World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Frankfurt  - Culture
Culture

Often considered a dreary place of all work and no play, Frankfurt in fact offers visitors a lively and impressive cultural scene that provides a welcome diversion from its hard-nosed business activities. The Frankfurt authorities went into cultural overdrive in 1999, with numerous exhibitions, performances, lectures and tours to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Johann Wolfgang Goëthe - the nation's most celebrated man of letters and Frankfurt's most famous son. Another famous Frankfurter is the artist Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610) who played a key role in the development of seventeenth-century landscape painting. The Städel in Frankfurt houses his Altarpiece of the Cross (1604-06). Also born in the city were Paul Ehrlich and Arthur Schopenhauer. The Kunsthalle-Schirn (often shortened to Kulturschirn), Römerberg 6 (tel: (069) 299 8820), displays innovative art exhibitions. The city also has some high-calibre classical performance groups, particularly Ballett Frankfurt, directed by William Forsythe. Frankfurt is an important port of call on the European jazz circuit, with a number of excellent venues attracting international stars (see the Nightlife section).

Most performance venues are closed during July and August. Tourismus and Congress GmbH can provide information, although there is no central ticket agency.

Music: Rebuilt in its original style in 1981, the Alte Oper (Old Opera), Opernplatz (tel: (069) 134 00), is the city's most important and best-loved concert hall. The Frankfurt Museum Orchestra and touring companies perform here. Opera performances by Oper Frankfurt, however, are to be found at the Städtische Bühnen (municipal stages) on Untermainanlage 11 (tel: (069) 2123 7572). Tickets can be purchased through Frankfurt Ticket (tel: (069) 13 40 400; fax: (069) 13 40 444).

Theatre: Goëthe wrote the original versions of Faust - Urfaust and Götz von Berlichingen while he lived in Frankfurt. Top-class German theatre, including work by Goëthe, is performed by Schauspiel Frankfurt at one of the Städtische Bühnen (tel: (069) 2123 7101). Tickets available through Frankfurt Ticket. Excellent English productions can be enjoyed in the rather unprepossessing surroundings of The English Theatre, Kaiserstrasse 52 (tel: (069) 2423 1620). Theater am Turm, Bockenheimer Warte (tel: (069) 2123 7999), is the setting for avant-garde theatre.

Dance: Ballett Frankfurt performs at the Städtische Bühnen at Untermainanlage 11 (tel: (069) 2123 7180). Tickets available through Frankfurt Ticket.

Film: The Deutsches Filmmuseum, Schaumainkai 41 (tel: (069) 2123 8830), is the best of its kind in Germany. Permanent exhibitions (DM5) are supplemented by screenings of classic and independent films in the Kommunales Kino, every day except Monday. The Chaplin Archiv on Klarastrasse 5 (tel: (069) 9529 4477), is a permanent exhibition on two floors that gives a true impression of the late actor Charlie Chaplin, his work and life. On show are 450 rare film documents and 6000 remarkable pieces like old books, magazines, pictures, advertising materials and records related to the artist. Admission free.

Cultural events: Frankfurters let their hair down at over 100 folk festivals and street celebrations each year. The Frühjahrs- and Herbst-Dippemess (Spring and Autumn 'Dippe' Fairs) in April and September respectively, combine fairground rides and a traditional market selling stoneware. The Wäldchestag is an excuse for celebration in the Stadtwald in June and the year is brought to a close with Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets) around the city.

Literary Notes
Written while the author lived in Frankfurt, Die Leiden des jungen Werther (The Sufferings of Young Werther) is one of Goëthe's best-known works. The epistolary novel traces the tragic love of Werther for the beautiful but unobtainable Lotte. Goëthe's literary output was prodigious and eclectic, including collections of poetry, novels, plays and scientific works. Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-94) was born in Frankfurt in 1809 and became the leading doctor at the municipal madhouse. His writing includes lyrical poems, ballads, comic and satirical works and, most famously, Struwwelpeter (1848) - a series of pictorial and poetic cautionary tales for children. There is a dedicated Struwwelpeter-Museum at Schirn am Römerberg (tel: (069) 281 333). Recent German novels that offer a taste of the city include Regula Venske's Double für eine Leiche (Double for a Corpse) (1998) by featuring comings and goings at the international book fair.



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