![Wappen Frankfurt am Main](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Wappen_Frankfurt_am_Main.svg)
The city of
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
started on a hill at a ford in the
Main River
Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...
. The city developed into a
financial centre
A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to ta ...
,
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
d ''the smallest metropolis in the world''.
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
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
from
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
(Roman ''Moguntiacum'') to
Heddernheim
Heddernheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the '' Ortsbezirk Nord-West'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Heddernheim-Ost and Heddernheim-West.
History Antiquity
The Roman town of Nida (Roman town) was situ ...
(Roman ''Nida''). The
Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
and
Spessart
Spessart is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres above sea level.
Etymo ...
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
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
, 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
In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...
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
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
. 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
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
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
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
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
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
built himself a royal court at "Franconovurd", the "ford of the
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
", 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
Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...
, and even by ecclesiastics from England. The council was summoned primarily for the condemnation of
Adoptionism
Adoptionism, also called dynamic monarchianism, is an Early Christianity, early Christian Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Diversity in early Christian theology, theological doctrine, which holds that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus was adopted as ...
. According to the testimony of contemporaries two
papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
s were present, Theophylact and Stephen, representing
Pope Adrian I
Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.
Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...
. 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
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, and ...
of 787, which, according to the faulty Latin translation of its Acts (see
Caroline Books
The ''Libri Carolini'' ("Charles' books"), more correctly ''Opus Caroli regis contra synodum'' ("The work of King Charles against the Synod"), is a work in four books composed on the command of Charlemagne in the mid 790s to refute the conclusions ...
), 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
Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...
. The remaining fifty-four canons dealt with metropolitan jurisdiction, monastic discipline, superstition etc.
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
, 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
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...
(843), Frankfurt became to all intents and purposes the capital of
East Francia
East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...
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
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
had no permanent residence anymore, Frankfurt remained the center of imperial power and the principal city of Eastern Francia.
Late Middle Ages
![Reichsstadt Frankfurt Territorium c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Reichsstadt_Frankfurt_Territorium_c._1750.jpg)
After the era of lesser importance under the
Salian
The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125).
After the death of the l ...
and
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
emperors, a single event once again brought Frankfurt to the fore: it was in the local church in 1147 that
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
called, amongst others, the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
king
Conrad III
Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...
to the
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusa ...
. 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
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
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
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
under the Hohenstaufen emperors, Frankfurt experienced strong growth and rising national importance. Responsibility for the maintenance of public order lay with the
bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
s and
reeve
Reeve may refer to:
Titles
*Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents
*Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord
*High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...
s; 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
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...
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.
The Early Modern era, 16th to 18th centuries
Starting from the 16th century, trade and the arts flowered in Frankfurt. Science and innovation progressed, and the invention of the
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
in nearby
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
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.
![Frankfurt Main Fettmilch-Aufstand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Frankfurt_Main_Fettmilch-Aufstand.jpg)
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
Matthias (24 February 1557 – 20 March 1619) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612 to 1619, Archduke of Austria from 1608 to 1619, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 to 1618, and King of Bohemia from 1611 to 1617. His personal motto was ''Concord ...
, the council rejected the Guild's request, to read out publicly the imperial
privileges given to the city. This caused the so-called Fettmilch Rebellion, named after its leader, the baker Vinzenz Fettmilch. A part of the populace, mainly craftsmen, rose up against the city council. In 1614, the mob began a
pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
in the city's Jewish ghetto, and the emperor had to ask Mainz and
Hessen-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a Imperial State, State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate ...
to restore order.
In the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, 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
The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...
. 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
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
ravaged the city, as it would most of Europe at this time. In the 1648
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
, Frankfurt was confirmed as an
Imperial Free City
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
, and soon reached new heights of prosperity. The Palais Barckhaus at
Zeil
The Zeil () is a street in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany. The name, which dates back to the 14th century, is derived from the German word ''Zeile'' "row" and originally referred to a row of houses on the eastern end of the north side; th ...
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
Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was Prince- Archbishop of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Bishop of Constance and Worms, prince-primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and Gra ...
in the same year. In 1810 Dalberg's territories were reorganized into the
Grand Duchy of Frankfurt
The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt was a German satellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz along with the Free City of Frankfurt itself.
Histor ...
.
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
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
'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
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
clarified that Frankfurt was a Free City of the German federation, and in 1816 it became the seat of the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
. This government seat occupied the Palais
Thurn und Taxis
The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (german: link=no, Fürstenhaus Thurn und Taxis ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end ...
. 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."
The city took good heed of this advice. When in 1831
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
, a lecturer at the time, moved from Berlin to Frankfurt, he justified it with the lines: "Healthy climate, beautiful surroundings, the amenities of large cities, the Natural History Museum, better theater, opera, and concerts, more Englishman, better coffee houses, no bad water… and a better dentist."
In 1833 a
revolutionary movement
A revolutionary movement (or revolutionary social movement) is a specific type of social movement dedicated to carrying out a revolution. Charles Tilly defines it as "a social movement advancing exclusive competing claims to control of the state ...
attempted to topple the Diet of the royalist German Confederation, which sat at Frankfurt, and was quickly put down.
The Revolutions of 1848 and their aftermath
The
Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
, also known as the March Revolution, forced
Klemens von Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...
, the reactionary
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
head of state, to step down. This was celebrated wildly in Frankfurt. On 30 March 1848 one could see black, red, and gold flags everywhere, and the populace was admonished not to shoot into the air.
On 18 May 1848, the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
held its first meeting in the
Frankfurter Paulskirche
St Paul's Church (german: Paulskirche) is a former Protestant church in Frankfurt, Germany, used as a national assembly hall. Its important political symbolism dates back to 1848 when the Frankfurt Parliament convened there, the first publicly ...
. The last meeting was held there a year later, on 31 May 1849. Frankfurt was at this point the center of all political life in Germany. The party transformation and the excitement were the most violent there; riots, particularly among those living in the Sachsenhausen quarter, had to be suppressed with force of arms on 7–8 July 1848 as well as on 18 September.
The next fifteen years saw new industrial laws focusing on complete freedom of trade, and political
Emancipation of the Jews
Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It incl ...
, initiated ten years before its final realization in 1864.
Starting in August 1863, a political gathering focused on German federal reform met in Frankfurt, including the national congress and the opposing reform congress. The
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
did not show up, however, and the reform failed, leading to the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
in 1866. Frankfurt was annexed by Prussia as a result of the war, and the city was made part of the province of
Hesse-Nassau
The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944.
Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the p ...
.
The spire of the cathedral tower marks the geographical center of the city at exactly 50° 6' 42.5" North and 8° 41' 9.4" East.
