I don’t see any problems with rebuilt monumental architecture. Wars, fires and other factors destroy beautiful things and restoring them in the name of culture, art and pride is something beautiful. Look at the beautiful Old Town of Warsaw. Compare that to untouched cities, where the outer and inner walls are also painted, renovated with new layers of stuca. There were even added extra pillars to the Acropolis…
I‘m actually also completely pro reconstruction, but what they did in Frankfurt is a mess. A few of the buildings are actually beautiful recreations, but most of them are just some weird fusion architecture that looks yucky and cheep and is giving Disneyland vibes.
But if you reconstruct, you should do it right and not simply glue an historic looking facade to a modern concrete-and-steel building which does not even share the same ground plan with the original building.
@@MichaEl-rh1kv It would be nice if old, beautifully decorated construction methods and the new ones were properly blended. Without today’s concrete, of course, which can’t stand up to anything. At most, we would need Roman concrete or something of the sort.
I would still say it's a good thing that Frankfurt started the reconstruction of the medieval part of the city. Other examples like Dresden or Cologne have shown that this strategy is successful in giving the cities back it's former beauty (at least partially). Other cities that fully focused on shaping themselves in 70s architecture are regarded as ugly today.
ปีที่แล้ว +2
there is not one mediaval building in this new build part. they are mostly barock.
@ fair enough my bad, but my comment is addressed to the general question if cities should try to reconstruct buildings that were lost in the second world war.
I love the 70s architecture and I am not even biased because I was born in the 90s. These old towns in Germany give me hillbilly vibes and I am right because I live in one of those and the people are not friendly most of the time.
There is nothing wrong with this newly reconstructed area of Frankfurt. Rather, it's most interesting project, showing people how it looked like before the war destroyed such a remarkable place. Many elements of the original buildings were built as parts of the new construction and this is something very special. It gives you a special feeling walking through the area knowing the past is not lost, but become a vital part of the new creation based on the original blueprints. A must visit, I recommend. It's awesome and a pride of Frankfurt, Germany, and it's history reminds us of the ugly war and what's the word would have been like if the WW2 didn't happen.
Indeed. I thinl most cities that were heavily destroyed and then chose to rebuild in modern style instead of at least trying to recreate the historic architecture, look like shit. Think of Hagen for example.
The maximum discrepancy between what it was historically before WWII and now can be visited in Kassel. First take a stroll through the city centre, then visit Kassel’s city history museum with a large model and lots of photographs of what it looked like. Finish your visit by taking a walk up the the Hercules, waving an angry fist at the heavens for the idiocy of 1950s car-centric city planning, that ruined this place arguably just as much as the war itself.
3:31 - This camera movement was awesome. In fact I felt this video was more dynamic when compared to previous Destination videos so I can only assume you are expanding your videography skills. Well done.
Ha-ha. My personal favorite place in Frankfurt. I visit it every year. :)) I missed in the video the mouth of Nidda and the tiny bridge over the Nidda. Nature lovers can cross Main with the Ferry and visit the Schwanheimer Dünen. Höchst can also be easily reached by bicycle from the city center.
Dear Andrew, I've always enjoyed your videos. This time, however, you have reinvented yourself and made a delightful excursion. Please, more like this!
First, at Römerberg there are many old parts. Have a look at Haus Wertheim, the only surviving house of the old Altstadt. And visit the Roman ruins between Römer and Dom. And the Historische Museum. The Hoechst AG has been split into many more companies beside Sanofi. There are many more on campus.
Ich mag die "Timelapse" Kamerafahrten. Man merkt zwar, dass die Kamera dabei nicht stabilisiert ist, aber das gibt dem ganzen auch einen gewissen Charme
Enjoyed this highlight outside Frankfurt. For another gem off the beaten path, travel another 80km south to Ladenburg am Neckar, founded by the Romans in 98 AD as Lopodunum. It has a nice Altstadt, many restaurants, and the oldest automobile garage in the world (used by Carl Benz, who lived and is buried here).
