116-689: Mentz is a former form of Mainz in Germany. It may also refer to: Places [ edit ] Mentz, New York Mentz, Texas People [ edit ] August Mentz (1867–1944), Danish botanist Hendrik Mentz (1877–1938), South African politician Henno Mentz (born 1979), South African rugby player Henry Mentz (1920–2005), Federal District Judge, American jurist and scholar Johann von Mentz (died 1583), Governor of Ösel (1576–1584) MJ Mentz (born 1982), South African rugby player (brother of Henno) See also [ edit ] Menz ,
232-552: A Reichsstadt ( Imperial Free City ), i.e., directly subordinate to the Holy Roman Emperor and not to a regional ruler or a local nobleman. In 1585, Frankfurt traders established a system of exchange rates for the various currencies that were circulating to prevent cheating and extortion. Therein lay the early roots for the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Frankfurt managed to remain neutral during
348-591: A Frankish king named Zuna, who ruled over the province then known as Sicambri . He hoped thereby to perpetuate the name of his lineage. This is chronologically incompatible, however, with the archaeologically demonstrated Roman occupation of the area around Nida fortress in modern Heddernheim . The name is derived from the Franconofurd of the Germanic tribe of the Franks ; Furt ( cf. English ford ) where
464-595: A camp for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust ), the Dulag Luft West transit camp for Allied prisoners of war, and a subcamp of the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp . Frankfurt was severely bombed in World War II (1939–1945). About 5,500 residents were killed during the raids, and the once-famous medieval city center , by that time one of the largest in Germany,
580-531: A central authority, only individual efforts were initially successful in rebuilding Mainz. The reason for this was that the French wanted Mainz to expand and become a model city. Mainz lay within the French-controlled sector of Germany and it was a French architect and town-planner, Marcel Lods , who produced a Le Corbusier-style plan of an ideal architecture. But the first interest of the inhabitants
696-411: A city charter, allowing the citizens to establish and elect a city council. In 1461, a feud between two archbishops, Diether von Isenburg and Adolf II von Nassau , caused unrest in the city. Following Archbishop Adolf's raid on Mainz in 1462, those who opposed him, including Johannes Gutenberg , were either expelled or imprisoned. Ultimately, after the death of Archbishop Adolf II, Diether von Isenburg
812-656: A city divided into four sectors , could no longer rival it. In 1948, the Allies founded the Bank deutscher Länder , the forerunner of Deutsche Bundesbank . Following this decision, more financial institutions were re-established, e.g. Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank . In the 1950s, Frankfurt Stock Exchange regained its position as the country's leading stock exchange. Frankfurt also reemerged as Germany's transportation hub and Frankfurt Airport became Europe's second-busiest airport behind London Heathrow Airport in 1961. During
928-458: A district committee and chairperson. The largest city district by population and area is Sachsenhausen , while the smallest is Altstadt , Frankfurt's historical center. Three larger city districts (Sachsenhausen, Westend and Nordend ) are divided for administrative purposes into a northern ( -Nord ) and a southern ( -Süd ) part, respectively a western ( -West ) and an eastern ( -Ost ) part, but are generally considered as one city district (which
1044-569: A former province of Ethiopia Mintz Mentzer Mentzen (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Mentz . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mentz&oldid=1187580674 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description
1160-557: A free city, becoming the seat of its Bundestag , the confederal parliament where the nominally presiding Habsburg Emperor of Austria was represented by an Austrian "presidential envoy". After the ill-fated revolution of 1848 , Frankfurt was the seat of the first democratically elected German parliament, the Frankfurt Parliament , which met in the Frankfurter Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church) and
1276-581: A newly established primogeniture in Italy), Grand Duke of Frankfurt after Dalberg's death (since the latter as a Catholic bishop had no legitimate heirs). The Grand Duchy remained a short episode lasting from 1810 to 1813 when the military tide turned in favor of the Anglo-Prussian-led allies that overturned the Napoleonic order. Dalberg abdicated in favor of Eugène de Beauharnais, which of course
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#17327940942991392-1001: A number of different names in other languages and dialects. In Latin it is known as Mogontiacum ( pronounced [mɔɡɔnˈti.akũː] ) or Moguntiacum and, in the local Hessian dialect, it is Määnz [mɛːnt͡s] or Meenz [meːnt͡s] . It is known as Mayence [majɑ̃s] in French, Magonza [maˈɡontsa] in Italian, Maguncia [maˈɣunθja] in Spanish, Mogúncia [muˈɣũsjɐ] in Portuguese, Moguncja [mɔˈɡunt͡sja] in Polish, Magentza ( מגנצא ) in Yiddish, and Mohuč in Czech and Slovak ( Czech pronunciation: [ˈmoɦutʃ] ). Before
1508-560: A part of early Franconia , the inhabitants were the early Franks , thus the city's name reveals its legacy as "the ford of the Franks on the Main". Among English speakers, the city is commonly known simply as Frankfurt, but Germans occasionally call it by its full name to distinguish it from the other (significantly smaller) German city of Frankfurt an der Oder in the Land of Brandenburg on
1624-541: A population of 5.5 million. Other important cities in the region are Wiesbaden (capital of Hesse ), Mainz (capital of Rhineland-Palatinate ), Darmstadt , Offenbach am Main , Hanau , Aschaffenburg , Bad Homburg vor der Höhe , Rüsselsheim , Wetzlar and Marburg . The city is divided into 46 city districts ( Stadtteile ), which are in turn divided into 121 city boroughs ( Stadtbezirke ) and 448 electoral districts ( Wahlbezirke ). The 46 city districts combine into 16 area districts ( Ortsbezirke ), which each have
