Römer, Frankfurt am Main

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The Römerberg, the plaza in front of the Frankfurt City Hall (known as the Römer) provides visitors with even more traditional architecture to admire. While the square is dominated by the Römer (the City Hall), there are also many other interesting and quaint buildings to take in. All of the buildings are, obviously, reconstructed after the destruction of the Second World War, and many of them are dedicated to traditional restaurants or shops. The centre of the square has a beautiful fountain, and the city has been careful to preserve the traditional flavour of this area, a favourite with Japanese tour groups.

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The Römer, or Town Hall, is perhaps the stereotypical image that all tourists get when they think of traditional German architecture. It is (or rather was, prior to the Second World War) a wealthy merchant’s house purchased by the city in 1405, when it began its 600 year history as the seat of municipal government. In 1596, the buildings behind and beside the Römer was purchased and connected to it, which required a fair amount of engineering work, as the floors in the various buildings were radically different. The entire structure was destroyed during the heaviest bombing raid on Nazi Germany in 1944 and was reconstructed over the following 11 years, with reinauguration in 1955. Much of the façade of the building was rebuilt in the original neo-Gothic style with the sharply pointed roofs, although a balcony was added in order to allow for public events to take place.

Other remarkable contruction in Romerberg is the Alte Nikolaikirche, an early gothic church built in the 13th century. It is said that it used to be the royal chapel of the Stauferian nobility and also the court and electoral chapel of kings and emperors until the 15th century.

Everyday, its 35 bell carrilon chimes at certain hours.

www.alte-nikolaikirche.de

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The Town Hall has grown bigger over the years and new construction was added. One of them, in the 19th century, is a bridge which connects the main building with a new wing across the street.

The Bridge of Sighs (Seufzerbrucke) was named after the famous bridge in Venice. Frankfurt's romantic Bridge of Sighs is covered in red brick.

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Last, but not the least, the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice) is situated in the center of the Romerberg.

This 16th century statue represents the goddess Justitia, and is represented without the usual blindfold, but also holding the scale of justice. Curiously, the goddess is facing the Romer.

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Romerberg is a beautiful square situated in Frankfurt's Altstadt (Old Town). It is lined with half-timbered houses, a church and the Town Hall. Since the 12th century, this square has played an important role in trade fairs. Visitors came from Italy and France, which was really far, back in those long gone days! Also, apart from trade fairs, it was home to major festivities and celebrations, such as the coronation in the Town Hall of Holy Roman Emperors.

Romerberg is about 15 minute walk from Central Train Station (which connects the city with the airport).

If you're interested in finding out more about Romerberg, the Historisches Museum displays models of the square in the Middle Ages as well as shows the history of the city.

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These half-timbered houses are so pictoresque! They are replicas of the 15th and 16th century houses which were destroyed by bombings in the WWII. The 1944 bombings devastated the whole historic district and the Romerberg was no exception. Some of the buildings were later reconstructed as was the case of these half-timbered houses and the Romer. However, these replicas are recent as they date from 1983.

The half-timbered houses are situated on the east side of Romerberg, opposite the Romer and the Fountain of Justice and are known as Ostzeile.

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The Town Hall - Romer - is a set of 3 pinkish buildings with stepped gables built in Gothic style between the 15th and 18th century, located on the west side of Romerberg. Like the square itself, Romer was devasted in the WWII bombings and later rebuilt accordingly to its original Gothic style.

The name Romer comes from "Zum Romer" which means "to the Roman". "Zum Romer" is the name of the central building and it refers to Roman settlements situated in this area way before Frankfurt was a city. Inside the Romer there is the Kaisersaal, decorated with 52 portraits of kings and emperors, which is a simplified replica of the hall where the emperors were coronated.