Was noch fehlt, ist der Bolongaropalast mit seinem Springbrunnen. Tatsächlich hat Napoleon dort auf seiner Flucht aus Russland genächtigt. Unterhalb davon mündet die Nidda in den Main. Zwischen den beiden Flüssen ist die Wörthspitz, heut zu Tage ein gemütliche Parkanlage. 😊 Ich verstehe aber auch gut, warum man das Video auf den Altstadtkern limitiert und den historischen Aspekt hervorhebt als Kontrast zum Römer(berg)
I'm not a professional on history around the 🌏🌎🌍 about different places. But this looks like a pleasant peaceful place to live. It's what most of the residents probably call home sweet home 🇺🇸
No offense but if you consider every rebuilding to be fake you wouldn’t be able to visit any major German city at this point, since all German cities pretty much got bombed to ashes and needed rebuilding.
I can recommend the Biergarten (the open air bar) in the castle yard. Its not under the best management in the sense that the owners seem to be unsure if they want to run a cafe or a bar and you might also find the owners kids toys lying around, but the location makes up for it and alcohol is alcohol in the end.
Hahaha, truly enjoyed this video by someone who sees the beauty. Höchst is still the best kept secret in Frankfurt , has no lobby and people are poor and hard working and they come from all corners of the world. I live in Frankfurt but I love Höchst that much that I am there nearly every weekend for the market and often only go home to the southern part of Frankfurt in the evening . But...but now EVERYBODY knows about my favourite garden !!😂
so I discovered this by accident. I was looking for a nice restaurant in frankfurt but didnt want to go to the inner city and because the restaurant where we wanted to go in frankfurt was closed. when you go by car you drive what seems to be a industrial complex. I was afraid that this would be a restaurant near a factory ... nice quaint town and the food was tasty too 7/10
Up until it's destruction during the Second World War, Frankfurt's old city district was one of the largest still standing medieval town centers in all of Europe.The new rebuild Altstadt, or _Neue Altstadt_ is not an exclusively residential area anymore, but instead hosts various cafés, bistros, artisan shops, high-end apartments for those who can afford them, and the Struwwelpeter Museum. The Höchster Altstadt on the other hand is a beautiful example of a living breathing old town district, and reminds me much of the old town where I live.
Ahh - Höchst... back when it was back-to-school for me I attended the trade school in Höchst for 4.5 years and while it was a laughable (put an almost completely studied teacher back into a school is... a weird and criticism provoking exercise, but hey) experience I got to spend some afternoons at the Main and checking out the Old Town. And while it has a somewhat tainted reputation in the area (not even remotely as tainted as Offenbach's on the other end of them S-Bahn line of course) as a bit poor and proletarian it's actually a super nice little town, essentially just "attached" to the Free and Imperial City. And much like Offenbach there are parts of the town which are just super nice and the fact that it's on the main affords it an area of pretty decent relaxation right in the city, much like both Frankfurt and Offenbach. So while I'm a Frankfurter by birth (🤣🙄), living in Karben and working in Offenbach I still sometimes end up on the Main riverside below the Old Town in Höchst because in my humble opinion it's one of the regionally most relaxing spots to be found! A Very nice feature, thank you! Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
I have to correct myself...about the person doing the video....i understand he is more thoughtful than I thought in re to my country ...i thank him for that. We suffered enough after the war like many others
Nice choice. There is a very good cycle path along the river Main from Frankfurt centre to Höchst. Try also Büdingen, about 40 KM north east of Frankfurt - well worth a day out.
Fun fact: even though Höchst has been a part of Frankfurt since 1928 it continued to be the seat of the adjacent Main-Taunus-Kreis district until 1987 instead of the much bigger Hofheim which is actually part of the district.
I ended up taking the 11 in the less spectacular direction when I was there, it seems. Fechenheim doesn't seem quite as picturesque as what you've shown here.
Nice video. As an amateur student of urban historic renewal projects I would be very happy to visit the rebuilt part of Frankfurt. I have visited Warsaw which was rebuilt in a similar way after the last war. I wish my own city would do more of this. As you say however there is plenty of interest to see and walk around in the rest of Frankfurt. Thanks for posting.
I live very close to Frankfurt - Höchst and I always thought that Höchst is a hidden jewel. I occasionally bring visitors here, usually in Summer to the Schloßplatz and have some great food, there. Thank you for this informative video. I did not know that the church is the oldest building in Frankfurt, neither that there is that garden behind there.