1740-681: A population of more than 5.8 million and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr region and the fourth biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union . Frankfurt is home to the European Central Bank , one of the institutional seats of the European Union, while Frankfurt's central business district lies about 90 km (56 mi) northwest of the geographic center of
1856-703: A silver cross on a red background. Mainz has a population of about 220,000 and is the largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate . Mainz passed 100,000 in 1908. In 1945, After WWII, right side of the Rhine river, which were a part of Mainz, became a part of Wiesbaden and other part of Hesse due to its occupation zone where Mainz and Rhineland-Palatinate were French occupation zone and Wiesbaden and Hesse were American occupation zone where both cities became its state capital in 1946. Mainz lost 21.1% of population at this time. Mainz and Wiesbaden has rivalries who
1972-553: A simplified manner (e.g., Römer , St. Paul's Church , and Goethe House ). The collection of historically significant Cairo Genizah documents of the Municipal Library was destroyed by the bombing. According to Arabist and Genizah scholar S.D. Goitein , "not even handlists indicating its contents have survived." The end of the war marked Frankfurt's comeback as Germany's leading financial hub, mainly because Berlin, now
2088-601: Is one of Germany's most important wine regions because of its mild climate. Mainz is connected to Frankfurt am Main by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn rapid transit system. Before 1945, Mainz had six boroughs on the other side of the Rhine (see: de:Rechtsrheinische Stadtteile von Mainz ). Three have been incorporated into Wiesbaden (see: de:AKK-Konflikt ), and three are now independent. Mainz was founded as Castrum Mogontiacum by Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus in
2204-762: Is "FRA", the IATA code for Frankfurt Airport. Roman Empire , pre 475 Francia , ca. 475–843 East Francia , 843–962 [REDACTED] Holy Roman Empire , 962–1806 [REDACTED] Free City of Frankfurt , 1372–1806 [REDACTED] Grand Duchy of Frankfurt , 1806–1813 [REDACTED] Free City of Frankfurt , 1813–1866 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Prussia , 1866–1871 [REDACTED] German Empire , 1871–1918 [REDACTED] Weimar Republic , 1918–1933 [REDACTED] German Reich , 1933–1945 [REDACTED] American occupation zone , 1945–1949 [REDACTED] West Germany , 1949–1990 [REDACTED] Germany , 1990–present At
2320-645: Is 248.31 km (95.87 sq mi) and extends over 23.4 km (14.54 mi) east to west and 23.3 km (14.48 mi) north to south. Its downtown is north of the river Main in Altstadt district (the historical center) and the surrounding Innenstadt district. The geographical center is in Bockenheim district near Frankfurt West station . Frankfurt at the heart of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region with
2436-497: Is a simplification of Mogontiacum . The name appears to be Celtic , however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. The Roman soldiers defending Gallia had adopted the Gallic god Mogons (Mogounus, Moguns, Mogonino), for the meaning of which etymology offers two basic options: "the great one", similar to Latin magnus, which was used in aggrandizing names such as Alexander magnus , "Alexander
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#17327940942992552-459: Is also not an administrative city district (it covers parts of the western Innenstadt district, the southern Westend district and the eastern Bahnhofsviertel district). Many city districts are incorporated suburbs ( Vororte ) or were previously independent cities, such as Höchst . Some like Nordend and Westend arose during the rapid growth of the city in the Gründerzeit following
2668-606: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Mainz Mainz ( German: [maɪnts] ; see below ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate , and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 35th-largest city . It lies in the Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region —Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr —which also encompasses
2784-879: Is home to influential educational institutions, including the Goethe University with the Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt ( de ) (Hesse's largest hospital), the FUAS , the FUMPA , and graduate schools like the FSFM . The city is one of two seats of the German National Library (alongside Leipzig ), the largest library in the German-speaking countries and one of the largest in the world. Its renowned cultural venues include
2900-606: Is located) was to be a demilitarized zone until 1935 and the French garrison, representing the Triple Entente , was to stay until reparations were paid. In 1923 Mainz participated in the Rhineland separatist movement that proclaimed a Rhenish Republic . It collapsed in 1924. The French withdrew on 30 June 1930. Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933 and his political opponents, especially those of
3016-740: Is one of a kind, and has been declared the UNESCO World Heritage Site of " ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz " [ de ] , which includes the Judensand [ de ] (Jews' Sand), the second-oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe after the Heiliger Sand in Worms. Mainz is the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg , who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type printing press , starting
3132-503: Is one of the world's busiest international airports by passenger traffic and the main hub for Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa . Frankfurt Central Station is one of the largest rail stations in Europe and the busiest junction operated by Deutsche Bahn , the German national railway company, with 342 trains a day to domestic and European destinations. Frankfurter Kreuz , also known as the Autobahn interchange and located close to
3248-488: Is one of the few cities in the European Union (EU) to have such a skyline, which is why Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as Mainhattan , combining the local river Main and " Manhattan ". The other well-known nickname is Bankfurt . Before World War II , the city was noted for its unique old town , the largest timber-framed old town in Europe. The Römer area was later rebuilt and is popular with visitors and for events such as Frankfurt Christmas Market . Other parts of
