the structure and construction of the town. Centuries-old defensive walls were dismantled, replaced by garden plots. It was felt that one no longer need fear cannon fire, even without walls. On July 1, 1808, Goethe's mother wrote to her son Wolfgang: "Die alten Wälle sind abgetragen, die alten Tore eingerissen, um die ganze Stadt ein Park." (The old barriers are levelled, the old gates torn down, around the whole city a park.)
On November 2, 1813, the allies drew together in Frankfurt, to re-establish its old rights and set up a central administrative council under Baron vom Stein. The Congress of Vienna clarified that Frankfurt was a Free City of the German federation, and in 1816 it became the seat of the Bundestag. This government seat occupied the Palais Thurn und Taxis. When Goethe visited his native city for the last time in 1815, he encouraged the councilmen with the words: "A free spirit befits a free city…..It befits Frankfurt to shine in all directions and to be active in all directions."