Recent history
Early Nazi period
In 1933 the Jewish mayor (''
Oberbürgermeister
Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...
'')
Ludwig Landmann
Ludwig Landmann (18 May 1868 – 5 March 1945) was a liberal German politician of the Weimar Republic. Landmann belonged first to the National Social party, then the Progressive People's Party, and finally, after the German revolution of 1918, ...
was replaced by
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
member
Friedrich Krebs. This led to the firing of all Jewish officials in the city administration and from city organizations. A meeting of Frankfurt traders, who wanted to discuss the
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
of Jewish businesses, was broken up and the participants arrested and intimidated. Although the Nazis had originally mocked the city as the ''Jerusalem am Main'' because of its high Jewish population, the city adopted a propagandistic nickname, the ''Stadt des deutschen Handwerks'' or the ''city of German craft''.
Kristallnacht
![Gen Eisenhower at death camp report crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Gen_Eisenhower_at_death_camp_report_crop.jpg)
Most of the
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s in Frankfurt were destroyed by the Nazis on
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
in late 1938,
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
of the Jewish residents to their deaths in the
Nazi concentration camp
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
s quickening in pace after the event. Their property and valuables were stolen by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
before deportation, and most were subjected to extreme violence and
sadism
Sadism may refer to:
* Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation
* Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
during transport to the train stations for the cattle wagons which carried them east. Most later deportees (after the war began in 1939) ended up in new
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
es established by the Nazis such as the
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...
and the
Lodz ghetto, before their final transportation and murder in camps such as
Sobibor
Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland.
As an ...
,
Belzec and
Treblinka
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...
.
World War II
![Zerst4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Zerst4.jpg)
Large parts of the city center were destroyed by in the bombings of the second World War. On March 22, 1944, a British attack destroyed the entire Old City, killing 1001 people. The East Port - an important shipping center for bulk goods, with its own rail connection - was also largely destroyed.
Frankfurt was first reached by the Allied ground advance into Germany during late March 1945. The US
5th Infantry Division seized the Rhine-Main airport on 26 March 1945 and crossed assault forces over the river into the city on the following day. The tanks of the supporting US
6th Armored Division
The 6th Armored Division ("Super Sixth") was an armored division of the United States Army during World War II. It was formed with a cadre from the 2nd Armored Division.
History
The division was activated on 15 February 1942 at Fort Knox o ...
at the Main River bridgehead came under concentrated fire from dug-in heavy flak guns at Frankfurt. The urban battle consisted of slow clearing operations on a block-by-block basis until 29 March 1945, when Frankfurt was declared as secured, although some sporadic fighting continued until 4 April 1945.
Post-war period
:''See also
Post-war reconstruction of Frankfurt
Post-war reconstruction of Frankfurt was the broad period from 1945 into the 1960s during which the city of Frankfurt am Main in Germany removed the rubble created by Allied raids and the subsequent battle by Allied ground forces to take the c ...
''
The Military Governor for the
United States Zone (1945–1949) and the United States High Commissioner for Germany (HICOG) (1949–1952) had their headquarters in the
IG Farben Building
The IG Farben Building – also known as the Poelzig Building and the Abrams Building, formerly informally called The Pentagon of Europe – is a building complex in Frankfurt, Germany, which currently serves as the main structure of the West ...
, intentionally left undamaged by the Allies' wartime bombardment.
The heavily destroyed city decided in the spirit of the time to plan a major reconstruction of the historical city center, retaining the old road system. To remove and recycle the rubble the city authorities in the autumn of 1945 created in partnership with the
Metallgesellschaft
Metallgesellschaft AG was formerly one of Germany's largest industrial conglomerates based in Frankfurt. It had over 20,000 employees and revenues in excess of 10 billion US dollars. It had over 250 subsidiaries specializing in mining, specialty c ...
industrial group and the
Philipp Holzmann
Philipp Holzmann AG was a German construction company based in Frankfurt am Main.
History
Early years
The company was founded in 1849 by Johann Philipp Holzmann (1805-1870) at Sprendlingen in present-day Dreieich near Frankfurt am Main as Phili ...
and Wayss & Freytag construction companies the
Trümmerverwertungsgesellschaft. This non-profit company was tasked with removing the rubble and recycling it. Initially the removed rubble was piled up on a
Schuttberg
''Schuttberg'' ( en, debris hill) is a German term for a mound made of rubble or out of a rubbish heap.
Many were amassed following the extensive damage from strategic bombing during World War II. These types are more specifically termed ...
(rubble mountain) called Monte Scherbelino, before the material was recycled and processed to such an extent that by 1964 the Schuttberg had completely disappeared.
Once the rubble was removed from the damaged areas post-war reconstruction of the city took place in a sometimes simple modern style, thus changing Frankfurt's architectural face. A few significant historical landmark buildings were reconstructed, albeit in a simplified manner (e.g.
St. Paul's Church (which was the first rebuilt),
Goethe House
The Goethe House is a writer's house museum located in the Innenstadt district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is the birthplace and childhood home of German poet and playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It is also the place where Goethe wrote hi ...
) and
Römer
The Römer (German surname, "Roman") is a medieval building in the Altstadt of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and one of the city's most important landmarks. The Römer is located opposite the Old St. Nicholas church and has been the city hall ('' ...
.
The formerly independent city republic joined the state of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
in 1946. As the state capital was already at the smaller city of
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
and the American armed forces had used Frankfurt as their European headquarters, the city seemed most promising candidate for the
West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
federal capital. The American forces even agreed to withdraw from Frankfurt to make it suitable, as the British forces already had withdrawn from Bonn. Much to the disappointment of many in Frankfurt, however, the vote narrowly favored
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
twice. Despite this, the mayor looked towards the future, seeing that with the division of Germany and relative isolation of Berlin, Frankfurt could take over positions in trade and commerce previously filled by Berlin and
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
. Since Bonn never played an important role despite its status as capital, Frankfurt,
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
realigned themselves, passing from regional centers to international metropolises and effectively forming three West German cultural and financial capitals.
Since the turn of the 2nd century, the Frankfurt fair has been held every fall and had become the most important fair site in Europe. Frankfurt's countless publishing houses as well as its fur industry profited from the elimination of Leipzig by the division of Germany into East and West. After the war, the West German book fair was held in Frankfurt. Since German reunification, the
Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...
is held in the fall, and Leipzig's in the spring. The bi-annual
Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung
The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...
is a worldwide car fair that is also held in Frankfurt.
The
Deutsche Bundesbank
The Deutsche Bundesbank (), literally "German Federal Bank", is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most ...
made Frankfurt its seat, and most major banks followed suit. This and the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (german: link=no, Börse Frankfurt, former German name – FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time).