Wieder ein super schöner Über- oder Einblick, und mich freut, dass es Höchst getroffen hat - wie ich finde - zu Recht. Obwohl das Wetter beim Dreh düster und nass aussah, bleibt der Anblick der alten, historischen Gebäude davon unbenommen. Es sind Schönheiten für die Ewigkeit (so hofft man zumindest - aber hierfür braucht es Entscheidungen für Geldausgaben etwaiger Restaurationen und Reparaturen sowie Stadtväter, die nicht jede noch so hâssliche Lückenbebauung durchwinken) und bei jeder Wetterlage. Was mir in Höchst auch sehr gut gefällt, ist so ein uraltes, total schönes Glockenspiel, am Beginn der Einkaufszeile. Von diesem Klostergarten wusste ich nicht, danke fürs Informieren 🌻
You might consider doing the Ingelheim Imperial Palace compound. It has a very interesting story, many surprising corners, and the place has aged well, being inhabited but not commercially developed and is very much car free.
If you want to experience a more cozy old town, come to Oberursel. The "Altstadt" has many old buildings (Fachwerkhaus) and it is just 30 minutes from Frankfurt , a short drive with the € U3. Has a museum about the city's history as well. We have festivals, too.
Höchst is actually „not a good part“ of frankfurt. It is so close to the chemical plants and if you walk out of the old town you imidiatly understand what i mean. Nevertheless, i love the market place, the river side and I always take foreign work colleges there for dinner
Local fellow Brit here...as soon as I saw the title I knew it'd be Hoechst and the Zollturm. You are damn right that it was empty due to the weather on your visit, but for most of Summer in the evening the riverbank is a very popular place to relax. Not wealthy but not at all depressed is a very good description. You have missed the interesting phenomenon known as the 'Hoechster Schnee' though - a harmless chemical snow that occasionally falls for around a km or 2 around the industrial area - I've experienced it myself on a couple of Spring or Autumn mornings, which is when it seems to occur.
If you want to experience a picturesque old town I strongly recommend to visit "Gelnhausen". There is a big old town, a church which is partly gothic and partly romanesque furthermore there is the Kaiserpfalz (a castle ruin). Recently there established some nice Bars, Coffee Shops and Restaurants espacially in the "Langgasse". You can get there easily by train or car from Frankfurt.
Point taken, but since most German City centres were flattened by the allies bombing in WW2, what choice did they have? Höchst went bankrupt in 1929, which meant it had to apply to join its enemy Ffm! 😂 I am a former Sossenheim resident so I spent many years in and around Höchst, with the regular Chemical Alarms! 😆 However for the MTK losing Höchst to Ffm, left the Main Taunus Kreis without their Administrative Centre, this is why all roads from the MTK lead to Höchst! 😊 Greetings from the sunny Ostend in Ffm! Keep going I like your vids, always very interesting! 🙏🏼 👍🏽👋🏽
Also, if you have a couple days to visit, take the S4 or S5 to Bad Homburg, Kronberg and Königstein :) (From Dettweiler Tempel in Königstein there is a really good sight of Frankfurt)
For people with even more time to visit a medieval town near FFM, I’d recommend Marburg (Lahn). Going quite a bit further north Quedlinburg would be of interest because of its UNESCO world heritage status.
There's a very good reason why you should go there by tram, because the Bahnhofsvorplatz of Höchst and the Königsteiner Straße are one of the most disgusting places in Frankfurt. Nice video! My wife and I married in the Bolongaropalast.
A really beautiful place where time seems to have stopped a long time ago. I imagine it as a still livable oasis in this horrible today's world, and at the same time not far from the big city life.
When I wanted to do my PhD in Frankfurt I earned money by both teaching mathematics in Hoechst and at the Roemer. Yes, and sometimes I loved ro take the tram...
Hasn't almost everything medieval been repaired, renovated and rebuilt over the course of centuries to the point where it's basically the ship of Theseus? From that point of view, it's hardly much more "fake" than other old towns
I don't think this is an alternative because both Höchst and the old town square you were at the beginning of the video are small, so you can visit both.
