Frankfortonthe Main

Frankfort-on-the-Main. a city in the province of Hesse-Nassau on the right bank of the Main, and .112 miles S.E. of Cologne. From 1257 till the breaking-up of the old German Empire in 1806 it was a free city, and again from 1816 till 1866, when it was punished by a heavy fine for supporting Austria in the war, and made a Prussian city. The treaty which closed the Franco-German War was signed here on May 10th, 1871. The chief buildings of Frankfort are the Roemer, or town-house, built between 1405 and 1416, which contains the Kaiser saal, where the Emperors dined in state and where portraits of them from Conrad to Leopold II. hang; the cathedral, where they were elected and crowned; and the palace of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis, in which the North German Diet sat. As a commercial centre, the town is of great importance, and is the junction for seven railways, the central station being one of the finest in Europe. It was formerly celebrated for its fairs, but it is now chiefly important as a money-market, the firm of Rothschild being among its bankers. A new exchange was opened in 1879. Among its institutions are two conservatories of music and a public library. The suburb of Sachsenhausen, on the left bank of the Main, is connected with the city by seven bridges. By means of the rivers Main and Rhine there is direct water communication with the North Sea. Goethe, the greatest of Germans, was a native of Frankfort, and has a statue inone of its squares; and there is also a monument commemorative of the inventor of printing, Gutenberg.