Organisation
Locat ...
have made the city the second most important commercial center in Europe, after London.
Jewish Frankfurt am Main
:''See also
Frankfurter Judengasse
The Frankfurter Judengasse ("Jews' Lane" in German) was the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt and one of the earliest ghettos in Germany. It existed from 1462 until 1811 and was home to Germany's largest Jewish community in early modern times.
At ...
,
Jewish Museum Frankfurt
The Jewish Museum Frankfurt am Main is the oldest independent Jewish Museum in Germany. It was opened by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl on 9 November 1988, the 50th anniversary of ''Kristallnacht''.
The Jewish Museum collects, preserves and com ...
,
People born and active in Frankfurt,
History of the Jews in Germany
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
,
List of German Jews
The first Jewish population in the region to be later known as Germany came with the Romans to the city now known as Cologne. A "Golden Age" in the first millennium saw the emergence of the Ashkenazi Jews, while the persecution and expulsion that ...
''
The date of the original organization of Frankfurt's Jewish community is uncertain. Probably no Jews were living in Frankfurt at the time of the first and second Crusades, as the city is not mentioned among the places where Jews were persecuted, although references occur to persecutions in the neighboring cities of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany, a city
**Worms (electoral district)
*Worms, Nebraska, U.S.
*Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy
Arts and entertainme ...
.
A Jew of Frankfurt is mentioned in connection with the sale of a house at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
between 1175 and 1191. Eliezer ben Nathan, rabbi at Mainz toward the end of the twelfth century, says that there were not then ten adult Jews in Frankfurt. The first reliable information concerning Frankfurt Jews dates from 1241, on May 24 of which year 180 Hebrews were killed during a riot and many fled, this being the first ''Judenschlacht'' or slaughter of the Jews. As the affair was detrimental to the income of the emperor, he was incensed with the city for seven years.
King Conrad IV did not forgive the citizens until May 6, 1246. The emperor distributed the income he derived from the Jews so liberally among the princes and his retainers that he had little left for himself; yet the Jews remained under his protection. In 1286
King Rudolf pledged to Count Adolf of Nassau 20 marks yearly from the income derived from the Frankfurt Jews. When
Adolf
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...
was made king under the title of "Adolf of Nassau", he pledged these 20 marks to the knight Gottfried of Merenberg (1292); and the latter again pledged 4 marks of this sum to the knight Heinrich of Sachsenhausen. King Adolf also gave 25 marks to Glottfried of Eppstein as a hereditary fief; and from 1297 he gave 300 marks yearly of the Jews' tax to the
Archbishop of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
, adding to this sum 500 pounds of hellers in 1299. As early as 1303 the archbishop pledged 100 marks of this amount, and thus the Jews of the city of Frankfurt became subject to the archbishop. The emperor, however, attempted to exact still more money from the Jews, and it was only thanks to the resistance of the city that King Adolf did not succeed in 1292 in extracting from them the sum required for his coronation.
The Jews were subject not only to the emperor and to the archbishop but also to the city; in 1331 King Ludwig recommended his "beloved Kammerknechte" to the protection of the municipality. Under Ludwig the Frankfurt Jews were accused of a crime and cruelly persecuted, and many fled. The king then confiscated the houses and other property of the fugitives and sold them to the municipal council for 3,000 pounds of hellers. Those Jews that returned had their property restored to them; and, as the Jews had been treated unjustly, the king promised not to punish them again but to be content with the verdict of the municipal council. The Jews were required, however, to pay to the king a new impost, the "goldene Opferpfennig."
In the 14th century
During the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
(1349) the Jews of Frankfurt were again persecuted. At the beginning of these outbreaks the circumspect
Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...
, who feared for his income, pledged the Jews to the city for more than 15,000 pounds of hellers, stipulating that he would redeem them, which he never did. The
Flagellants
Flagellants are practitioners of a form of mortification of the flesh by whipping their skin with various instruments of penance. Many Christian confraternities of penitents have flagellants, who beat themselves, both in the privacy of their dwe ...
, on coming to Frankfurt, destroyed nearly the entire Jewish community, with the Jews in their distress setting fire to their own houses. Their property was confiscated by the council by way of indemnity. Jews returned to Frankfurt very gradually. In 1354 Charles IV renewed his pledge to the city; three years later the Archbishop of Mainz again advanced his claims, but the Jews and the council came to an agreement with him in 1358. In 1367 the city was again in full possession of the income derived from the Jews, but this did not prevent the emperor from occasionally levying extraordinary taxes; for example, Sigismund (1414) exacted a contribution from the Jews toward the expenses of the
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...
.
The Jews were under the jurisdiction of the municipal council. Beginning with 1488, privileges (''Judenstüttigkeiten'') were issued that had to be renewed every three years. The Jews lived originally in the vicinity of the cathedral, this part of the city being necessary for their commerce; but Christians also lived there. Hence it was a hard blow to the former when they were forced, in 1462, to settle outside the old city ramparts and the moat. At first the city built their dwellings, but later they were required to erect their own houses, The ''Judengasse'' originally consisted merely of one row of houses; when this became overcrowded, a part of the moat was filled in, and houses were built upon the new ground thus obtained. There were three gates in the street, one at each end and one in the center. The cemetery of the community, which was situated on the Fischerfeld and is still in existence, is mentioned for the first time in 1300, but a tombstone dated July, 1272, has been preserved. Among the communal buildings were the synagogue (called also the "Judenschule"), the "Judenbadstube", the "Juden-Tanzhaus" or "Spielhaus", and the hospital. The Jewish inhabitants were more numerous in the early years of the community than later on: in 1241 they numbered about 200; in 1357 there were 12 tax-paying families; from 1357 to 1379, not more than 14 on the average; from 1401 to 1450, an average of 12; while in 1473 there were 17 families.
From the 15th to the 17th century
Toward the end of the Middle Ages the number of the Frankfurt Jews was considerably increased by emigrants from
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
(1498); and Frankfurt replaces Nuremberg as the leading Jewish community in the empire. This is seen in the numerous requests made by other cities to the magistrates of Frankfurt for information concerning their method of procedure in cases affecting Jews. Civil cases were decided by a commission of twelve, with the chief rabbi at its head. The reports of this commission from 1645 to 1808 are in the archives of the community. In 1509 the Jews were threatened with confiscation of their Hebrew books by
Pfefferkorn, who arrived in the city with an imperial edict; on April 10, 1510, they were obliged to surrender all their books, which were not restored to them until June 6, after they had sent a special embassy to the emperor. In 1525 the impending danger of expulsion was averted by the municipal council; but the Jews were restricted in their commerce and were forbidden to build their houses higher than three stories. Although this measure crowded them more closely, there were 43 Jewish families in Frankfurt in 1543, and 454 in 1612.