To say that the Römberg area and the Neue Altstadt of Frankfurt are fake is just a bit too much. They are not the original medieval buildings, true, because of WW II bombing. They are reconstructions, rebuilds, but very, very good ones, done as carefully and with as much authenticity as possible. I would still recommend these places to any visitor.
Ist es nur mein Eindruck oder wird Höchst von jedem in unser Region immer als hässlich abgestempelt? Natürlich ist es nicht der schönste Stadtteil, aber es hat doch irgendwie einen Charm. Ich finde es gibt deutlich hässlichere Stadtteile
Höchst ist ein geteilter Stadtteil. Extrem schön am Mainufer, von der Nieder Wörthspitze aus kommend, mit der Fähre Richtung Schwanheimer Düne und Stadtwald, Hausbooten, Yachthafen, mittelalterliche Gebäude, Bolongaropalast und -garten und der Schiffsmeldestelle als Strandbar fühlt es sich an wie eine Urlaubsmetropole. Ausserdem gibt es absolut keinen Fluglärm, obwohl der Flughafen sehr nah ist. Ein absolutes Alleinstellungsmerkmal in Frankfurt. Direkt neben dem Altstadtidyll ist es allerdings in einigen Ecken nicht mehr ganz so hübsch. Trotzdem insgesamt ein sehr interessanter und heterogener Spot! Bisher noch ein Geheimtipp!
Have you ever done a video on how to translate Schloss to english? The internet would have me believe that castle is the correct translation, but I always felt that manor house or even palace would be a much better fit. Castle implies a devensive building. At least to my understanding of the word. Something a Schloss very deliberatly is not.
As one of your fellow originally-Brit-but-now-German dual nationals, I've always been wary of complaining about the historic centres of German cities not being original.
I think you are being a bit harsh on Frankfurt. However, that was very nice of you to feature Höchst. I have been there and think the city in general could use a few more tourists. There are other parts of town that are a little rougher than what you showed.
Home! Yes - Höchst is real - Frankfurt's eldest existing building is there BTW, the Justinuskirche from 829 Funny though, that you tell the Römerberg fake in front of about the view original buildings there :-) The Römer itself survived the american bombings and what was destroyed was not rebuild (up to now) I have been quite against the rebuilding of the old town but now like how it turned out.
The Römer was very heavily damaged indeed and had to be rebuilt -- here's what it looked like: www.frankfurt1933-1945.de/uploads/tx_frankfurt3345/hm_pwblickvomdom2.jpg The only building that survived intact was Haus Wertheim.
@@rewboss everything was damaged. But the fassadestill stood. Look at the surrounding here: www.fr.de/bilder/2019/03/17/11861186/1979122355-roemer-2iVLRJ5P1Sec.jpg
I already knew that this was kinda fake.. ( as in the buildings, ) I don’t understand why they couldn’t just build them one by one than just using an typical Disney/American planning where 50 buildings are all just one slab of concrete. Like Lubeck they reconstructed buildings one by one and it made it look more authentic I know that they’ll still be modern but it’d just look better in old town centers then having it to be fake
Firstly, they are not all made of concrete. Secondly, in Lübeck hardly anything is being reconstructed. Thirdly, the difference is that in Frankfurt one developer built all the buildings, in Lübeck each house is built by a different owner. So your train of thought is more in the direction of fake. They are all new buildings, so something like "authenticity" plays no role here. The idea itself is absurd. And no, the project in Lübeck looks mostly mediocre to bad. But modern architecture cast in traditional forms has never been a success anywhere.
I dislike Frankfurt as on my last visit I took a wrong turning and ended up in the Red Light District so the next day I avoided the city altogether and visited Wiesbaden instead which was well worth the trip. Next time Höchst looks worth visiting!
The problem with Frankfurt's Old Town is not that it was reconstructed. The problem is rather that it wasn't rebuilt authentically. The same goes for Dresden. In Poland, they have managed to do it properly, but the Germans for some reason must always add ugly modernist buildings. Höchst is a lovely place though!
Poland only has a handful of cities, germany's cities each took a different approach. Dresden looks 100% authentic, so does heidelberg, Freiburg and many more. I agree that the full authentic rebuild should be the way to go.
