Buildings,  Frankfurt,  Germany

Römerberg, Frankfurt

October 12, 2012 /

Finally, Römerberg is now on my list of places that I have visited.

Römerberg is one of the city’s most important landmarks and is famous for its most legendary buildings in Germany.


Römerberg’s famous facade (west).

Formerly called the Samstagsberg, Römerberg has been the site of markets and fairs, tournaments and festivals, executions and imperial elections and coronations. In the 16th century it was considered the most beautiful square in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. It is from this era that the fountain of justice in the middle of the square also originates. Adorned with a statue of Justice with unbound eyes, a scale and sword, this was the first fountain in Frankfurt. A few steps away from the fountain there is a plaque in the cobblestones that commemorates the book burning by the National Socialists in 1933.


Eastern facade where the Rathaus (The Römer) is located.

The entire three-storey building complex occupies about 10,000 square metres and consists of nine houses, encircling six courtyards. The famous three-peaked façade has medieval elements of design. The left-hand corner of the Alt-Limpurg displays the so-called Frankfurtia, the female embodiment of the city. In the middle, the Haus Römer shows the four kaisers of the Holy Roman Empire, two city coats of arms, a clock face, and a placard describing the most important facts about the building. The four kaisers are Frederick Barbarossa (the first king to be elected in Frankfurt), Louis the Bavarian (who gave convention rights to the city and allowed an expansion of the city), Charles IV (who made Frankfurt the location of the Kaiser selection vote), and Maximilian II (the first kaiser to be crowned in Frankfurt cathedral).

Here are more pictures of The Römer.

 

Information source:
– Frankfurt.de
– Wikipedia

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