[A list of these families was published in 1614; 2d ed., Mayence, 1678; republished in the "Israelit", Aug. 17, 1899]
Hard times were now approaching. In 1612 the Jews of Frankfurt suffered much on account of some persons who were heavily indebted to them, chief among these being
Fettmilch. On August 22, 1614, these men headed an attack on the Jews' street, sweeping away everything in the space of thirteen hours; and the unfortunate Jews, who had sought refuge in the cemetery, begged for permission to depart. On the following day 1,380 Jews, glad to have saved even their lives, left the city and went to
Offenbach,
Hanau
Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...
, and Höchst. The synagogue as well as the Torah-scrolls were destroyed, and the cemetery was desecrated. When the emperor heard of the affair he proscribed Fettmilch; but the Jews were not brought back until February 1616, when their street was placed under the protection of the emperor and the empire, as announced in a notice affixed to each of the three gates. By 1618 there were 370 families, living in 195 houses, of which 111 lay to the right of the Bornheimerpforte, and 84 to the left. The houses were of wood, with stone foundations, and were named according to signs suspended in front. The names were those of animals (e.g.,
ox, duck, wild duck), fruits (apple, red apple), trees (
fir
Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
, elder, nut), or miscellaneous objects (tongs, scales, winecup); but sometimes a house was named simply from the color of the shield, e.g., red= "
Rothschild
Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...
"; black = "Schwarzschild." The main synagogue was built in 1462; a smaller one was erected in 1603. Among the other communal buildings were the bath, to the east of the synagogue, the dance house, the inn, the slaughterhouse, the bakehouse, and the hospital.
With their return to Frankfurt a new epoch in the history of the Jews of that city begins. They were still debarred from acquiring real estate, but they loaned money, even accepting manuscripts as pledges. The rate of interest, formerly as high as 24 percent, was now reduced to 8 percent. As the unredeemed pledges were sold, traffic in second-hand goods arose, which was further stimulated by the fact that the Jews were not permitted to sell new goods. They were also forbidden to deal in spices, provisions, weapons, cloth, and (from 1634 on) grain. But in spite of these interdictions, their commerce gradually increased. During the Thirty Years' War the Jews fared no worse than their neighbors. In 1694 there were 415 Jewish families; of these, 109 persons were engaged as moneylenders and dealers in second-hand goods; 106 dealt in dry goods, clothes, and trimmings; 24 in spices and provisions; 9 retailed wine and
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
; 3 were innkeepers; and 2 had restaurants. Besides these there were the communal officials.
In the 18th century
The importance and status of the community at the beginning of the eighteenth century are indicated by the gracious reception accorded to the deputation that offered presents to Joseph I on his visit to
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
in 1702. On January 14, 1711, a fire which broke out in the house of Rabbi
Naphtali Cohen
Naphtali Cohen (1649–1718), also known as Naphtali HaKohen Katz, was a Russo-German rabbi and kabalist born in Ostrowo in Ukraine. He belonged to a family of rabbis in Ostrowo, where his father, Isaac Cohen, a great-great-grandson of the Judah ...
destroyed the synagogue together with nearly the whole Judengasse. The rabbi was accused of having caused the fire by
cabalistic
Cabalist or Cabalistic may refer to:
*Cabal, a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a church, state, or other community
*Christian Kabbalah, an incorporation of Jewish Kabbalah ...
means and was forced to leave the city. The 8,000 homeless Jews found shelter either in the pest house or with compassionate Christians. The synagogue and the dwelling houses were speedily rebuilt, and the street was widened six feet. In 1715 the community issued an edict against luxury. From 1718 onward the "Residenten", or representatives of the community of Frankfurt at Vienna, were accorded official recognition. In 1721 part of the Judengasse was again destroyed by fire. About the same period, conflicts with the Shabbethaians (a messianic Jewish sect) caused excitement in the community. In consequence of the denunciation of a baptized Jew the edition of the Talmud published at Frankfurt and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
between the years 1714 and 1721 was confiscated; and certain prayer books were likewise seized on account of the "Alenu" prayer. The books were restored, however, on Aug. 1, 1753, chiefly through the efforts of Moses Kann.
The middle of the century was marked by the dissensions between the Kann and Kulp parties. The Kulp party, to which many influential men belonged, endeavored to harmonize the ancient constitution of the community with new measures for the benefit of the people; but their efforts were thwarted by the wealthy Kann family, whose influence was predominant both in the government of the community and among the people. In 1750 the two parties effected a compromise, which was, however, of but short duration. The community was further excited by
Jonathan Eybeschütz
Rav Yonatan Eybeschütz (רבי יהונתן אייבשיץ) (also Eibeschutz or Eibeschitz; 1690 1764) was a Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist, holding positions as Dayan of Prague, and later as Rabbi of the "Three Communities": Altona, Hambur ...
's amulet controversy. In 1756 the Jews received permission to leave their street in urgent cases on Sundays and feast days for the purpose of fetching a physician or a barber or mailing a letter, but they were required to return by the shortest way. In 1766 the Cleve divorce controversy began to excite the rabbinate of Frankfurt also. At the coronation of Joseph II. the Frankfurt Jews were permitted for the first time to appear in public, when they swore allegiance to the emperor (May 28, 1764). The community of Frankfurt rendered great service in suppressing Eisenmenger's "Entdecktes Judenthum", confiscating all the copies in 1700. Eisenmenger sued the community for 30,000 gulden. Although he lost his case, proceedings were several times renewed with the aid of King Frederick I of Prussia, and only in 1773 was the community finally released from all claims brought by Eisenmenger's heirs.
In 1753 there were 204 houses, built on both sides of the Jews' street. On May 29, 1774, a fire destroyed 21 dwellings, and the homeless again found shelter in the houses of Christians. When their houses were rebuilt, the Jews endeavored to remain outside of the ghetto but were forced to return by a decree of Feb. 13, 1776. One hundred and forty houses on the Jews' street were destroyed by fire when the French bombarded the city in 1796.
The Cemetery
The
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...