3364-460: Is one of the three Rhenish Imperial Cathedrals along with Speyer Cathedral and Worms Cathedral . Since the 12th century, Mainz was one of the ShUM-cities [ de ] —a league formed by the cities of Speyer , Worms and Mainz—which are referred to as the cradle of Ashkenazi Jewish life and as the center of Jewish life during Medieval times. The Jewish heritage of these cities
3480-435: Is why often only 43 city districts are mentioned, even on the city's official website). Some larger housing areas are often falsely called city districts, even by locals, like Nordweststadt (part of Niederursel , Heddernheim and Praunheim ), Goldstein (part of Schwanheim ), Riedberg (part of Kalbach-Riedberg ) and Europaviertel (part of Gallus ). The Bankenviertel ( banking district ), Frankfurt's financial district,
3596-574: The Main ") is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse . Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany . Located in the foreland of the Taunus on its namesake Main , it forms a continuous conurbation with Offenbach am Main ; its urban area has a population of over 2.7 million. The city is the heart of the larger Rhine-Main metropolitan region, which has
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3712-548: The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and European Systemic Risk Board in 2011. Frankfurt is the largest city in the state of Hesse in the western part of Germany. Frankfurt is located on both sides of the river Main , south-east of the Taunus mountain range. The southern part of the city contains the Frankfurt City Forest , Germany's largest city forest. The city area
3828-520: The Free City of Frankfurt . The Prussian administration incorporated Frankfurt into its province of Hesse-Nassau . The Prussian occupation and annexation were perceived as a great injustice in Frankfurt, which retained its distinct western European, urban and cosmopolitan character. The formerly independent towns of Bornheim and Bockenheim were incorporated in 1890. In 1914, the citizens founded
3944-711: The Frisians to Christianity and is buried in Fulda . The archbishopric of Mainz was established in 781 when Boniface's successor Lullus was granted the pallium by Pope Adrian I . Throughout history, the Archbishops of Mainz held high positions, including serving as archchancellors of the Holy Roman Empire. Notably, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz is unique as it is the only diocese in
4060-589: The Mainz Sand Dunes for the training areas. Mainz is home to the headquarters of the Bundeswehr ' s Landeskommando Rhineland-Palatinate [ de ] and other units. The destruction caused by the Bombing of Mainz in World War II led to the most intense phase of building in the history of the town. During the last war in Germany, more than 30 air raids destroyed about 80 per cent of
4176-458: The Museum of Ancient Seafaring . A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and Magna Mater was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public. The city was the provincial capital of Germania Superior , and had an important funeral monument dedicated to Drusus, to which people made pilgrimages for an annual festival from as far away as Lyon . Among the famous buildings were the largest theatre north of
4292-633: The National Socialist Party in Worms brought the party to Mainz. They hoisted the swastika on all public buildings and began to denounce the Jewish population in the newspapers. In 1936, the Nazis remilitarized the Rhineland with great fanfare, the first move of Nazi Germany 's meteoric expansion. The former Triple Entente took no action. During World War II the citadel at Mainz hosted
4408-467: The Neustadt . He also planned the first sewer system for the old part of town since Roman times and persuaded the city government to relocate the railway line from the Rhine side to the west end of the town. The main station was built from 1882 to 1884 according to the plans of Philipp Johann Berdellé [ de ] . Kreyßig constructed a number of state-of-the-art public buildings, including
4524-598: The Oflag XII-B prisoner of war camp. The city was also the location of four subcamps of the Hinzert concentration camp , mostly for Luxembourgish, Polish, Dutch and Soviet prisoners, but also Belgian, French and Italian. During World War II, several air raids destroyed about 80 per cent of the city's centre, including most of the historic buildings. Mainz was captured on 22 March 1945 against uneven German resistance (staunch in some sectors and weak in other parts of
4640-764: The Rheingauwall was taken in hand, according to the imperial order of Wilhelm II . During the German Revolution of 1918 the Mainz Workers' and Soldiers' Council was formed which ran the city from 9 November until the arrival of French troops under the terms of the occupation of the Rhineland agreed in the Armistice . The French occupation was confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles which went into effect 28 June 1919. The Rhineland (in which Mainz
4756-674: The Rhineland massacres of 1096 and by mobs in 1283. Outbreaks of the Black Death were usually blamed on the Jews, at which times they were massacred, such as the murder of 6000 Jews in 1349. Outside of the medieval city centre, there is a Jewish cemetery, with over 1500 headstones dating from the 11th through the 19th centuries. The earliest known gravestone is date to 1062 or 1063, and these early gravestones resemble those found in Italy in
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4872-524: The Social Democratic Party , were either incarcerated or murdered. Some were able to move away from Mainz in time. One was the political organizer for the SPD, Friedrich Kellner , who went to Laubach, where, as the chief justice inspector of the district court, he continued his opposition against the Nazis by recording their misdeeds in a 900-page diary . In March 1933, a detachment from
4988-531: The Thirty Years' War , but suffered from the bubonic plague that refugees brought to the city. After the war, Frankfurt regained its wealth. In the late 1770s the theater principal Abel Seyler was based in Frankfurt, and established the city's theatrical life. Following the French Revolution , Frankfurt was occupied or bombarded several times by French troops. It remained a Free city until
