Churches, Frankfurt am Main

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Frankfurt Dom, or Cathedral, is one of the city’s best known tourist attractions, and a must-see part of the city’s sights. The massive Gothic structure was, like all of Frankfurt’s attractions, damaged badly during the Second World War and rebuilt in the decade that followed the defeat of Nazi Germany. Saint Bartholomew’s Cathedral, as it is more properly known, is a Gothic structure originally constructed between the middle of the 14th century and the 15th century. It was destroyed by fire in the 1860s and rebuilt according to a slightly different plan, which was followed again in the 1950s. The Cathedral was never the seat of a Bishop, but it was nevertheless quite important in the history of the Catholic Church and Holy Roman Empire, as at least one Pope and several Emperors were crowned here throughout the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Today, the Cathedral is used both for religious services and for tourist visits. The interior is a dark, cavernous example of Gothic architecture, with its sharply point vaults all the way up the nave to the transept. Visitors are permitted to go up the 95 m tower and view the city, although I imagine that this can get quite busy during the peak tourist season.

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Nikolaikirche, or St. Nicholas’ Church, is an interesting component of Frankfurt’s Römerberg. While it is square and somewhat lacking ornamentation, like many of Frankfurt’s other churches, the structure has something that is rather reminiscent of Red Square and Muscovite architecture. I found it to be a great subject for photographs, but otherwise I wasn’t able to gather much on its founding or history. It just seems to provide a bit of variety in Römerberg, in a manner that doesn’t break the continuity of atmosphere.

This historic building was the meeting place of the first freely elected German National Assembly in 1848, Germany's first short-lived attempt at establishing a representative democratic government.

The Paulskirche was originally built from about 1786 until 1833. It was rebuilt after the bombings of the Second World War, and is now used for exhibitions and for large meetings and official functions. Despite its name, it is not used as a church.

It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except when an event is in progress.

I took the photo from the top of the Main Tower.

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This is the biggest Cathedral in Frankfurt build in 14 century. It is an interesting fact that 4 centuries all the German kings and emperors later were crowned here. That is why people started to call it Kaiserdom which means Emperor's Cathedral. Then the church was destroyed and rebuilt twice but it still has this wonderful Gothic look.
There is also a museum inside.

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Katharinenkirche, or St. Catharine’s Church, is the largest Lutheran church in Frankfurt. On a drab winter’s day, it is hardly an inviting structure to visit, despite the fact that it was constructed according to the Baroque style (I always associate such churches with their Spanish cousins, which are elaborate and quasi-garish). The slate grey roof and yellowish walls are undoubtedly quite pretty during the spring and summer, but this is not the case during the winter. Like many of Frankfurt’s monuments, this church built in the 1670s and 1680s was destroyed during the Second World War and reconstructed, according to its original style, in the early 1950s.

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St. Paul’s Church is one of those odd buildings that is intended to be used as a place of worship but that derives its fame from other sources. In particular, this Protestant Church, originally begun in the mid-1700s and completed in 1833, was the seat of the first democratically elected German parliament in 1848. In the 1960s, this church again played an important role in politics as the sight of a speech by U.S. President John F. Kennedy (not the ich bin ein Berliner speech). The neo-Romanesque building, with its green copper dome, is an odd part of Frankfurt, one that seems to disorient visitors with its roundness compared to the cut lines of the rest of the historic part of the city. The church also has interesting reliefs on its façade, well worth a few snapshots.

This Catholic church is the reconstruction, done from 1963 to 1965, of the old church that had been built at the beginning of the 18th century and was destroyed by bombings in 1943.
For several centuries this had been the location of the convent and church of the Teutonic Order, but after the Reformation it remained without monks and priests, and when it regained its status it was rebuilt in the Baroque style.
Its main features are the baroque portal and the Knights' Chamber.
Nowadays it hosts the Museum of Icons.

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The Cathedral is situated by the Romerberg, it's hard to miss it due to its 95m high tower. The Frankfurt Dom was originally a Carolingian chappel and in the 16th century it was "promoted" to Cathedral because it hosted the coronation ceremonies for Holy Roman Kings. However, it is an honorary title, that lasts till nowadays, since it has never been an episcopal church.

The church we visit nowadays is no longer the original one, since part of it was destroyed by a fire on the 19th century, reconstructed in neo-gothic style and later destroyed again in WWII bombings.

www.dom-frankfurt.de