Franconofurt – from electoral city of kings to capital of an economic empire

The first written mention of 'Franconofurt' (the name means 'Crossing of the Franks') dates back to the 8^th century, where it appears in a donatio of Charlemagne dated 794; but by 1160, the city was already being referred to as 'Frankfurt - City of Trade Fairs'. To its economic importance was added political in 1356, when the city was designated the permanent site for the election of the German kings, who were also crowned there from 1562 to 1792. Frankfurt's status as a free imperial city was brought to an end in 1806, when Napoleon made it the seat of government for the prince primate of the Confederation of the Rhine.

During the second half of the 19^th century, Frankfurt expanded rapidly and began to acquire the cosmopolitan character it retains to this day. The city developed into a modern industrial and commercial center of international consequence; the botanical gardens, opera house, main railway station and Festhalle all date from this period; whilst Germany's first endowment university, the Goethe University Frankfurt, named after the city's most famous son, was founded in 1914.

After the widespread destruction of the city during the Second World War, the first post-war trade fair in 1948 helped revive Germany's trade with the outside world, with 1,700 exhibitors on that occasion presenting new products – harbingers of the economic miracle to come  – on an exhibition space of over 60,000 m². The Grande Dame of trade fair cities exhibits no less a flair for finance, 218 domestic and international banking and credit institutions – including the Bundesbank (German Central Bank), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange – all having elected to settle on the banks of the Main.