5104-477: The Unetanneh Tokef prayer. From the late 12th century rabbis met in synods. The city of Mainz responded to the Jewish population in a variety of ways, behaving in a capricious manner towards them. Sometimes they were allowed freedom and were protected; at other times, they were persecuted. The Jews were expelled in 1438, 1462 (after which they were invited to return), and in 1470. Jews were attacked in
5220-546: The Unification of Germany , while others were formed from territory which previously belonged to other city district(s), such as Dornbusch and Riederwald . Until the year 1877 the city's territory consisted of the present-day inner-city districts of Altstadt , Innenstadt , Bahnhofsviertel , Gutleutviertel , Gallus , Westend , Nordend , Ostend and Sachsenhausen . Bornheim was part of an administrative district called Landkreis Frankfurt , before becoming part of
5336-402: The Wallanlagen , Volkspark Niddatal , Grüneburgpark , the City Forest , two major botanical gardens (the Palmengarten and the Botanical Garden Frankfurt ) and the Frankfurt Zoo . Frankfurt is the seat of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund – DFB) , is home to the first division association football club Eintracht Frankfurt , the Löwen Frankfurt ice hockey team, and
5452-399: The War of the Sixth Coalition , the weakened Napoleon and his troops had to leave Mainz in May 1814. In 1816, the part of the former French Département which is known today as Rhenish Hesse (German: Rheinhessen ) was awarded to the Hesse-Darmstadt , Mainz being the capital of the new Hessian province of Rhenish Hesse. From 1816 to 1866, a part of the German Confederation , Mainz was
5568-438: The cenotaph raised by legionaries to commemorate their general, Drusus . In the 4th century, Alemans repeatedly invaded the neighborhood of Mogontiacum. In 357, the city was liberated by the Emperor Julian . The last emperor to station troops serving the western empire at Mainz was Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), who relied heavily on his Magister militum per Gallias , Flavius Aëtius . In 451, Attila 's Huns sacked
5684-401: The 1970s, the city created one of Europe's most efficient underground transportation systems. That system includes a suburban rail system ( S-Bahn ) linking outlying communities with the city center, and a deep underground light rail system with smaller coaches ( U-Bahn ) also capable of travelling above ground on rails. In 1998, the European Central Bank was founded in Frankfurt, followed by
5800-418: The 1990s the Kisselberg and the "Fort Malakoff Center" at the site of the old police barracks were built. The city of Mainz is divided into 15 local districts according to the main statute of the city of Mainz. Each local district has a district administration of 13 members and a directly elected mayor, who is the chairman of the district administration. This local council decides on important issues affecting
5916-401: The 1st century BC on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire , and became the capital of the Roman province of Germania Superior . The city was settled by the Franks from 459 on, and in the 8th century it became an important city within the Holy Roman Empire , as capital of the Electorate of Mainz and seat of the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz , the primate of Germany. Mainz Cathedral
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#17327940942996032-399: The 20th century, Mainz was commonly known in the Anglosphere either as Mentz , its English version, or by its French version Mayence . It is the namesake of two American cities named Mentz . Mainz is on the 50th latitude north, on the left bank of the Rhine . The east of the city is opposite where the Main falls into it. As of 2021 , the population was 217,272. The city is part of
6148-484: The 8th–9th centuries. Nowadays the Jewish community is growing rapidly, and a new synagogue by the architect Manuel Herz was constructed in 2010 on the site of the one destroyed by the Nazis on Kristallnacht in 1938. As of 2021 , the Jewish community Mainz has 985 members. During the French Revolution , the French Revolutionary army occupied Mainz in 1792; the Archbishop-elector of Mainz, Friedrich Karl Josef von Erthal , had already fled to Aschaffenburg by
6264-401: The Alemannian Crocus. Throughout the changes of time, the Roman castrum never seems to have been permanently abandoned as a military installation, which is a testimony to Roman military judgement. Different structures were built there at different times. The current citadel originated in 1660, but it replaced previous forts. It was used in World War II. One of the sights at the citadel is still
6380-421: The Allies' wartime bombardment. Frankfurt was the original choice for the provisional capital city of the newly founded state of West Germany in 1949. The city constructed a parliament building that was never used for its intended purpose (it housed the radio studios of Hessischer Rundfunk ). In the end, Konrad Adenauer , the first postwar Chancellor , preferred the town of Bonn , for the most part because it
6496-418: The Alps and a bridge across the Rhine. The city was also the site of the assassination of emperor Severus Alexander in 235. Alemanni forces under Rando sacked the city in 368. From the last day of 405 or 406, the Siling and Asding Vandals , the Suebi , the Alans , and other Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine , possibly at Mainz. Christian chronicles relate that the bishop, Aureus , was put to death by
6612-417: The Altstadttangente ( intersection of the old town ), new neighbourhoods as Westring and Südring contributed to the extension. By 1970 there remained only a few ruins. The new town hall of Mainz had been designed by Arne Jacobsen and finished by Dissing+Weitling . The town used Jacobsens activity for the Danish Novo company erecting a new office and warehouse building to contact him. The urban renewal of
6728-422: The Apostle and now Frankfurt Cathedral . Frankfurt was one of the most important cities in the Holy Roman Empire . From 855, the German kings were elected and crowned in Aachen . From 1562, the kings and emperors were crowned and elected in Frankfurt, initiated for Maximilian II . This tradition ended in 1792, when Francis II was elected. His coronation was deliberately held on Bastille Day , 14 July,
