In my last post I mentioned our visiting two extremes on one Saturday. First was the Ziel, a high-end shopping district where, surprisingly, the farmers market also happened to be. And after enjoying the literal fruits of our visit there (Holunderbluten and bratwurst), we walked a few kilometers to the contrastingly beautiful historic area called Romer Platz. This area is exactly what one thinks of when envisioning old Germany!
The three similar buildings are the Romer, or Town Hall.
And across the square, facing the Romer, is another equally beautiful row of half-timbered buildings, thus giving one the feeling of being in a fairy tale setting! The entire area is called the Romerberg. The original buildings, destroyed during WWII, dated back to the 15th century, were restored as closely as possible. The Kaiserdom church is in the background.
And across the square, facing the Romer, is another equally beautiful row of half-timbered buildings, thus giving one the feeling of being in a fairy tale setting! The entire area is called the Romerberg. The original buildings, destroyed during WWII, dated back to the 15th century, were restored as closely as possible. The Kaiserdom church is in the background.
This Statue of Justice (Justicia) is right in the center of it all.
And so are the "street statues" who rigidly pose in hopes of getting a Euro or two for looking "cool"!
Situated at one end of this historic square is the Old St. Nicholas Church (Alte Nikolaikirche), built in 1290, where originally the families of the city councillors were allowed to worship and have prime viewing of any festivities in the square below.
The Church of St. Bartholomaus, later dubbed the Kaiserdom or Imperial Cathedral, played quite an important role in German history. German kings and emperors were elected at this site from 1152 onwards and crowned in this building from 1562 on as well. Too bad you can't get a pic of the big building all at once; it's very big and squeezed in between other buildings. But it's awesome!
St.Paul's Church, where Germany's first freely elected parliament met in 1848, was another very impressive building in this historic part of town, .
And then as we headed towards a famous walking bridge, we passed by the Bridge of Sighs. In Venice a similar bridge is called that because it links the courthouse to the prison; I'm not sure if this is named for the same reason here or not, but it's very similar and pretty.
The walking bridge, Eiserner Steg, is fun to walk across and get a good view of the town and the beautiful Main River. The bridge is totally inundated with "lovers locks," and I wonder how long they can remain before they'll have to be removed.
This church alongside the river, St. Leonard's, is the oldest one in Frankfurt, built in 1219.
Contrast that to the modern skyline just a few hundred yards upriver !
All in all, it was a great experience, and just a couple miles from our apartment!
Not bad for a nearby Saturday excursion!
Just crazy. In a cool and awesome way!
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