Frankfurt (Oder)
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Frankfurt (Oder) [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] ( Sorbian/Lusatian: Frankobord ) is a city in Brandenburg, Germany located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the city of Słubice. It is referred to as "Frankfurt (Oder)" (or "Frankfurt an der Oder") to distinguish it from the larger city of Frankfurt am Main.
Population: 64,399 (January 2005).
History
The town of Frankfurt was founded in the 13th century (local government charter in 1253) at the free ford (frank furt means a free crossing) known as the Brandendamm. The early settlers lived on the western banks of the Oder: later the town was extended to the eastern bank (which is today Polish). In late medieval times the town dominated the trade on the river between Wrocław (Breslau) and Szczecin (Stettin). In 1430 Frankfurt joined the Hanseatic League, but was a member for only a short time.
The Elector of Brandenburg founded a university here, the Viadrina, whose Chancellor, Bishop Georg von Blumenthal (1490-1550) was a thorn in the side of the Reformation.
In the 19th century, Frankfurt played an important role in trade. Centrally positioned in the Kingdom of Prussia between Berlin and Poznań (Poland), and on the heavily-trafficked river Oder, the city housed the second-largest annual trade fair (Messe) of the German Reich, surpassed only by that in Leipzig.
There was intense fighting for the city in 1945 when the Germans made it a fortress blocking the Soviets from taking the direct route to Berlin. After World War II Frankfurt was located on the new Polish border; the part on the eastern bank became the Polish city of Słubice.
The towns now have friendly relations and run several common projects and facilities. After Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, Frankfurt became less of a border town. Despite this, in the post-communist era the town has been quite poor with high unemployment. Its population has fallen significantly from around 87,000 at the time of German reunification in 1990.
European University
- Main article: Viadrina European University
Films set in Frankfurt
In recent years, Frankfurt has been the setting for several notable German films:
- 2002 Halbe Treppe (Grill Point)
- 2003 Lichter (Distant Lights)
- 2004 Die Kinder sind tot (The Children Are Dead, a documentary about a 1999 murder-by-neglect in Frankfurt)
- 2004 No Exit (Documentary about Neo-Nazis)
- 2005 Kombat Sechzehn (Combat Sixteen)
Gallery
External links
- The [City of Frankfurt (Oder)] has a German language-only web site with some limited commerce and cultural information.
- [Frankfurt]
- [Słubice]
- [Polenmarkt] in German language
- [Bazar] in German language
- [Tram Frankfurt (Oder)]
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