@@K__a__M__I Dude I’m not talking about fire safety, I am talking about adding modernist eye sores to what would otherwise be a beautiful reconstructed old town.
@@MegaCooliam Dresden 100% authentic? Not if you look at the buildings properly. And Heidelberg looks authentic because for the most part it actually is.
I don’t see any problems with rebuilt monumental architecture. Wars, fires and other factors destroy beautiful things and restoring them in the name of culture, art and pride is something beautiful. Look at the beautiful Old Town of Warsaw. Compare that to untouched cities, where the outer and inner walls are also painted, renovated with new layers of stuca. There were even added extra pillars to the Acropolis…
I‘m actually also completely pro reconstruction, but what they did in Frankfurt is a mess. A few of the buildings are actually beautiful recreations, but most of them are just some weird fusion architecture that looks yucky and cheep and is giving Disneyland vibes.
But if you reconstruct, you should do it right and not simply glue an historic looking facade to a modern concrete-and-steel building which does not even share the same ground plan with the original building.
@@MichaEl-rh1kv the worst part is that they didn’t even do the facades right.
@@MichaEl-rh1kv It would be nice if old, beautifully decorated construction methods and the new ones were properly blended. Without today’s concrete, of course, which can’t stand up to anything. At most, we would need Roman concrete or something of the sort.
@@zalba5710 Every reconstruction is kind of Disneyland!
I would still say it's a good thing that Frankfurt started the reconstruction of the medieval part of the city. Other examples like Dresden or Cologne have shown that this strategy is successful in giving the cities back it's former beauty (at least partially).
Other cities that fully focused on shaping themselves in 70s architecture are regarded as ugly today.
there is not one mediaval building in this new build part. they are mostly barock.
@ fair enough my bad, but my comment is addressed to the general question if cities should try to reconstruct buildings that were lost in the second world war.
@ Heidelberg for example was totally destroyed,... not ww2, but almost nothing left of what is medieval also.
@@rolandwittig9098 that's true for the upper floors, however the medieval cellar structure is mostly preserved
I love the 70s architecture and I am not even biased because I was born in the 90s. These old towns in Germany give me hillbilly vibes and I am right because I live in one of those and the people are not friendly most of the time.
As a native of this area, you are bloody right, go to Höchst on a Market day eg saturday, before noon and have a Look in to the Markthalle.
Tell the truth about your Frankfurt: It's dangerous, it's full of beggars, people from Africa, Arabs, Eastern Europeans...dangerous...
So true, the market is the best one in Frankfurt Imho
There is nothing wrong with this newly reconstructed area of Frankfurt. Rather, it's most interesting project, showing people how it looked like before the war destroyed such a remarkable place. Many elements of the original buildings were built as parts of the new construction and this is something very special. It gives you a special feeling walking through the area knowing the past is not lost, but become a vital part of the new creation based on the original blueprints. A must visit, I recommend. It's awesome and a pride of Frankfurt, Germany, and it's history reminds us of the ugly war and what's the word would have been like if the WW2 didn't happen.
Indeed. I thinl most cities that were heavily destroyed and then chose to rebuild in modern style instead of at least trying to recreate the historic architecture, look like shit. Think of Hagen for example.
The maximum discrepancy between what it was historically before WWII and now can be visited in Kassel. First take a stroll through the city centre, then visit Kassel’s city history museum with a large model and lots of photographs of what it looked like. Finish your visit by taking a walk up the the Hercules, waving an angry fist at the heavens for the idiocy of 1950s car-centric city planning, that ruined this place arguably just as much as the war itself.
@@capslock9031 Truth! Kassel is one of the best examples for how 50s and 60s city planners did more damage than even the war did in some ways.
3:31 - This camera movement was awesome. In fact I felt this video was more dynamic when compared to previous Destination videos so I can only assume you are expanding your videography skills. Well done.
Thanks for reminding that!
Ha-ha. My personal favorite place in Frankfurt. I visit it every year. :))
I missed in the video the mouth of Nidda and the tiny bridge over the Nidda.
Nature lovers can cross Main with the Ferry and visit the Schwanheimer Dünen.
Höchst can also be easily reached by bicycle from the city center.
