page_title: Fortifications of Frankfurt
section_title: Demolition
hierarchical_section_title: Fortifications of Frankfurt / Demolition
context_page_description: The fortifications of Frankfurt were a system of military defences of the German city of Frankfurt am Main which existed from the Middle Ages into the 19th century. Around 1000 the first city wall was built. It enclosed the area of what is now the Königspfalz in modern Frankfurt. In the twelfth century the settlement expanded into what is now Altstadt. For its protection an additional wall, the Staufenmauer, was erected. Starting in 1333, the Neustadt suburb developed north of the Altstadt and was encompassed by an additional wall with five gates. In the fifteenth century, a "landwehr border" was created around the entire territory of the Free City of Frankfurt. Beginning in 1628, the medieval city wall was developed to form a bastion fortress under the municipal architect Johann Dilich.
  After its defeat in the Kronberg Feud in 1389, Frankfurt consistently avoided military conflicts and relied on its diplomatic relationships throughout the Holy Roman Empire and beyond. For this reason, the city's fortifications, during the nearly eight centuries of their existence, have only had to stand a siege once – during the Second Schmalkaldic War, in July 1552.
context_section_description: In October 1792, French troops occupied the city. While allied troops from Hesse and Prussia managed to expel the invaders on 2 December 1792, the expulsion itself clearly proved the fortifications to be useless: The allied soldiers easily managed to take the Friedberger Tor by storm. In 1795 and 1796, hostile troops again arrived in front of the city. On 13 and 14 July 1796 French aggressors bombarded the city, inflicting severe damage, a third of the Frankfurter Judengasse, which had burned down in a large fire in 1721, was destroyed again. The French government suggested that the city could destroy its fortifications to prevent being used as an arms depot and military base, and so becoming a target for attack. Subsequently, the senate ordered the creation of plans for the slighting of the fortifications.
  As with the construction of the fortifications, planning for their demolition was a protracted process. Many of the plans only provided for the demolition of the bulwarks, deliberately preserving the 14th century's city wall as a protection against criminals and as a border control for people and goods. The high cost estimates caused the politicians to refuse a comprehensive plan. In 1804, after almost 20 months of discussion, the demolition was halfheartedly begun by 50 to 60 day labourers. An expert report in mid-1805 stated that, if it continued at the same speed, the deconstruction was expected to take at least nine more years.
  Only in January 1806, when French soldiers occupied the city again, did the project gain new traction. At the same time, the senate asked the population to help with the demolition, resulting in unexpectedly high participation – probably due to the imminent danger of the Austrian-French war. With the end of the Holy Roman Empire in August 1806, the free imperial city of Frankfurt lost its independence and became part of the territory of Karl von Dalberg, prince primate. On behalf of Dalberg, Jakob Guiollett formulated a memorandum "Notice Regarding the Slighting of Local Fortifications" which was released on 5 November 1806. It recommended the demolition of Frankfurt's fortifications as well as the construction of a promenade and an English landscape garden, today's Wallanlagen, in place of the bulwarks. On 5 January 1807, the prince primate appointed Guiollett as the "princely commissioner of the fortification demolition".
  Guiollett enlisted castle gardener Sebastian Rinz from Aschaffenburg to plan the work. In subsequent years the Bockenheimer Anlage (1806), the Eschenheimer Anlage (1807), the Friedberger Anlage (1808/1809) as well as the Taunus and Gallusanlage (1810) were constructed. Demolishing the mighty Mainzer Bollwerk (bulwark of Mainz) took from 1809 to 1818. In 1811 the Untermainanlage and the Neue Mainzer Straße were built on the site. In 1812 Rinz completed the work with the Obermainanlage. All parts of the fortification except the Sachsenhäuser Kuhhirtenturm and the Eschenheimer Turm were demolished; only a few gates from the 15th century at the Main river bank, including the Fahrtor, remained in place. They were demolished in 1840, when the Main river bank was raised by two metres.
  The citizens considered the demolition of the old walls to be the sign of a historical turning point. Katharina Elisabeth Goethe delightedly wrote to her son Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on 1 July 1808 "The old walls have been deconstructed, the old gates have been taken down, the entire city is surrounded by a park, one would think it were Feerrey. The old wigs would not have been able to do this until judgement day." Rather wistfully, the younger Bettina von Arnim, already influenced by Romanticism, expressed herself: "Quite a few children of Frankfurt's citizens will have experienced the same as me, that to them, this is cold and eery, as if someone had sheared their wool in the middle of the winter." In 1813, French troops ravaged the newly-constructed ramparts on their retreat from their defeat at the Battle of Leipzig. Guiollett, meanwhile appointed as prefect of Grand Duchy of Frankfurt and M
caption: Remaining wall part of the Staufenmauer, with stump of the Mönchsturm (monk tower) at the Judengasse, 1872
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