Neustadt

In Neustadt, a good place to begin is Großer Hirschgraben (23-25), where the Goethehaus (Goethe House) and Goethe Museum focus on the influences on Goethe’s early years. He was born and spent his youth here. Although almost completely destroyed during World War II, the house of Goethe’s youth has been restored faithfully. Inside, the 16 rooms on four floors are furnished as in Goethe’s time. A gallery has works on display from artists that influenced or inspired Goethe. A free English information sheet is available.

The St Katherinenkirche (St Catherine’s Church) is a Late Gothic hall church with Baroque portals added in the late 17th century.

Hauptwache

The Baroque Hauptwache was erected in 1729 but altered over the years. It was actually torn down to make way for the construction of the huge subway interchange underneath the square and then rebuilt in its original form. It houses a pleasant café serving mostly local cuisine at surprisingly reasonable prices. To the east of the square is the Zeil, Frankfurt’s premier shopping street.

To the north is the Eschenheimer Turm (Tower), the loveliest of the few remaining pieces of the original city defenses. The tower dates from the early 15th century and was one of 42 that protected the rich city. A copy of the tower is in Potsdam near Berlin. When Frankfurt tore down the last parts of the wall in the 19th century, a large park was created that forms a green half-circle around the old town. It is a favorite recreation area for locals.

The Börse (Stock Exchange), Börseplatz, is in a 19th-century building. As all trading is by computer, there is not much to see except the obligatory Bull and Bear statues in front of the building.

Freßgasse (Gluttony Alley)

To the west of the Hauptwache is the Grosse Bockenheimer Straße. Part of the street is known as the Freßgasse (Gluttony Alley) due to the number of food shops that traditionally traded here. Presently most businesses here are restaurants or coffee shops. In contrast to the cafés at the Paulskirche, locals outnumber tourists by far here. Parallel to the Freßgasse is the Goethestraße – the most expensive shopping street in Frankfurt with all the international haute couture names.

At the end of the Freßgasse is the Opernplatz with the Late Classic Alte Oper (Old Opera House), Opernplatz 1 (069-134-0400), completed in 1880 and opened in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm I. It was bombed out in World War II and its shell was for almost 30 years the most beautiful ruin in Germany. Restored in the 1970s, it re-opened in 1981. The lovely exterior is a copy of the original, but the interior is more modern and is used for all kind of performances, though seldom for opera.

Former Jewish Section

The park that leads from here to the River Main has several statues of famous German artists, including Beethoven and Schiller in the Taunusanlage and Goethe in the Gallusanlage. The park also affords great views of the banking houses in the vicinity. Close to the Main is the Jewish Museum. Frankfurt traditionally had a large Jewish community whose financial skills were absolutely necessary for the development of Frankfurt’s trade and banking industry. In addition, Jews were taxed more than other nationals and their huge tax contributions ensured that the town council opposed, usually unsuccessfully, medieval pogroms. In addition to the Rothschilds, Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt and fled with her family to Amsterdam soon afterwards. The Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum), Untermainkai 14-15, in the former Rothschild Palace, illustrates the history of Jewish settlements in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present.

During construction work for a utilities company building, foundations were discovered of some buildings in the former Jewish Ghetto destroyed by the Nazis. The small Museum Judengasse - Börneplatz (Museum Jewish Street), Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 10, focuses on the foundations of buildings in the former Judengasse and has an exhibition on life in this street over a period of almost four centuries.