So, now it's almost finished. The new old town. And you guys can say what you want. But I'm looking forward to the opening like crazy. I'm looking forward to the view on Braubach Street. No, to the BEAUTIFUL view of a wide archway instead of the butt-ugly Technical City Hall that stood there before. You see, I was in favor of the rebuilding from the beginning. No, I can't think of anything critical to say about it. And don't think I'm uncritical. There are plenty of people who would say the opposite about me. There's enough about Frankfurt that I currently dislike.
But the Altstadt project, having visited it, I think it was absolutely successfully implemented. Not just as a visual lesson for earlier buildings in the city. But because it opens wide canyons and bright paths between the cathedral and the Roman. I went there a few days ago without knowing what to expect. It is simply beautiful. Just take the square of the former Technical Town Hall.
This bright archway with its four sculptures of women, curved wide and inviting. This is where I like to enter. My favourite corner in the old town, though, is a little further ahead, towards the MMK. That mix of stones and half-timbering on the corner of the houses at Rebstockhof! For me, as a die-hard, the reconstruction of the Altstadt brings me a bit closer to Frankfurt's historical references. What's wrong with feeling a little more at home here?
Discover and experience Frankfurt anew
The historic old town was almost completely destroyed in the Second World War. Between 2012 and 2018, the "new" old town district was created in the area between the cathedral and the Römer, which means that only parts of the old old town were reconstructed or "creatively reconstructed".
So on my tour, I started at the Rebstockhof. The exploratory walk took me past a delightful, new Café called Melange, which I'll be sure to invite all my friends and relatives to sometime when they visit the city. But I can also well imagine a business lunch there.
Passing a lingerie shop, in front of which two elderly ladies were musing about the possible target audience of the lingerie, the archway between a kind of courtyard with golden curved stairs leads directly to the cathedral, which now has the coffeehouse "Goldene Waage" as a neighbor. The half-timbering of the Waage was modelled on historical pictures. The furniture and decoration are still original from the 17th century.
Corridors, courtyards and Brentano's inscription
Anyway, these corridors - these tight connections from one alley to the next - create a very peculiar, quiet atmosphere. For in the old town, I not only move from "Hinter dem Lämmchen" to the parallel Krönungsweg, but at the reconstructed "Goldenen Lämmchen" I step into a courtyard (see photo above) that forms the back of shops facing Braubachstraße (flowers/evening fashion).
While I was taking photos on my tour, one of those visitor bikes buzzed in with two Asians, "Photos please," done. Another group listened intently to the city guide's explanations of the courtyard's architecture.
I was surprised by the quantities of museums the old town now houses. A whole four of them, in fact. My personal favorite here?
The former Archaeological Garden, where young and old can marvel at the traces of the Roman settlement and the Carolingian imperial palace, excitingly explained by a video animation - or follow the kings and emperors on their way to the coronation via the Coronation Path.
I was surprised by the beautiful courtyards, inner courtyards and small corridors with their bright, light colours. This makes the Old Town district seem more like it's made up of many small, self-contained pie pieces that make up one big whole. And in each piece there is something to discover, such as Brentano's poem at Markt 40, at the house "Zu den drei Römern". At Hühnermarkt, of course, the Stolze fountain beckons with a spring underneath that the Romans already tapped!
Sounding house names and a lot of Romans - that's just a small, very brief summary of my first, but certainly not last, tour through the new old town. "The youngest old town in Germany" as critics blaspheme. But I am convinced that this successful reconstruction will convince even the skeptics.
Do you have personal favorites in the old town? What do you guys want to see?
Tour de Altstadt with five top favorites:
· Kaffeehaus Goldene Waage, Am Krönungsweg
· Rebstockhof
· Coronation Path for Kings and Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation between the Cathedral and the Römer
· The courtyard of the Golden Lamb
· Sculptures on a facade on Braubach Street
Opening of the Old Town over three days with live music, info mile and theatre performances. Start: 28.09. 2018 from 6 pm. Highlight is among other things <link https: www.frankfurt-tipp.de ffm-aktuell s ugc drohnenshow-als-hoehepunkt-des-altstadtfestes.html _blank>the drone show, as you can read here on Frankfurt-Tipp!