Höchst interessant!
Dear Andrew, I've always enjoyed your videos. This time, however, you have reinvented yourself and made a delightful excursion. Please, more like this!
share the same sentiment. Please more of this .
It is far nicer in FfM old city than before when the eyesore of the technical council building stood there!
A sympathetic look at Hoechst, thanks.
First, at Römerberg there are many old parts. Have a look at Haus Wertheim, the only surviving house of the old Altstadt. And visit the Roman ruins between Römer and Dom. And the Historische Museum.
The Hoechst AG has been split into many more companies beside Sanofi. There are many more on campus.
Haus Wertheym is the oldest Resturant in Frankfurt.
What a great reminder that when traveling one can find beautiful and interesting things off the beaten path. Höchst certainly looks worth a visit.
I was stationed Hoechst 1961-1963. Happy to see what you showed which is quite different from what I remember.
Ich mag die "Timelapse" Kamerafahrten. Man merkt zwar, dass die Kamera dabei nicht stabilisiert ist, aber das gibt dem ganzen auch einen gewissen Charme
Enjoyed this highlight outside Frankfurt. For another gem off the beaten path, travel another 80km south to Ladenburg am Neckar, founded by the Romans in 98 AD as Lopodunum. It has a nice Altstadt, many restaurants, and the oldest automobile garage in the world (used by Carl Benz, who lived and is buried here).
Alt Schwanheim also has half timbered houses You can get there by hopping on the 12 tram
I’ve recently discovered your amazing channel while visiting Frankfurt Germany 🇩🇪 and I thank you 🙏 for all your educational information!😊
Many old buildings in Canterbury are re-constructions like this too!
Was noch fehlt, ist der Bolongaropalast mit seinem Springbrunnen. Tatsächlich hat Napoleon dort auf seiner Flucht aus Russland genächtigt. Unterhalb davon mündet die Nidda in den Main. Zwischen den beiden Flüssen ist die Wörthspitz, heut zu Tage ein gemütliche Parkanlage. 😊
Ich verstehe aber auch gut, warum man das Video auf den Altstadtkern limitiert und den historischen Aspekt hervorhebt als Kontrast zum Römer(berg)
Thanks for the video. Definitely worth visiting small places instead of big cities.
It's not fake, It's a recreation and as a born Frankfurt guy I love it. It's just beautiful.
Hi. Wenn man auf Besichtigungstour in Hoechst unterwegs ist, sollte man auch den Peter Behrens Bau im Industriepark besuchen.
Guess what, many of the world's "historic sites" are " restored" - that is, basically new. At least these folks dod a good job.
The coat of arms of the town I live in contains the "Manzer Rad" too. (Viernheim)
I'm not a professional on history around the 🌏🌎🌍 about different places. But this looks like a pleasant peaceful place to live. It's what most of the residents probably call home sweet home 🇺🇸
Höchst is one of the shittiest places to live in FFM, except the historical center, its very ugly with creepy ppl
No offense but if you consider every rebuilding to be fake you wouldn’t be able to visit any major German city at this point, since all German cities pretty much got bombed to ashes and needed rebuilding.
I can recommend the Biergarten (the open air bar) in the castle yard. Its not under the best management in the sense that the owners seem to be unsure if they want to run a cafe or a bar and you might also find the owners kids toys lying around, but the location makes up for it and alcohol is alcohol in the end.
Hahaha, truly enjoyed this video by someone who sees the beauty. Höchst is still the best kept secret in Frankfurt , has no lobby and people are poor and hard working and they come from all corners of the world. I live in Frankfurt but I love Höchst that much that I am there nearly every weekend for the market and often only go home to the southern part of Frankfurt in the evening . But...but now EVERYBODY knows about my favourite garden !!😂
so I discovered this by accident. I was looking for a nice restaurant in frankfurt but didnt want to go to the inner city and because the restaurant where we wanted to go in frankfurt was closed. when you go by car you drive what seems to be a industrial complex. I was afraid that this would be a restaurant near a factory ... nice quaint town and the food was tasty too 7/10
For timbered frame overkill I can recommend Limburg/Lahn, not too far away
Also not to forget the famed Limburg Cathedral. And it's very easy to visit from Frankfurt main station, with the regional train RB 22 going hourly.