6844-407: The EU at Gadheim in Lower Franconia . Like France and Franconia , the city is named after the Franks . Frankfurt is the largest city in the Rhenish Franconian dialect area. Frankfurt was a city state , the Free City of Frankfurt , for nearly five centuries, and was one of the most important cities of the Holy Roman Empire , as a site of Imperial coronations ; it lost its sovereignty upon
6960-430: The EU. Frankfurt is one of the major financial centers of the European continent, with the headquarters of the European Central Bank , Deutsche Bundesbank , Frankfurt Stock Exchange , Deutsche Bank , DZ Bank , KfW , Commerzbank , DekaBank , Helaba , several cloud and fintech startups , and other institutes. Automotive, technology and research, services, consulting, media and creative industries complement
7076-414: The Frankfurt spelling for Frankfurt am Main on 24 October 1953 and last used the Frankfort spelling on 10 June 1954. The suffix am Main has been used regularly since the 14th century. In English, the city's full name of Frankfurt am Main means "Frankfurt on the Main" (pronounced like English mine or German mein ). Frankfurt is located on an ancient ford (German: Furt ) on the river Main . As
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#17327940942997192-437: The FrankfurtRheinMain area of 5.9 million people. Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 30 minutes by commuter railway [REDACTED] or regional trains RE 2 RE 3 RB 31 . The river port of Mainz is located on the Rhine and thus on one of the most important waterways in Germany. The container port hub is north of the town centre. After the last ice age , sand dunes were deposited in
7308-470: The French dominated Mainz was neither free nor democratic). Prussian troops had already occupied the area and besieged Mainz by the end of March 1793. After a siege of 18 weeks, the French troops in Mainz surrendered on 23 July 1793; Prussians occupied the city and ended the Republic of Mainz. It came to the Battle of Mainz in 1795 between Austria and France. Members of the Mainz Jacobin Club were mistreated or imprisoned and punished for treason. In 1797,
7424-516: The French returned. The army of Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the German territory to the west of the Rhine , and the Treaty of Campo Formio awarded France this entire area, initially as the Cisrhenian Republic . On 17 February 1800, the French Département du Mont-Tonnerre was founded here, with Mainz as its capital, the Rhine being the new eastern frontier of la Grande Nation. Austria and Prussia could not but approve this new border with France in 1801. However, after several defeats in Europe during
7540-400: The Great" and Pompeius magnus , "Pompey the great", or the god of "might" personified as it appears in young servitors of any type whether of noble or ignoble birth. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its strategic position at the confluence of the Main and the Rhine. The town of Mogontiacum grew up between the fort and the river. The castrum
7656-417: The Mainz town hall – which was the largest of its kind in Germany at that time – as well a synagogue, the Rhine harbour and a number of public baths and school buildings. Kreyßig's last work was Christ Church ( Christuskirche ), the largest Protestant church in the city and the first building constructed solely for the use of a Protestant congregation. In 1905 the demolition of the entire circumvallation and
7772-415: The Polish border. The city district Bonames has a name probably dating back to Roman times, thought to be derived from bona me(n)sa (good table). The common abbreviations for the city, primarily used in railway services and on road signs, are Frankfurt (Main) , Frankfurt (M) , Frankfurt a. M. , Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt/M . The common abbreviation for the name of the city is "FFM". Also in use
7888-415: The Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a nature reserve with a unique landscape and rare steppe vegetation for this area. While the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC on the Kästrich hill, the associated vici and canabae (civilian settlements) were erected towards the Rhine. Historical sources and archaeological findings both prove
8004-404: The University of Frankfurt, later named Goethe University Frankfurt . This marked the only civic foundation of a university in Germany; today it is one of Germany's largest. From 6 April to 17 May 1920, following military intervention to put down the Ruhr uprising , Frankfurt was occupied by French troops . The French claimed that Articles 42 to 44 of the peace treaty of Versailles concerning
8120-479: The airport, is the most-heavily used interchange in the EU, used by 320,000 cars daily. In 2011 human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual 'Quality of Living' survey of cities around the world. According to The Economist cost-of-living survey, Frankfurt is Germany's most expensive city and the world's tenth most expensive. Frankfurt has many downtown high-rise buildings that form its renowned Frankfurt skyline . In fact, it
8236-576: The anniversary of the storming of the Bastille . The elections and coronations took place in St. Bartholomäus Cathedral , known as the Kaiserdom (Emperor's Cathedral), or its predecessors. The Frankfurter Messe ('Frankfurt Trade Fair') was first mentioned in 1150. In 1240, Emperor Frederick II granted an imperial privilege to its visitors, meaning they would be protected by the empire. The fair became particularly important when similar fairs in French Beaucaire lost attraction around 1380. Book trade fairs began in 1478. In 1372, Frankfurt became
8352-413: The banks of the Rhine to the north of the rampart. The city expansion more than doubled the urban area which allowed Mainz to participate in the industrial revolution which had previously avoided the city for decades. Eduard Kreyßig [ de ] was the man who made this happen. Having been the master-builder of the city of Mainz since 1865, Kreyßig had the vision for the new part of town,
8468-591: The basketball club Frankfurt Skyliners , and is the venue of the Frankfurt Marathon and the Ironman Germany . Frankfurt is the largest financial hub in continental Europe . It is home to the European Central Bank , Deutsche Bundesbank , Frankfurt Stock Exchange and several large commercial banks. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the world's largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of