, as mentioned above, is situated on the old Fischerfeld. In 1349 the cemetery was enclosed within the city moat and walls, which were fortified with jetties. Beginning in 1424 the neighboring communities also buried their dead there; but this privilege was withdrawn by the magistrate in 1505. When Frankfurt was besieged during the interregnum in 1552, a garrison with cannon was stationed in the cemetery, and an attempt was even made to force the Jews to sink the tombstones and to level the ground; but against this they protested successfully (July 15, 1552). During the Fettmilch riots the whole community spent the night of September 1, 1614, in the cemetery, prepared for death, and thought themselves fortunate when they were permitted to leave the city through the Fischerfeld gate on the following afternoon. In 1640 a dispute in regard to passage through the cemetery was decided in favor of the Jews. The community occasionally paid damages to Christians who were injured by the oxen (''bekorim'', the first-born that may not be used in accordance with Exodus xiii. 3) that grazed within the cemetery walls. In 1694 a neighboring garden was bought for the purpose of enlarging the cemetery. During the great fire of 1711 the Jews sought refuge withall their possessions among the tombs of the fathers. The communal baking ovens, which before the fire were behind the synagogue, were transferred to a new site acquired in 1694. The only building preserved from the flames was the hospital for the poor, near the cemetery; behind it, another hospital was built in 1715 to replace the one in the Judengasse that had been destroyed. A slaughterhouse for poultry and a fire station were erected between the ovens and the cemetery. The fire station existed down to 1882; the site of the ovens is now covered by the handsome building of the Sick Fund, and that of the Holzplatz and the garden by the Philanthropin schoolhouse. On the site of the two hospitals the Neue Gemeinde-Synagoge was built in 1882. The cemetery, covering more than , was closed in 1828; its epitaphs have been published by Dr. M. Horovitz.
The end of the eighteenth century marks a new epoch for the Jews of Frankfurt. In 1796 they received permission to live among Christians. In 1811 the prince-primate granted them full civic equality. In 1809 they were already scattered throughout the city and had taken surnames. A reaction, however, came in 1816, when the city, on regaining its autonomy, completely excluded the Jews from the municipal government. In 1819 there were
riots to the cry of "Hep-hep!", and the magistrate discussed the advisability of restricting the number of Jews to not more than 500 families and of assigning to them a special part of the city. These schemes, however, were not carried into effect. In 1853 the civic rights of the Jews were enlarged, and in 1864 all restrictions were removed. The synagogue that had been rebuilt after the fire of 1711 in the Judengasse was torn down in 1854, and a new
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was erected on the site (1855–60). The synagogue on the Börneplatz was consecrated in 1882. The Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft, an independent congregation founded in 1851 (incorporated 1900), built a synagogue in 1853 and enlarged it in 1874. In 1817 there were 4,309 Jews in Frankfurt; in 1858, 5,730; in 1871, 10,009; in 1880, 13,856; in 1890, 17,479; and in 1900, 22,000 in a total population of 288,489.
Rabbis and scholars
The following rabbis and scholars of Frankfurt are buried here:
*
Simeon Darshan (''cf.
darshan''), author of ''"Yalkut Shim'oni."''
*
Alexander Süsslin, author of the collection "Aguddah."
* R.
Isaac ben Nathan, a victim of the first "Judenschlacht" (1241).
* Anselm, 1288.
*
Abraham of Hanau (''cf.
Hanau
Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...
''), 1332.
*
Gumprecht, martyr in 1349.
*
Joseph Lampe (''cf. Lampe''), 1363.
*
Asher
Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. I ...
, 1374.
*
Meïr ben Samuel of Nordhausen, 1385; took part in the convention of rabbis at Mainz in 1381.
*
Süsslin of
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
, 1394.
*
Nathan Levi, 1430–60.
* Simon Cohen, a relative of
Moses Minz
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
.
*
Israel Rheinbach; held office till 1505.
*
Isaac ben Eliakim; took part in the convention of rabbis at, Worms in 1542.
*
Naphtali Treves, author.
*
Herz Treves, son of the preceding; also an author.
*
Akiba Frankfurt; widely known as a preacher; died in 1597. The ''
Maharal
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; between 1512 and 1526 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew''", 'Our Teacher, Rabbi ...
'' of
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, delivered the funeral oration.
*
Simon of Aschaffenburg (''cf.
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
''), author of a supercommentary to Rashi's Pentateuch commentary; lived at Frankfurt until his death.
*
Elia Loanz, pupil of Akiba Frankfurt; wrote a song, ''"Streit Zwischen Wasser und Wein,"'' to the melody of "Dietrich von Bern", and many other works; was a native of Frankfurt.
*
Eliezer Treves
Eliezer (, "Help/Court of El") was the name of at least three different individuals in the Bible.
Eliezer of Damascus
Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to the Targums, the son of Nimrod. Eliezer was head of the patriarch Abraham's househo ...
.
*
Abraham Naphtali Herz Levi.
*
Samuel ben Eliezer of Friedberg (''cf.
Friedberg''), during whose incumbency the most important event was the convention of rabbis held at Frankfurt in 1603.
*
Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah or Yeshayahu ben Avraham Ha-Levi Horowitz ( he, ישעיה בן אברהם הלוי הורוויץ), (c. 1555 – March 24, 1630), also known as the ''Shelah HaKaddosh'' ( "the holy ''Shelah''") after the title of his best-known work, was ...
; called to Frankfurt in 1606; went to Prague in 1622. He was the author of the
kabalistic
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defi ...
work ''"Shnei Luchoth ha-Brith."''
*
Joseph Juspa Hahn (''cf. Hahn''), author of a work dealing with the liturgy and with the chief phases of religious life; officiated up to the time of his death in 1637.
*
Samuel Hildesheim (cf.''
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
''); elected in 1618.
*
Pethahiah; elected 1622; author of the
cabalistic
Cabalist or Cabalistic may refer to:
*Cabal, a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a church, state, or other community
*Christian Kabbalah, an incorporation of Jewish Kabbalah ...
work ''"Sefer ha-Kavonot,"'' which relates the events in connection with the Fettmilch riot and which was approved by Elhanan Helen, author of the ''"Megillat Winz."''
*
Hayyim Cohen of
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, grandson of the ''
Maharal
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; between 1512 and 1526 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew''", 'Our Teacher, Rabbi ...
'' of Prague; officiated in 1628.
*
Shabbethai Horowitz
Shabtai Horowitz ( he, שבתי הורוויץ; 1590 – 12 April 1660) was a rabbi and talmudist, probably born in Ostroh, Volhynia. He was the son of the kabbalist Isaiah Horowitz, and at an early age married the daughter of the wealthy and s ...
, son of
Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah or Yeshayahu ben Avraham Ha-Levi Horowitz ( he, ישעיה בן אברהם הלוי הורוויץ), (c. 1555 – March 24, 1630), also known as the ''Shelah HaKaddosh'' ( "the holy ''Shelah''") after the title of his best-known work, was ...
; elected in 1632. He was the author of "''Vavei ha-'Ammudim,''" the introduction to his father's work. In 1643 he went, like his predecessor, to
Posen.
*
Meïr Schiff, author of novellæ to the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
; born at Frankfurt in 1605; died while rabbi of
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
in 1641, just after he had been called to the rabbinate of Prague; was buried at Frankfurt.
