page_title: Altstadt (Frankfurt am Main)
section_title: Former and reconstructed buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Altstadt (Frankfurt am Main) / Districts and sights of the Altstadt / Former and reconstructed buildings
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Blick vom Markt auf den Hühnermarkt mit dem Stoltze-Brunnen (20.06.2018). Hinten links: das Haus Esslinger, dann die Neugasse und rechts davon das Haus Zur Flechte.
context_page_description: The Altstadt is a city district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Innenstadt I.
  The Altstadt is located on the northern Main river bank. It is completely surrounded by the Innenstadt district, Frankfurt's present-day city centre. On the opposite side of the Main is the district of Sachsenhausen.
  The historic old town of Frankfurt was one of the largest half-timbered towns in Germany until the extensive destruction in the Second World War with its around 1250 half-timbered houses, most of which date from the Middle Ages. It was one of the most important tourist attractions for Germany. The historic old town was largely destroyed by the air raids on Frankfurt am Main in 1944. The streets and the entire district are predominantly characterized by quickly and easily erected buildings from the 1950s and 60s. However, several striking buildings and some important city squares have been restored or reconstructed, especially around the main square, the Römerberg.
  Under the name of the Dom-Römer project, a new old town district was built between 2012 and 2018 between the imperial cathedral and the Römer town hall, following a decision by the city council in 2007.
context_section_description: Many architectural monuments as well as striking buildings or street corners or entire streets of the old town were lost as a result of the Second World War or due to demolition, some of them were rebuilt or reconstructed - some more than 70 years after their destruction. Here are a few of the most important:
  The old stock exchange on Paulsplatz was a building of late classicism, built in 1843, burned out in 1944 and demolished in 1952.
  The old bridge was first mentioned in 1222. It has been destroyed and rebuilt at least 18 times over the centuries. In 1914 the only beautiful monument from earlier times (Goethe) worthy of such a large city was demolished. The New Old Bridge, inaugurated in its place in 1926, was simply rebuilt after the war was destroyed in 1965.
  Bendergasse was the epitome of an old town alley with numerous five- to six-story half-timbered buildings from the 16th to 18th centuries. Destroyed in 1944, the site was cleared until 1950. Today the Schirn art gallery is located here.
  The German-Reformed Church on the Großer Kornmarkt was built in the classicist style between 1789 and 1792. Burnt out in 1944, it was torn down after the war. The new Federal Audit Office was built on the site in the 1950s.
  The Five-Finger Square was a popular postcard motif, a tiny old town square near the Römerberg (burned out in 1944).
  The Große Hirschgraben was a preferred residential and commercial street on the northwestern border of the old town. The houses on the north side of the street already belonged to Neustadt. In addition to the Goethe House, there were originally numerous other town houses and courtyards from the late 16th century, including the Zum Spitznagel house, the Hirschgrabenhof and the Andreaesche orphan foundation. Even in the 19th century, the Große Hirschgraben was a preferred residential area for rich citizens of Frankfurt, including the families Böhmer, Gwinner, Bethmann-Hollweg, Passavant and Andreae.
  The Alter Braunfels house on Liebfrauenberg was a Gothic patrician stone building from around 1350, baroque in the 18th century and the oldest seat of the Frankfurt stock exchange. It burned out in 1943 and was torn down immediately due to the risk of collapse.
  The Haus zum Esslinger on the Chicken Market was a baroque altered, late Gothic half-timbered building in which Goethe's aunt Johanna Melber lived in the 18th century, which he also described in his autobiographical work Poetry and Truth. The building burned down in 1944 and the ruins were removed in 1950. The reconstruction opened in 2018 is the seat of the Struwwelpeter Museum.
  The Fürsteneck house was a Gothic patrician stone building from the 13th century. Extensively restored in the 1920s, it burned out in 1944. The remains were torn down after the war.
  The house to the Golden Waage in Höllgasse west of the cathedral was an elaborately decorated Renaissance half-timbered building. Built between 1618 and 1619, it was renovated at the beginning of the 20th century. The Golden Libra burned out in 1944 and its remains were cleared in 1950. The reconstruction of the Golden Libra will reopen in 2018 as a branch of the Historical Museum.
  The Lichtenstein house was a Gothic patrician stone house on the south-western Römerberg, which was changed in the 18th century in the Baroque style. It burned down in 1944, the well-preserved but unsecured ruin was badly damaged in a storm in 1946 and, shortly thereafter, was torn down despite the planned reconstruction.
  The Rebstock farm was a half-timbered building from the 17th century and one of the most important inns in the old town. The poet Friedrich Stoltze was born here in 1816. Large parts were demolished at the beginning of the 20th century for the breakthrough of Braubachstrasse, the rest were destroyed in 1944. Two buildings of the former courtyard were reconstructed.
  Behind the Lämmchen was the name of a narrow alley between the Nürnberger Hof and the Chicken Market, in which some of the most important half-timbered houses in the city were located, including the houses Zum Nürnberger Hof, Zum Mohr
caption: Chicken market, 2018
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