8584-486: The better city on the Rhine river are even today. Mainz became an attractive city, especially for young people due to its radio and television broadcasters, Universities and good workplaces. Mainz's population grow normally and Mainz passed 200,000 in 2011. Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main ( / ˈ f r æ ŋ k f ər t / ; German: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊʁt ʔam ˈmaɪn] ; lit. " Frank ford on
8700-521: The border of their territories, whereby the three important episcopal cities of Mainz, Worms and Speyer with their counties to the left of the Rhine were assigned to East Francia . In the early Middle Ages , Mainz played a significant role in the Christianisation of the German and Slavic peoples . The first archbishop in Mainz, Boniface , was killed in 754 while attempting to convert
8816-682: The capital of the new state. In 1962, the diarist, Friedrich Kellner , returned to spend his last years in Mainz. His life in Mainz, and the impact of his writings , is the subject of the Canadian documentary My Opposition: The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner . Following the withdrawal of French forces from Mainz, the United States Army Europe occupied the military bases in Mainz. Today United States Army Europe and Africa only occupies McCulley Barracks in Wackernheim and
8932-590: The cities of Frankfurt am Main , Wiesbaden , Darmstadt , Offenbach am Main , and Hanau . Mainz is located at the northern end of the Upper Rhine Plain , on the left bank of the Rhine , opposite the Hessian capital of Wiesbaden and the mouth of the River Main into the Rhine. It is the largest city of Rhenish Hesse , a region of Rhineland-Palatinate that was historically part of Hesse , and
9048-469: The city of Wiesbaden (on the north bank of the river). The AKK was separated from Mainz when the Rhine was designated the boundary between the French occupation zone (the later state of Rhineland-Palatinate ) and the U.S. occupation zone ( Hesse ) in 1945. The coat of arms of Mainz is derived from the coat of arms of the Archbishops of Mainz and features two six-spoked silver wheels connected by
9164-430: The city on 1 January 1877, followed by Bockenheim on 1 April 1895. Seckbach , Niederrad and Oberrad followed on 1 July 1900. The Landkreis Frankfurt was finally dispersed on 1 April 1910, and therefore Berkersheim , Bonames , Eckenheim , Eschersheim , Ginnheim , Hausen , Heddernheim , Niederursel , Praunheim , Preungesheim and Rödelheim joined the city. In the same year a new city district, Riederwald ,
9280-475: The city's centre, including most of the historic buildings. The attack on the afternoon of 27 February 1945 remains the most destructive of all 33 bombings that Mainz has suffered in World War II in the collective memory of most of the population living then. The air raid caused most of the dead and made an already hard-hit city largely levelled. Nevertheless, the post-war reconstruction took place very slowly. While cities such as Frankfurt had been rebuilt fast by
9396-516: The city) by the 90th Infantry Division under William A. McNulty , a formation of the XII Corps under Third Army commanded by General George S. Patton Jr. From 1945 to 1949, the city was part of the French zone of occupation . When the state of Rhineland-Palatinate was founded on 30 August 1946 by the commander of the French army on the French occupation zone Marie Pierre Kœnig , Mainz became
9512-660: The city. The Franks from the middle and upper Rhine area took Mainz shortly before 460. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Franks under the rule of Clovis I gained control over western Europe by the year 496. Clovis, son of Childeric , became king of the Salians in 481, ruling from Tournai . He converted from paganism to Catholic Christianity . Theudebert I ( c. 500–547 or 548) had installed Sidonius [ de ] as bishop of Mainz. Dagobert I (605/603–639) reinforced
9628-588: The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1805/6. In 1806, it became part of the principality of Aschaffenburg under the Fürstprimas ( Prince-Primate ), Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg . This meant that Frankfurt was incorporated into the Confederation of the Rhine . In 1810, Dalberg adopted the title of a Grand Duke of Frankfurt . Napoleon intended to make his adopted son Eugène de Beauharnais , already Prince de Venise (" prince of Venice ",
9744-523: The collapse of the empire in 1806, regained it in 1815 and then lost it again in 1866, when it was annexed (though neutral) by the Kingdom of Prussia . It has been part of the state of Hesse since 1945. Frankfurt is culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse, with half of its population, and a majority of its young people, having a migrant background . A quarter of the population consists of foreign nationals, including many expatriates . In 2015, Frankfurt
9860-912: The concert hall Alte Oper , continental Europe's largest English theater and many museums, 26 of which line up along the Museum Embankment , including the Städel , the Liebieghaus , the German Film Museum ( de ), the Senckenberg Natural Museum , the Goethe House and the Schirn art venue. Frankfurt's skyline is shaped by some of Europe's tallest skyscrapers, which has led to the term Mainhattan . The city has many notable green areas and parks, including
9976-576: The death and funeral of Nero Claudius Drusus ). Although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the Main , the name of Mainz is not from Main , the similarity being perhaps reinforced by folk-etymological reanalysis. Main is from Latin Moenis (also Moenus or Menus ), the name the Romans used for the river. Linguistic analysis of the many forms that the name "Mainz" has taken on make it clear that it
10092-494: The demilitarization of the Rhineland had been broken. In 1924, Ludwig Landmann became the first Jewish mayor of the city, and led a significant expansion during the following years. During the Nazi era , the synagogues of the city were destroyed and the vast majority of the Jewish population fled or was killed. During World War II , Frankfurt was the location of a Nazi prison for underage girls with several forced labour camps,