*
Mendel Barr of
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
; elected in 1644; died in 1666. He was a pupil of
Joel Sirkes
Joel ben Samuel Sirkis (Hebrew: רבי יואל בן שמואל סירקיש; born 1561 - March 14, 1640) also known as the Bach (an abbreviation of his magnum opus BAyit CHadash), was a prominent Ashkenazi posek and halakhist, who lived in cent ...
, and inclined toward the
Kabalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
. Among his prominent pupils were
Yair Bacharach
Rabbi Yair Chayim Bacharach (1639, Lipník nad Bečvou, Moravia — 1702; also known by his work Chavos Yair) was a German rabbi and major 17th century posek, who lived first in Koblenz and then the remainder of his life in Worms and Mainz. Hi ...
and Meïr Stern.
*
Aaron Samuel Kaidanover of
Wilna
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
; called to Frankfurt in 1667; went to Kraków in 1677. He was the author of ''"Birkath ha-Zevach,"'' commentary to some treatises of the Talmud.
*
Isaiah Horowitz II, son of
Shabbethai Horowitz
Shabtai Horowitz ( he, שבתי הורוויץ; 1590 – 12 April 1660) was a rabbi and talmudist, probably born in Ostroh, Volhynia. He was the son of the kabbalist Isaiah Horowitz, and at an early age married the daughter of the wealthy and s ...
, and grandson of
Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah or Yeshayahu ben Avraham Ha-Levi Horowitz ( he, ישעיה בן אברהם הלוי הורוויץ), (c. 1555 – March 24, 1630), also known as the ''Shelah HaKaddosh'' ( "the holy ''Shelah''") after the title of his best-known work, was ...
. David Grünhut,
kabalist
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
, cited by
Johann Andreas Eisenmenger
Johann Andreas Eisenmenger (1654 in Mannheim – 20 December 1704 in Heidelberg) was a German Orientalist from the Electorate of the Palatinate, now best known as the author of ''Entdecktes Judenthum'' (''Judaism Unmasked''), which was published i ...
and
Johann Jakob Schudt
Johann Jakob Schudt (January 14, 1664 – February 14, 1722) was a German polyhistor and Orientalist.
Life
Schudt was born and died in Frankfurt am Main. He studied theology at Wittenberg, and went to Hamburg in 1684 to study Orientalia unde ...
, was his contemporary. Hurwitz went to Posen.
*
Samuel b. Zebi of Kraków; elected 1690. He added valuable references to the Frankfurt edition of the Talmud (1721). His son, Judah Aryeh Löb, known as a writer, was associate rabbi; Löb's father-in-law,
Samuel Schotten Shmuel Schotten HaCohen (1644 – 5 July 1719), known as the ''Mharsheishoch'', became Rabbi of the Grand Duchy of Grand Duchy of Hesse, Hesse-Darmstadt in west Germany in 1685.
Life and work
Shmuel (Samuel) Schotten HaCohen was born in Schotten in ...
, though rabbi at Darmstadt, was living at Frankfurt as "''Klaus''" rabbi, and after Samuel ben Zebi's death (1703) he became president of the rabbinate.
*
Naphtali Cohen
Naphtali Cohen (1649–1718), also known as Naphtali HaKohen Katz, was a Russo-German rabbi and kabalist born in Ostrowo in Ukraine. He belonged to a family of rabbis in Ostrowo, where his father, Isaac Cohen, a great-great-grandson of the Judah ...
; called in 1704. As stated above, he was accused of having caused the fire of 1711, and, being compelled to leave the city, he wandered about for many years.
*
Moses Frankfurter, author of a commentary to the
Mechilta.
*
Joseph ben Moses Kossmann, author of ''"Noheg ke-tzon Yosef,"'' a work on the ritual of the community of Frankfurt.
*
Pethahiah ben David Lida, who issued in 1727 at Frankfurt his father's ''"Yad Kol Bo."'' The book was confiscated but was restored with the approval of several professors and preachers.
Naphtali Cohen
Naphtali Cohen (1649–1718), also known as Naphtali HaKohen Katz, was a Russo-German rabbi and kabalist born in Ostrowo in Ukraine. He belonged to a family of rabbis in Ostrowo, where his father, Isaac Cohen, a great-great-grandson of the Judah ...
's successors in the rabbinate of Frankfurt were as follows:
*
Abraham Broda Abraham ben Saul Broda (Hebrew: אברהם בן שאול ברודא; c. 1640 in Prague – 11 April 1717 in Frankfort/Main) was a Bohemian Talmudist (''Talmudforscher'').
Biography
Saul Broda sent his son to Cracow to pursue his Talmudic studies ...
of Prague; died in 1717; famous both as a writer and as a scholar.
*
Jacob Cohen Popers of Prague; called from
Coblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its name ...
to Frankfurt. He was noted for his many pupils and for his learned correspondence, which is included in the responsa collection ''"Shev Ya'akov."'' He became involved in the current controversies in regard to Shabbethaism.
*
Jacob Joshua Falk
Jacob Joshua Falk ( he, יעקב יהושע פלק) (also Yaakov Yehoshua ben Tzvi Hirsch, or Yaakov Yehoshua Falk — see Note on the name "Joshua Falk") 1680 – January 16, 1756) was a Polish and German rabbi and Talmudist, known as the Pnei ...
(1741–56); known to Talmudists through his valuable Talmud commentary ''"Pnei Yehoshua"'' and to historians through his conflict with
Jonathan Eybeschütz
Rav Yonatan Eybeschütz (רבי יהונתן אייבשיץ) (also Eibeschutz or Eibeschitz; 1690 1764) was a Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist, holding positions as Dayan of Prague, and later as Rabbi of the "Three Communities": Altona, Hambur ...
. During his rabbinate occurred the Kann-Kulp controversy mentioned above. Kulp's party was opposed to the rabbi and sided with Eybeschütz. Falk had to leave the city in consequence of this disturbance. He died at
Offenbach am Main
Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...
in 1756, at the age of 75, and was buried at Frankfurt.
*
Moses Kann Moses Kann was a German rabbi; born at Frankfurt am Main; died there Dec. 1, 1762; son of Löb Kann. He was chief rabbi of Hesse-Darmstadt and head of the Talmudical school at Frankfurt, which had been founded and richly endowed by his father-in-law ...
,
Moses Rapp, and
Nathan Maas took charge of the rabbinate until 1759. Maas was the real leader in the controversy in which the rabbinate of Frankfurt engaged with reference to the divorce granted at
Cleve (referred to above), as his opinion was authoritative.