Up until it's destruction during the Second World War, Frankfurt's old city district was one of the largest still standing medieval town centers in all of Europe.The new rebuild Altstadt, or _Neue Altstadt_ is not an exclusively residential area anymore, but instead hosts various cafés, bistros, artisan shops, high-end apartments for those who can afford them, and the Struwwelpeter Museum. The Höchster Altstadt on the other hand is a beautiful example of a living breathing old town district, and reminds me much of the old town where I live.
Ahh - Höchst... back when it was back-to-school for me I attended the trade school in Höchst for 4.5 years and while it was a laughable (put an almost completely studied teacher back into a school is... a weird and criticism provoking exercise, but hey) experience I got to spend some afternoons at the Main and checking out the Old Town.
And while it has a somewhat tainted reputation in the area (not even remotely as tainted as Offenbach's on the other end of them S-Bahn line of course) as a bit poor and proletarian it's actually a super nice little town, essentially just "attached" to the Free and Imperial City.
And much like Offenbach there are parts of the town which are just super nice and the fact that it's on the main affords it an area of pretty decent relaxation right in the city, much like both Frankfurt and Offenbach.
So while I'm a Frankfurter by birth (🤣🙄), living in Karben and working in Offenbach I still sometimes end up on the Main riverside below the Old Town in Höchst because in my humble opinion it's one of the regionally most relaxing spots to be found!
A Very nice feature, thank you!
Best regards
Raoul G. Kunz
I have to correct myself...about the person doing the video....i understand he is more thoughtful than I thought in re to my country ...i thank him for that. We suffered enough after the war like many others
Excellent video Andrew. A nice trip to take on this rather dull sunday :)
Good to see you on the move again!
Nice choice. There is a very good cycle path along the river Main from Frankfurt centre to Höchst. Try also Büdingen, about 40 KM north east of Frankfurt - well worth a day out.
Fun fact: even though Höchst has been a part of Frankfurt since 1928 it continued to be the seat of the adjacent Main-Taunus-Kreis district until 1987 instead of the much bigger Hofheim which is actually part of the district.
I ended up taking the 11 in the less spectacular direction when I was there, it seems. Fechenheim doesn't seem quite as picturesque as what you've shown here.
Nice video. As an amateur student of urban historic renewal projects I would be very happy to visit the rebuilt part of Frankfurt. I have visited Warsaw which was rebuilt in a similar way after the last war. I wish my own city would do more of this. As you say however there is plenty of interest to see and walk around in the rest of Frankfurt. Thanks for posting.
Thank you very much for this beautiful Trip Report!🙂👍
I live very close to Frankfurt - Höchst and I always thought that Höchst is a hidden jewel. I occasionally bring visitors here, usually in Summer to the Schloßplatz and have some great food, there. Thank you for this informative video. I did not know that the church is the oldest building in Frankfurt, neither that there is that garden behind there.
The atmosphere of the Christmas market in Höchst is wonderful.
Wieder ein super schöner Über- oder Einblick, und mich freut, dass es Höchst getroffen hat - wie ich finde - zu Recht. Obwohl das Wetter beim Dreh düster und nass aussah, bleibt der Anblick der alten, historischen Gebäude davon unbenommen. Es sind Schönheiten für die Ewigkeit (so hofft man zumindest - aber hierfür braucht es Entscheidungen für Geldausgaben etwaiger Restaurationen und Reparaturen sowie Stadtväter, die nicht jede noch so hâssliche Lückenbebauung durchwinken) und bei jeder Wetterlage. Was mir in Höchst auch sehr gut gefällt, ist so ein uraltes, total schönes Glockenspiel, am Beginn der Einkaufszeile. Von diesem Klostergarten wusste ich nicht, danke fürs Informieren 🌻
"And I strive to not be an average tourist". Andreas, you are sooo germanized :D
You might consider doing the Ingelheim Imperial Palace compound. It has a very interesting story, many surprising corners, and the place has aged well, being inhabited but not commercially developed and is very much car free.
If you want to see a stunning place try Fussen in Bavaria.
