For four days, around a quarter of a million visitors celebrated the anniversary of the 175th anniversary of the first National Assembly in Frankfurt's Paulskirche between Paulsplatz and the banks of the Main River in beautiful sunshine. The Paulskirchenfest began on Thursday, May 18, 2023 with a ceremony in the Paulskirche. In addition to the Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, numerous representatives of the Federal Government and the State of Hesse took part in the ceremonial opening. They once again emphasized the historical significance of St. Paul's Church as the "cradle of German democracy", which must be respected, nurtured and defended. Looking back on the anniversary celebrations, the city drew a positive balance: "The atmosphere was wonderful and the response was positive throughout," summed up Mayor Mike Josef. "The city has shown itself from its most beautiful side in the last few days. It was a joyful festival where many encounters took place. Young and old, big and small. The long queue in front of St. Paul's Church confirms that with this festival we have made people more aware of the value of freedom through democracy."
About 250,000 guests visited the St. Paul's Church Festival and had a choice of almost 160 program items and projects. "We would especially like to thank all the institutions involved, the artists, all the participants and the helpers for their great commitment and their cooperation in recalling the relevance of the historical events for our democracy today," said Thomas Feda, the managing director of the organizing Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main. "Not only citizens of our city, but also many guests from far away celebrated together."
The Paulskirche as the historical site of the event, the Römerberg stage, on which renowned and local artists performed, and the evening productions proved to be real visitor magnets. The open day at Frankfurt City Hall was also very popular. At the "Römer Open", information was provided about the work of the city's offices, businesses and companies in the spirit of citizen proximity and transparency, and "democracy made tangible" on site. At the Europe Festival and the marketplace of civil society organizations, many citizen participation formats were presented and politics at the European level were thematized.
Also the great interest in the stands of the Infomeile on the Mainkai and the most diverse event formats showed that not only the atmospheric offers such as concerts and theater performances were very popular, but also lectures, discussion and information offers. There was also great demand for the museums' offerings, which provided free admission during the festival period with special tours and special program offerings. "The visitors' interest in the history and continued existence of our democracy was enormous," said Thomas Feda. "All in all, we can say: this was a very successful event."
