Höchst () is a neighbourhood and

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

in the '' Ortsbezirk'' of Frankfurt-West in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Höchst is situated west of Frankfurt city centre, on the north bank of the Main at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the River Nidda. Its old town is famous for around 400 timber framed houses. On 1 July 1917, Sindlingen, Unterliederbach and Zeilsheim were incorporated to Höchst am Main. In 1928 Höchst became incorporated into Frankfurt am Main, along with Sindlingen, Unterliederbach and Zeilsheim. The well-preserved old city with its 400 half-timbered houses has been under the ''

Denkmalschutz The ''Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz'' ("German Foundation for Monument Protection") is a German private initiative founded in 1985 that works for the preservation of cultural heritage in Germany and to promote the idea of cultural heritage man ...

'' protection law since 1972. An important cultural event is the folklore festival, the ''Höchster Schloßfest'', that brings many visitors to Höchst. It begins in the middle of June and last four weeks. It includes a festival in the old city, fireworks, and a jazz festival in the castle.

History

Middle Ages

Höchst was first recorded as Hostat (meaning high site or high place). On 11 February 1355, Höchst received its town privileges by emperor Charles IV. In a charter dated 12 January 1356, Charles IV gave additional privileges to Höchst including the right to hold markets every Tuesday. On 22 June 1622, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the Battle of Höchst saw a Catholic League and

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

armies defeat a Protestant force. A second Battle of Höchst occurred on 11 October 1795 when

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

soldiers clashed with Republican French troops.

The fires

In 1586, the first major fire in Höchst occurred. The fire destroyed 56 houses, 25 barns, the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, the bath house and the Mainz Gate, which was half the town at the time.

20th century

Höchst am Main became part of Frankfurt am Main in 1928. Until 1987, Höchst was the administrative seat of an independent Landkreis. Höchst is now the center of the Frankfurt-West Ortsbezirk (administrative district) with 135,000 residents.

Economy

The name Höchst became known throughout the world for the chemical and pharmaceutical corporation

Hoechst AG Hoechst AG () was a German chemicals, later life sciences, company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999. With the new company's 2004 merger with Sanofi-Synthélabo, it became a subsidiar ...

which was established in 1863. The Hoechst AG was headquartered in Höchst until in 1999, when the company was merged with the French Rhône-Poulenc S.A. and became Aventis which, after another merger, became

Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Synthélabo merg ...

. Major research and production activities of the company continue to be conducted in Höchst. The site of the Hoechst works is now operated as the Höchst Industrial Park (''Industriepark Höchst''). It includes a notable expressionist building designed by Peter Behrens, the Technical Administration Building (''Technische Verwaltungsgebäude''). Image:Hoechster Altstadt September 2010 Pano 1.jpg, Timber-framed houses of the old town Image:Höchster Mainufer Batterie 2.jpg, Main river bank in Höchst, called "Batterie" Image:Bolongarostrasse.jpg, Bolongarostraße in Höchst Image:Hoechster Wochenmarkt.jpg, October 2008: Market in Höchst File:Dalberghaus2.jpg, Porcelain manufacturer in the ''Dalberghouse'' Image:Höchster-Schloss-2019-Ffm-Höchst-10391.jpg, Höchster Schloss Image:Justinuskirche Hoechst.jpg, Saint Justin's Church, Frankfurt-Höchst Image:Bolongaropalast F-Hoechst Strassenfront.jpg, Bolongaropalast

Notable people

* Joseph Aschbach (1801-1882),

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

well known for his studies on the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

. * Tristan Brübach (1984–1998), murder victim. * Carl Chun (1852–1914), German marine biologist, born in Höchst. * Hans Fischer (1881–1945), recipient of 1930

Nobel Prize for Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

. * Mahide Lein (born 1949), LGBTQ+ activist

References

External links

Official web site Frankfurt Höchst (German)

Private web site Frankfurt Höchst (German)

Höchst on internet project 'Alt Frankfurt' (English/German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochst (Frankfurt Am Main) Districts of Frankfurt Towns in Hesse