Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt (Oder) share the same city name and can sometimes be confused. But why is there more than one name?
Frankfurt – We start by car at the Römerberg in Frankfurt and leave the city in the north. Through the Wetterau via Gießen to the east in the direction of Bad Hersfeld, our journey soon leads over the state border from Hesse to Thuringia. Continue on the A4 eastwards, past Erfurt and behind Jena onto the A9. The autobahn now heads north, via Leipzig and Lutherstadt Wittenberg to Potsdam. Here we continue east again, first on the A10, then on the A12. South past Berlin until just before the Polish border. After 618 kilometers we have arrived at the Oderturm, where Frankfurt’s town hall is located.
Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt (Oder) – Are there historical connections between the cities? Which Frankfurt is older? And are the two the only Frankfurts there are? Only a city comparison can answer these and other questions.
Which Frankfurt is older? Franconofurd clearly beats Vrankenforde
Frankfurt am Main was first mentioned in 794 by Charlemagne as Franconofurd. Frankfurt (Oder), on the other hand, only made it into the history books as Vrankenforde in 1226. Today’s Main metropolis was first settled and developed by the Romans around today’s Römerberg. At that time it could only be reached from the west without getting wet. It is close to a ford that was used to cross the river very early on and was therefore of economic and military importance.
When Frankfurt (Oder) was founded in 1226, the Romans had long since settled on land. Rather, at that time merchants were referred to as Franconians. The explanation that merchants settled on the Oder and founded another Frankfurt would be easy, but this cannot be proven and would raise the question of where in the Oder a ford (was) should have been. There isn’t and wasn’t one. However, Vrankenforde could have been brought by merchants from the Main to the Oder. This thesis also exists, but it too cannot be proven.
Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt (Oder) in comparison: Main metropolis older and larger – eagle in the coat of arms
A look at the population figures also speaks a clear language. Since June 2022, Frankfurt am Main has officially had more than 760,000 inhabitants for the first time. Frankfurt (Oder) has lost around 30,000 residents since the fall of the Wall and the reunification of Germany. In 2021, the official population was estimated at around 57,000.
However, the two cities have one thing in common: the eagle in the coat of arms. In Frankfurt am Main it is a silver eagle on a red background, the origins of which lie in the imperial and royal coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire. In the city coat of arms of Frankfurt (Oder) you can see not only a rooster but also the Mark eagle, which also goes by the names of Brandenburg and Red Eagle.
Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt (Oder) in comparison: Goethe meets Kleist
Frankfurt am Main has produced many famous sons and daughters, but there’s one you simply can’t miss when you visit the Main metropolis: Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The university is named after him, there is the Goethehaus and the Goetheturm. One of the most important German writers is also one of the most important celebrities in his hometown.
The Goethe in Frankfurt, Brandenburg is called Heinrich von Kleist. Since 1999 it has even been allowed to call itself Frankfurt (Oder) Kleiststadt. The playwright was born there in 1777. Today there is a museum, concert, theater and cultural venues in the city that bear his name, as well as the Kleist Forum and Kleist Park. There is also a university in Frankfurt (Oder). However, it is not named after Kleist, but is called the European University Viadrina. Law, economics and cultural studies are taught here. A branch, the Collegium Polonicum, is located on the other side of the Oder, in the neighboring Polish town of Slubice.
Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt (Oder) in comparison: Eintracht, boxing, the mayors and the many other Frankfurts
The flagship of the Hessian metropolis is, of course, sporty Eintracht Frankfurt. Ice hockey, American football and basketball are also well received on the Main, but football is clearly number one in the city. In the 1980s and 1990s, Frankfurt (Oder) also became better known through sport: through the boxers Henry Maske and Axel Schulz.
But Frankfurt (Oder) has one thing ahead of its popular namesake: a mayor who is firmly in the saddle. After Peter Feldmann was voted out, the Frankfurt am Main a new mayor on March 5th. René Wilke of the Left Party has governed in the Oderstadt since 2018. He has been elected for eight years and will therefore be in office until 2026.
Frankfurt am Main and Frankfurt (Oder) are not so alone with their names, or in pairs: There are two other Frankfurts in Germany. One is in Bavaria between Würzburg and Nuremberg and is a district of the municipality of Markt Taschendorf. The fourth Frankfurt is part of the city of Wanzleben in Saxony-Anhalt. Worldwide there are the city names Frankfurt in the USA (17), in South Africa (2), in Australia, Ireland and Canada and Australia (1). (csa)