*
Abraham Lissa; elected in 1759; died in 1768. He was a notable Talmudist, and the author of ''"Birkath Avrohom"''; he also studied medicine. Maas again acted as deputy rabbi from 1769 to 1771; he is also known through his commentary to two treatises of the Talmud.
*
Pinchas Horowitz
Rabbi Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz (c. 1731, Chortkiv – July 1, 1805, Frankfort-on-the-Main), also known as the Baal Hafla'ah, was a rabbi and Talmudist.
Life
The descendant of a long line of rabbinical ancestors and the son of Rabbi Zvi Hirsc ...
; elected 1771; died 1805. He was the author of ''"Hafla'ah"'' and other Talmudic works. Prominent scholars were at that time living at Frankfurt; among them
David Tebele Scheuer, who became rabbi at
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
, and
Nathan Adler
Nathan Adler (1741–1800) was a German kabbalist and Rosh yeshiva. He was responsible for training several prominent rabbis of the era.
Biography
He was born in Frankfurt, December 16, 1741. As a precocious child he won the admiration of Chai ...
, a strict ritualist, who gathered about him a group of men that attempted to introduce
Chasidism
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
into Frankfurt. The community, with the consent of the rabbi, soon found it necessary to proceed against Adler. Hurwitz also opposed the school of
David Mendelssohn.
*
Hirsch Hurwitz, son of
Pinchas Horowitz
Rabbi Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz (c. 1731, Chortkiv – July 1, 1805, Frankfort-on-the-Main), also known as the Baal Hafla'ah, was a rabbi and Talmudist.
Life
The descendant of a long line of rabbinical ancestors and the son of Rabbi Zvi Hirsc ...
; died September 8, 1817. He was the author of several
haggadic
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
and
halachik works.
*
Leopold Stein; elected 1844; officiated down to 1862; also known as poet and writer.
*
Abraham Geiger
Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar, considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Emphasizing Judaism's constant development along history and universalist traits, Geige ...
,
Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the ''Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', his ...
,
Solomon Breuer
Solomon (Shlomo Zalman) Breuer (27 June 1850 – 17 July 1926) was a Hungarian-born German rabbi, initially in Pápa, Hungary, and from the early 1890s in Frankfurt as a successor of his father-in-law Samson Raphael Hirsch.
Life and work
Solomon ...
,
Nehemiah Brüll
__NOTOC__
Nehemiah Brüll (16 March 1843 in Rousínov, Moravia – 5 February 1891 in Frankfurt am Main) was a rabbi and versatile scholar.
Life
Brüll received his rabbinic-Talmudic education from his father, Jakob Brüll (de), who combined ...
,
M. Horovitz, and
Rudolph Plaut succeeded
Leopold Stein in the order named;
Seligsohn was elected to the office in 1903.
Philanthropic Institutions
Among the
philanthropic institutions of Frankfurt the following are important:
* Achawa (Verein zur Brüderlichkeit; 1864).
* Almosenkasten der Israelitischen Gemeinde (1845).
* Biḳḳur Ḥolim (1889).
* Hersheim'sche Stiftung (for education of poor boys; 1865).
* Georgine Sara von Rothschild'sche Stiftung (1870; hospital, 1878).
* Gumpertz'sches Siechenhaus (1888).
* Israelitische Religionsschule (1890).
* Israelitische Volksschule (1882).
* Israelitische Waisenanstalt (founded 1873).
* Israelitischer Hülfsverein (1883).
* Israelitischer Kranken-Unterstützungs Verein (1843).
* Israelitisches Frauen-Krankenhaus (society, 1761; hospital, 1831).
* Israelitisches Gemeinde-Hospital (1875).
* Israelitisches Kinderhospital.
* Jüdische Haushaltungsschule.
* Kindergarten für Israeliten (1890).
* Lemaan Zion, Palästinensischer Hülfsverein.
* Mädchenstift (1877).
* Realschule der Israelitischen Gemeinde (Philanthropin; founded by Sigmund Geisenheimer 1804).
* Realschule der Israelitischen Religionsgesellschaft (1883).
* Sigmund Stern'sche Waisenstiftung (1874).
* Suppenanstalt für Israelitische Arme.
* Verein zur Beförderung der Handwerke.
* Verein für Jüdische Krankenpflegerinnen.
* Versorgungs-Anstalt für Israeliten (1845).
* Waisenhaus des Israelitischen Frauenvereins (1847); and a number of private "Stiftungen" established for various purposes.
* For Jewish physicians see
Horovitz Horovitz is one of the variants of a surname originating in the Jewish community of Bohemia – bearers of that surname apparently migrated in the middle ages from a small town Hořovice in Bohemia (today the Czech Republic). For detailed historical ...
"''
Jüdische Aerzte''".
Bibliography
*
Georg Ludwig Kriegk, ''
Bürgerzwiste'';
*
Otto Stobbe, ''
Die Juden in Deutschland'',
Brunswick, 1866;
*
Karl Bücher
Karl Wilhelm Bücher (16 February 1847, Kirberg, Hesse – 12 November 1930, Leipzig, Saxony) was a German economist, one of the founders of non-market economics, and the founder of journalism as an academic discipline.
Biography
Early life ...
, ''
Die Bevölkerung von Frankfurt-am-Main'', Tübingen, 1886;
*
Horovitz Horovitz is one of the variants of a surname originating in the Jewish community of Bohemia – bearers of that surname apparently migrated in the middle ages from a small town Hořovice in Bohemia (today the Czech Republic). For detailed historical ...
, ''
Frankfurter Rabbinen'';
** ''
idem
''idem'' is a Latin term meaning "the same". It is commonly abbreviated as ''id.'',
which is particularly used in legal citations to denote the previously cited source (compare ''ibid.''). It is also used in academic citations to replace the n ...
'', ''
Inschriften des Alten Friedhofs . . . zu Frankfurt'', Frankfurt, 1901;
*
Schudt, ''
Jüdische Merckwürdigkeiten'', Frankfurt, 1714–17;
*
Baerwald, ''
Der Alte Friedhof der Israelitischen Gemeinde zu Frankfurt'', 1883;
*
Horovitz Horovitz is one of the variants of a surname originating in the Jewish community of Bohemia – bearers of that surname apparently migrated in the middle ages from a small town Hořovice in Bohemia (today the Czech Republic). For detailed historical ...
, ''
Die Frankfurter Rabbinerversammlung vom Jahre 1603'', ib. 1897;
* ''
Frankfurter Israel. Volks-Kalender'', 1882 et seq.
