Posted on 12.12.2012, and completed on 21.12.2014
Grown around a fort built by the Franks in the 8th century on the site of a Roman settlement, where the River Main was shallow enough to be crossed by wading, Frankfurt am Main (Franconofurd - fort of the franks) became one of the most important cities in Holy Roman Empire. From 855 the German kings and emperors were elected in Frankfurt and crowned at first in Aachen (until 1562), then also in Frankfurt (until 1792). The Frankfurter Messe (Frankfurt Trade Fair) was first mentioned in 1150, and in 1372 the city became a Reichsstadt (Imperial city), directly subordinate to the Holy Roman Emperor. It remains practically a free city until 1806, when become part of the principality of Aschaffenburg, and in 1866, after the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia annexed it.
After the WWII, Frankfurt was incorporated in the German state of Hesse, and in the recent years, even it isn't so large in terms of population (about 700,000 inhabitants), became the financial and transport centre of Germany and the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It's also the seat of the European Central Bank, the German Federal Bank, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and the Frankfurt Trade Fair. According to an annual study by Cushman & Wakefield, the European Cities Monitor (2010), Frankfurt has been one of the top three cities for international companies in Europe, along with London and Paris, since the survey started in 1990. It is also the richest city in Europe by GDP per capita, followed by Karlsruhe, Paris and Munich.
Frankfurt is one of the few European cities with a significant number of skyscrapers (buildings with at least 150m hight). Because of the city's skyline, Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as "Mainhattan", a portmanteau of the local Main River and Manhattan. 12 out of a total of 13 skyscapers in Germany are in Frankfurt, with two more under construction, most of them being located in the financial district (Bankenviertel) near the city centre, around the trade fair premises (Europaviertel) and at Mainzer Landstraße between Opernplatz and Platz der Republik, which connects the two areas. In this five postcard can be seen almost all, but I will only talk about the ones that I identified them (the order is the one of the height):
●Commerzbank Tower (259m / built 1994-1997 / architect: Norman Foster). Is the tallest in the images (with a red and white antenna spire), the tallest in Frankfurt, the tallest in Germany and the second tallest in the European Union (after The Shard, in London). Is lighted at night with a yellow lighting scheme.
● Messeturm / Trade Fair Tower (257m / built 1988-1990 / architects: Helmut Jahn and Richard Murphy). Is the one with a pyramid on the top (which brought its the nickname Bleistift - The Pencil). With only 2m shorter than Commerzbank Tower, was built postmodern architectural style, similar to Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta (Georgia) or Key Tower in Cleveland (Ohio). Despite its name, it's used as an office building.
● Westend Tower, known also as Westendstrasse 1 (208m / built 1990-1993 / architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox). Is the one cylindrically shaped, to the left of Commerzbank Tower and it has on top a truncated cone-shaped structure, with the small base facing down, in fact a ring beam, known commonly as the crown, a reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty, but also a reminder to Frankfurt's history as the city where German emperors were crowned. Is similar in style to a later building by the same architect, 1250 René-Lévesque in Montreal.
●Main Tower, named after the nearby Main river (200 m / built 1996-1999 / architect: Schweger & Partner). Is the one cylindrically shaped, to the right of Commerzbank Tower, also with a red and white antenna spire. The tower's design features what appears to be two connected towers: a smaller one in a cuboid shape and a design common to 1970s architecture, and a taller one, a circular tower with an entire blue glass exterior which features the transmission tower on top.
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