10208-633: The economic base. Frankfurt's DE-CIX is the world's largest internet exchange point . Messe Frankfurt is one of the world's largest trade fairs . Major fairs include the Music Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair , the world's largest book fair. With 108 consulates, among which the largest is the US Consulate General , Frankfurt is second to New York City among non-capital cities in regards to consulate seats. Frankfurt
10324-791: The end of the war, Frankfurt became a part of the newly founded state of Hesse, consisting of the old Hesse-(Darmstadt) and the Prussian Hesse provinces. The city was part of the American Zone of Occupation of Germany. The Military Governor for the United States Zone (1945–1949) and the United States High Commissioner for Germany (HICOG) (1949–1952) had their headquarters in the IG Farben Building , intentionally left undamaged by
10440-475: The first time. In 1950, the seat of the government of Rhineland-Palatinate had been transferred to the new Mainz and in 1963 the seat of the new ZDF, notable architects were Adolf Bayer, Richard Jörg and Egon Hartmann. At the time of the two-thousand-years-anniversary in 1962 the city was largely reconstructed. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Oberstadt had been extended, Münchfeld and Lerchenberg added as suburbs,
10556-428: The former West Germany , Frankfurt Airport became the busiest in Germany , one of the busiest in the world, the airport with the most direct routes in the world, and the primary hub for Lufthansa , the national airline of Germany and Europe's largest airline. Frankfurt Central Station is Germany's second-busiest railway station after Hamburg Hbf , and Frankfurter Kreuz is the most-heavily used interchange in
10672-596: The global spread of the printing press , and in the early 1450s manufactured his first books in the city, including the Gutenberg Bibles , two of which are kept at the city's Gutenberg Museum . Mainz was heavily damaged in World War II ; more than 30 air raids destroyed around half of the old town in the city centre, but many buildings were rebuilt post-war. Like most cities in the Rhineland , Mainz holds extensive carnival celebrations , that are known as
10788-482: The importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine. Mainz experiences an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ). The Roman stronghold or castrum Mogontiacum , the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general Drusus perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by Suetonius the existence of Mogontiacum is well established by four years later (the account of
10904-578: The local area, however, the final decision on new policies is made by Mainz's municipal council. In accordance with section 29 paragraph 2 Local Government Act of Rhineland-Palatinate , which refers to municipalities of more than 150,000 inhabitants, the city council has 60 members. Districts of the town are: Until 1945, the districts of Bischofsheim (now an independent town), Ginsheim-Gustavsburg (which together are an independent town) belonged to Mainz. The former districts Amöneburg , Kastel , and Kostheim – (in short, AKK ) are now administered by
11020-458: The most important fortress in the defence against France, and had a strong garrison of Austrian , Prussian and Bavarian troops. On the afternoon of 18 November 1857, a huge explosion rocked Mainz when the city's powder magazine, the Pulverturm , exploded. Approximately 150 people were killed and at least 500 injured; 57 buildings were destroyed and a similar number severely damaged in what
11136-488: The new border between the two countries. For centuries the inhabitants of the fortress of Mainz had suffered from a severe shortage of space which led to disease and other inconveniences. In 1872 Mayor Carl Wallau and the council of Mainz persuaded the military government to sign a contract to expand the city. Beginning in 1874, the city of Mainz assimilated the Gartenfeld , an idyllic area of meadows and fields along
11252-706: The old town changed the inner city. In the framework of the preparation of the cathedrals millennium, pedestrian zones were developed around the cathedral, in northern direction to the Neubrunnenplatz and in a southern direction across the Leichhof to the Augustinerstraße and Kirschgarten. The 1980s brought the renewal of the façades on the Markt and a new inner-city neighbourhood on the Kästrich. During
11368-681: The old town were reconstructed as part of the Dom-Römer Project from 2012 to 2018. Frankonovurd (in Old High German ) or Vadum Francorum (in Latin ) were the first names mentioned in written records from 794. It transformed to Frankenfort during the Middle Ages and then to Franckfort and Franckfurth in the modern era . According to historian David Gans , the city was named c. 146 AD by its builder,
11484-515: The river was shallow enough to be crossed on foot. By the 19th century, the name Frankfurt had been established as the official spelling. The older English spelling of Frankfort is now rarely seen in reference to Frankfurt am Main, although more than a dozen other towns and cities, mainly in the United States, use this spelling, including Frankfort, Kentucky , Frankfort, New York , and Frankfort, Illinois . The New York Times first used
11600-509: The second-most important in Germany, after the celebrations in Cologne . The borough of Lerchenberg is the seat of ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, lit. "Second German Television"), the second-most important German public service television broadcaster, as well as of 3sat , another television broadcaster, that is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany ( ARD and ZDF ), Austria ( ORF ), and Switzerland ( SRG SSR ). Mainz has
11716-680: The time the French marched in. On 18 March 1793, the Jacobins of Mainz, with other German democrats from about 130 towns in the Rhenish Palatinate , proclaimed the ' Republic of Mainz '. Led by Georg Forster , representatives of the Mainz Republic in Paris requested political affiliation of the Mainz Republic with France, but too late: Prussia was not entirely happy with the idea of a democratic free state on German soil (although
11832-480: The turnover in the German market. In 2010, 63 national and 152 international banks had their registered offices in Frankfurt, including Germany's major banks, notably Deutsche Bank , DZ Bank , KfW , Deka Bank and Commerzbank , as well as 41 representative offices of international banks. Frankfurt is considered a global city (alpha world city) as listed by the GaWC group's 2012 inventory. Among global cities it