Publishing
The law of this free city decreeing that no Jew should establish a printing house there greatly impeded the development of Hebrew publishing in Frankfurt. Many books published there, especially prayer books, appeared without place of publication or publisher's name. Owing to this restriction, the printing requirements of Frankfurt were in large measure met by Jewish presses established in neighboring towns and villages, such as Hanau, Homburg, Offenbach, and
Rödelheim
Rödelheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the ''Ortsbezirk Mitte-West'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Rödelheim-Ost and Rödelheim-West.
There are a number of celebrities who have established their base ...
, the last-named place being specially notable. Besides the local wants of Frankfurt there was the yearly fair which was practically the center of the German-Jewish book trade. In a measure the presses of the above four towns were really intended to supply the fair trade of Frankfurt.
According to Wolf ("Bibl. Hebr." ii. 1385), the history of Hebrew typography at Frankfurt-on-the-Main begins with 1625, in which year seliḥot were printed there. But Steinschneider and Cassel declare this statement doubtful. The chronogram of a certain prayer book seems to show that it was printed there in 1656, but this chronogram is known only from references to it in a second edition printed at Amsterdam in 1658 ("Cat. Bodl." Nos. 2149, 2152). It may be said with certainty, however, that Hebrew printing began in Frankfurt not later than 1662, when the Pentateuch with a German glossary was printed. The books printed at Frankfurt up to 1676 do not bear any printer's name.
From the year 1677 till the beginning of the eighteenth century there were two Christian printing establishments in Frankfurt at which Hebrew books were printed: (1) The press owned till 1694 by Balthasar Christian Wust, who began with David Clodius' Hebrew Bible; his last work was the unvocalized Bible prepared by Eisenmenger, 1694; up to 1707 the press was continued by John Wust. Among his typesetters who worked on the "Amarot Ṭehorot" (1698) and the responsa "Ḥawwot Yaïr" were two Christians: Christian Nicolas and John Kaspar Pugil. (2) That of Blasius Ilsnerus, who printed in 1682 the "Ḥiddushe Haggadot" of Samuel Edels. Many works that appeared in the last quarter of the seventeenth century without bearing the names of either printers or publishers probably belong to the publications of Isaac and Seligmann, sons of Hirz Reis, who in 1687 published a beautiful edition of the Yalḳuṭ. Although the proprietors of the presses were Christians, the publishers were often Jews; among them may be mentioned Joseph Trier Cohen (1690–1715), Leser Schuch, Solomon Hanau, and Solomon and Abraham, sons of Kalman, who in 1699 published through John Wust the Alfasi in three volumes.
The greatest period of Hebrew publishing in Frankfurt was the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Hebrew books were printed in several establishments, including those of Mat. Andrea (1707–10), Jo. Ph. Andrea (1716), Nicolas Weinmann (1709), Antony Heinscheit (1711–19), and, above all, John Kölner, who during the twenty years of his activity (1708–27) furnished half of the Hebrew works printed at Frankfurt up to the middle of the nineteenth century. Among the more important works printed by Kölner may be mentioned the "Bayit Ḥadash", in 5 vols., corrected by Samuel Dresles (1712–16), and the continuation of the Babylonian Talmud (1720–23) begun at Amsterdam, between which city and Frankfurt there was a sort of partnership in printing. Kölner printed with the same Amsterdam type the "Yeshu'ah be-Yisrael" (1719–20). He then conceived the idea of printing the Alfasi after the model of the Sabbionetta edition of 1554, a copy of which was bought for 40 thalers. He resolved upon printing 1,700 copies at the price of 10 thalers each; the expenses, 11,000 thalers, were to have been obtained by means of a lottery; that is to say, each subscriber was entitled to a copy of the book and to a lottery ticket; but the whole plan miscarried.
Between the years 1726 and 1736 no Hebrew printing appears to have been done in Frankfurt, and during the last three-quarters of the eighteenth century very few Hebrew works were printed there. Among those printed "Toledot Adam", a Hebrew letter-writer printed in 1736; and in 1742 the responsa "Sheb Ya'aḳob", the three Babot of the Jerusalem Talmud, and the second part of the "Pene Yehoshua'", the third part appearing in 1756. Abraham Broda's "Eshel Abraham" was issued in 1776. Hebrew printing has continued at Frankfurt up to the present day.
See also
*
Norbert Wollheim
Norbert Wollheim (April 26, 1913 – November 1, 1998) was a chartered accountant, tax advisor, previously a board member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and a functionary of other Jewish organisations.
Wollheim grew up in Berlin. He ...
*
Timeline of Frankfurt am Main
References
*
Geschichte von Frankfurt am Main from the German-language Wikipedia. Last retrieved October 2, 2005.
Bibliography of Jewish Encyclopedia
*
Schudt, ''
Jüdische, Merckwürdigkeiten'', iv.;
* ''
Appendix
Appendix, or its plural form appendices, may refer to:
__NOTOC__ In documents
* Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication
* Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works
* Index (pub ...
'', ii. 148 et seq.;
*
Moritz Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...
and
David Cassel
David Cassel (7 March 1818 – 22 January 1893) was a German historian and Jewish theologian.
Life
Cassel was born in Gross-Glogau, a city in Prussian Silesia with a large Jewish community. He graduated from its gymnasium. His brother was S ...
, ''
Jüdische Typographie'', in
Ersch
Johann Samuel Ersch (23 June 1766 – 16 January 1828) was a German bibliographer, generally regarded as the founder of German bibliography.
Biography
He was born in Großglogau (now Głogów), in Silesia. In 1785 he entered the University of H ...
and
Johann Gottfried Gruber
Johann Gottfried Gruber (29 November 1774 – 7 August 1851) was a German critic and literary historian.
Biography
Gruber was born at Naumburg on the Saale, in the Electorate of Saxony.
He received his education at the town school of Naumburg a ...
, ''
Encyc.'' section ii., part 28, pp. 78 et seq.
:
::By :
Richard Gottheil
Richard James Horatio Gottheil (13 October 1862 – 22 May 1936) was an English American Semitic scholar, Zionist, and founding father of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.
Biography
He was born in Manchester, England, but moved to the United States a ...
,
A. Freimann,
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
,
Max Seligsohn Max Seligsohn (April 13, 1865 – April 11, 1923 Manhattan) was an American Orientalist, born in Imperial Russia.
Having received his rabbinical training at Slutsk, government ('' guberniya'') of Minsk, he went in 1888 to New York City, where he s ...
Bibliography
External links
* Th
Gerald J. Oppenheimer Collectionat the Leo Baeck Institute, New York, contains original materials dating back to 1719 on life in the Jewish community of Frankfurt. Also included in the collection are general municipal regulations (fire regulations, building codes, tax codes) and decrees from the early 18th century through the early 20th century.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Frankfurt Am Main
Jewish communities in Germany