The Zeil () is a street in the city centre of

Frankfurt 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 ...

, Germany. The name, which dates back to the 14th century, is derived from the German word ''

Zeile Zeile is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Elsie May Zeile (1885–1988), American botanist * Magnus Zeile (born 1968), Swedish tennis player *Todd Zeile Todd Edward Zeile (; born September 9, 1965) is an Americans, American ...

'' "row" and originally referred to a row of houses on the eastern end of the north side; the name was not extended to the entire street until later.''Archiv für Frankfurts Geschichte und Kunst'' 5, dritte Folge (1896), p. 350. Since the end of the 19th century it has been one of the most famous and busiest shopping streets in Germany. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was also known for its grand buildings, but most of them were destroyed and not rebuilt. The western part of the Zeil is a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

between two large plazas, Hauptwache in the west and

Konstablerwache Konstablerwache is a central square in the centre of Frankfurt am Main and part of its pedestrian zone. It lies to the east of Hauptwache with both squares linked by the Zeil, the central shopping area of the city. History At the corner of the ...

in the east. These two plazas serve as major intersections for underground trains, trams and buses. The eastern part of the Zeil, called "New Zeil", connects Konstablerwache with the Friedberger Anlage. The Zeil underwent a major renovation from spring 2008 until summer 2009. The pedestrian zone was extended to the west as far as the Börsenstraße. This brought drastic changes for motorists because the route via Hauptwache, which is an important north-south connection for individual traffic, was closed.

Gallery

File:Frankfurt_Am_Main-Zeil-Palais_Quartier-Ansicht_vom_Maintower.jpg, View from

Main Tower Main Tower is a 56-storey, skyscraper in the Innenstadt district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is named after the nearby Main river. The building is when its antenna spire is included. The tower has five underground floors and two public viewing ...

towards

Palais Quartier The Palais Quartier (), formerly known as ''FrankfurtHochVier'', is a building complex in the Innenstadt district of Frankfurt, Germany. It was built from 2004 to 2011. The complex consists of four buildings: * MyZeil, a shopping mall * Palai ...

File:Zeil-2010-ffm-092.jpg, Aerial view of Zeil at night File:Myzeil-knippershelbig-03.jpg,

MyZeil MyZeil is a shopping mall in the center of Frankfurt, Germany. It was designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas. It is part of the PalaisQuartier development, with its main entrance on the Zeil, Frankfurt's main shopping street. It w ...

shopping arcade File:Frankfurt Galeria Kaufhof.20131019.jpg, Galeria

Kaufhof Galeria Kaufhof GmbH was a German department store chain, headquartered in Cologne. It was a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1930 to 2010, with various CEOs acting as presidents of the Association over time. U ...

File:Medienfassade_der_Zeilgalerie_bei_Tag.jpg,

Zeilgalerie Zeilgalerie was a shopping centre located at the Zeil in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was opened in September 1992 and was 41 metres tall with 10 floors, one of which was underground. There were approximately 70 stores in the building. History ...

arcade (1992–2016) File:Frankfurt Am Main-Zeil-Johan Conrad Unsinger-Fassade des Palais Barckhaus-1711.jpg, Emperor Charles' residence ''Palais Barckhaus'' at Zeil, where he resided in exile (1711) File:Frankfurt Am Main-Max Junghaendel-FFMANDN-15-Zeil.jpg, Zeil in 1898 File:Frankfurt Am Main-Zeil-Grand Bazar-Palais Rothschild-Schmoller-um 1910.jpg, Grand Bazar (1903–1905), Palais Rothschild (1793–1797) and Schmoller (1900), photo 1910

References

External links

Streets in Frankfurt Shopping districts and streets in Germany Tourist attractions in Frankfurt Pedestrian streets in Germany {{Germany-road-stub