11948-412: The walls of Mainz. Charlemagne (768–814), through a succession of wars against other tribes, built a vast Frankish empire in Europe. Mainz from its central location became important to the empire and to Christianity. Meanwhile, language change was gradually working to divide the Franks. After the death of Charlemagne, distinctions between France and Germany began to be made. The Rhine roughly formed
12064-627: The western borders of Frankfurt lies the Kapellenberg as part of the Taunus with one of the first Stone Age cities in Europe. The Celts had different settlements in the Taunus mountains north of Frankfurt, the biggest one the Heidetrank Oppidum . The first traces of Roman settlements established in the area of the river Nidda date to the reign of Emperor Vespasian in the years 69 to 79 AD. Nida (modern Heddernheim , Praunheim )
12180-456: The world with an episcopal see called a Holy See (sancta sedes). Ibrahim ibn Yaqub , a 10th-century Hispano-Arabic, Sephardi Jewish traveler, writes the following about the city: "Mainz [Maghānja] is a very large city, partly inhabited and partly cultivated fields. It is in the land of the Franks, on a river called the Rhine [Rīn]. Wheat, barley, rye, grapevines and fruit are plentiful." In 1244, Archbishop Siegfried III granted Mainz
12296-447: Was a Roman civitas capital ( Civitas Taunensium ). Alemanni and Franks lived there , and by 794, Charlemagne presided over an imperial assembly and church synod, at which Franconofurd (alternative spellings end with -furt and -vurd) was first mentioned. It was one of the two capitals of Charlemagne's grandson Louis the German , together with Regensburg . Louis founded the collegiate church , rededicated in 1239 to Bartholomew
12412-630: Was almost completely destroyed. It became a ground battlefield on 26 March 1945, when the Allied advance into Germany was forced to take the city in contested urban combat that included a river assault. The 5th Infantry Division and the 6th Armored Division of the United States Army captured Frankfurt after several days of intense fighting, and it was declared largely secure on 29 March 1945. Frankfurt consists to over 40% of buildings from before World War II, besides all destruction. After
12528-577: Was close to his hometown, but also because many other prominent politicians opposed the choice of Frankfurt out of concern that Frankfurt would be accepted as the permanent capital, thereby weakening the West German population's support for a reunification with East Germany and the eventual return of the capital to Berlin . Postwar reconstruction took place in a sometimes simple modern style, thus changing Frankfurt's architectural face. A few landmark buildings were reconstructed historically, albeit in
12644-405: Was home to 1,909 ultra high-net-worth individuals , the sixth-highest number of any city. As of 2023, Frankfurt is the 13th-wealthiest city in the world and the second-wealthiest city in Europe (after London ). Frankfurt is a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and transportation, and is the site of many global and European corporate headquarters. Due to its central location in
12760-469: Was only a symbolic action, as the latter effectively never ruled after the ruin of the French armies and Frankfurt's takeover by the allies. After Napoleon's final defeat and abdication, the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) dissolved the grand-duchy and Frankfurt became a fully sovereign city-state with a republican form of government. Frankfurt entered the newly founded German Confederation (till 1866) as
12876-616: Was opened on 18 May 1848. In the year of its existence, the assembly developed a common constitution for a unified Germany, with the Prussian king as its monarch. The institution failed in 1849 when the Prussian king, Frederick William IV , declared that he would not accept "a crown from the gutter". Frankfurt lost its independence after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 when Prussia annexed several smaller states, among them
12992-680: Was ranked tenth by the Global Power City Index 2011 and 11th by the Global City Competitiveness Index 2012 . Among financial hubs, the city was ranked eighth by the International Financial Centers Development Index 2013 and ninth in the 2013 Global Financial Centres Index . Its central location in Germany and Europe makes Frankfurt a major air, rail, and road transport hub . Frankfurt Airport
13108-596: Was reinstated as the Archbishop of Mainz, duly elected by the chapter and appointed by the Pope. The Jewish community of Mainz dates to the 10th century CE. It is noted for its religious education. Rabbi Gershom ben Judah (960–1040) taught there, among others. He concentrated on the study of the Talmud , creating a German Jewish tradition. Mainz is also the legendary home of the martyred Rabbi Amnon of Mainz , composer of
13224-485: Was the base of Legio XIV Gemina and XVI Gallica (AD 9–43), XXII Primigenia , IV Macedonica (43–70), I Adiutrix (70–88), XXI Rapax (70–89), and XIV Gemina (70–92), among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the Classis Germanica . Remains of Roman troop ships ( navis lusoria ) and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in
13340-559: Was the restoration of housing areas. Even after the failure of the model city plans it was the initiative of the French (founding of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz , elevation of Mainz to the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, the early resumption of the Mainz carnival ) driving the city in a positive development after the war. The City Plan of 1958 by Ernst May allowed a regulated reconstruction for
13456-641: Was to be known as the Powder Tower Explosion or Powder Explosion . During the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, Mainz was declared a neutral zone. After the founding of the German Empire in 1871, Mainz no longer was as important a stronghold, because in the Franco-Prussian War France had lost the territory of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany (which France had occupied bit by bit from 1630 to 1795), and this defined
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