*Article archived from Frankfurt Main Finance on December 4, 2015.
Frankfurt Skyline
The silhouette of Frankfurt, with its skyscrapers and gleaming steel and glass facades in the country, is unique: no wonder the city is home to the European Central Bank and leading German financial institutions.
Frankfurt has a lot of advantages: the densest banking network in Germany, the fourth largest exchange in the world, and a commercial sector that is the undisputed engine of the urban economy. More than 10 percent of all workers in Frankfurt belong to the financial sector at the highest level. Frankfurt not only makes money but also political: monetary policy. The city hosts the German central bank, the Bundesbank. And since 1999, it is also home to the European Central Bank, which directs the destinies of the single European currency, the euro.
Cradle of democracy
Euro sign on the main bank
Frankfurt was always a communications hub, given its location on the banks of the River Main, and a platform for trade. But also from the political point of view, Frankfurt has played a leading role. At the heart of the city are the cradle of democracy and the German constitution: the church of San Pablo, Paulskirche. Here it was held the mid-nineteenth century the national assembly of delegates of the German states. In 1848 the fundamental rights of the German people were approved in this same church.
Goethe and the book world
Frankfurt is the birthplace of one of a universal German: Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Here 250 years ago saw the light of the world this genius of letters. The influence of his personality feels to this day in the city. While Frankfurt is the center of German finance par excellence, it is also, on its merit, the capital of the book. A quality particularly evident every fall during the Book Fair, the largest in the world. To this, it is added that some of the most prestigious German publishers are based in Frankfurt.
Two sides of a coin
Frankfurt cultural fair
Although Frankfurt was until recently a fairly modest role in the international cultural scene is concerned, this has changed substantially. Money attracts culture, hence in the last ten years, the city has become a metropolis of art. On the banks of the Main, we find a whole series museums and exhibition halls: 13 real gems in the most diverse architectural styles, which are a must for all lovers of art lovers.
Culture and business make the business card of the city in which it is shown open and liberal. But a modern metropolis is also the breeding ground for very different phenomena: the world of drugs and prostitution or the tragedy of the many homeless people living rough in the city. The other side of this glittering city.