Funny to see it here. I actually grew up nearby in Frankfurt-Griesheim and went to school in Höchst for a couple of years.
That was a pretty small cart in relation to the amount of noise 😅
Thank you for this interesting suggestion.
You are the furste englishspeaking youtube WHO can pronounce the letter ö correctly. Well done
When I saw the title, I new it would be about Höchst!
Same
If you want to experience a more cozy old town, come to Oberursel. The "Altstadt" has many old buildings (Fachwerkhaus) and it is just 30 minutes from Frankfurt , a short drive with the €
U3. Has a museum about the city's history as well. We have festivals, too.
I also like travelling around a city by tram or bus when I'm not in a hurry for the same reasons.
Next video: Höchst has too much tourists XD
😆😆😆
Höchst is actually „not a good part“ of frankfurt. It is so close to the chemical plants and if you walk out of the old town you imidiatly understand what i mean.
Nevertheless, i love the market place, the river side and I always take foreign work colleges there for dinner
"It was a welcome change from all the krauts..." LOL
Local fellow Brit here...as soon as I saw the title I knew it'd be Hoechst and the Zollturm. You are damn right that it was empty due to the weather on your visit, but for most of Summer in the evening the riverbank is a very popular place to relax. Not wealthy but not at all depressed is a very good description. You have missed the interesting phenomenon known as the 'Hoechster Schnee' though - a harmless chemical snow that occasionally falls for around a km or 2 around the industrial area - I've experienced it myself on a couple of Spring or Autumn mornings, which is when it seems to occur.
I lived in Unterliederbach for some years which is the neighbour district and we called the Industriepark the one big snow canon.
If you want to experience a picturesque old town I strongly recommend to visit "Gelnhausen". There is a big old town, a church which is partly gothic and partly romanesque furthermore there is the Kaiserpfalz (a castle ruin). Recently there established some nice Bars, Coffee Shops and Restaurants espacially in the "Langgasse".
You can get there easily by train or car from Frankfurt.
Reconstruction is not "fake".
Point taken, but since most German City centres were flattened by the allies bombing in WW2, what choice did they have? Höchst went bankrupt in 1929, which meant it had to apply to join its enemy Ffm! 😂 I am a former Sossenheim resident so I spent many years in and around Höchst, with the regular Chemical Alarms! 😆 However for the MTK losing Höchst to Ffm, left the Main Taunus Kreis without their Administrative Centre, this is why all roads from the MTK lead to Höchst! 😊 Greetings from the sunny Ostend in Ffm! Keep going I like your vids, always very interesting! 🙏🏼 👍🏽👋🏽
Thank you - all the time that I lived in Frankfurt, I knew of Hoechst, but just assumed that it was an industrial wasteland.
As if thats not the case with London.
Besides, London has way more tourists anyways.
Also, if you have a couple days to visit, take the S4 or S5 to Bad Homburg, Kronberg and Königstein :)
(From Dettweiler Tempel in Königstein there is a really good sight of Frankfurt)
Excellent; I want to go!
This looks more interesting than the Hoechst industrial park, which I have only seen so far 🤔
Thanks.
For people with even more time to visit a medieval town near FFM, I’d recommend Marburg (Lahn). Going quite a bit further north Quedlinburg would be of interest because of its UNESCO world heritage status.
There's a very good reason why you should go there by tram, because the Bahnhofsvorplatz of Höchst and the Königsteiner Straße are one of the most disgusting places in Frankfurt. Nice video! My wife and I married in the Bolongaropalast.
Best Blooper To Date
3:12 The definition of irony: an Englishman complaining about bad weather 😂
A really beautiful place where time seems to have stopped a long time ago. I imagine it as a still livable oasis in this horrible today's world, and at the same time not far from the big city life.
Höchst - it doesn't get höher...
🤣
When I wanted to do my PhD in Frankfurt I earned money by both teaching mathematics in Hoechst and at the Roemer.
Yes, and sometimes I loved ro take the tram...
I see someone decided to photobomb your take " look ma I'm on TV" 🤣
Hasn't almost everything medieval been repaired, renovated and rebuilt over the course of centuries to the point where it's basically the ship of Theseus? From that point of view, it's hardly much more "fake" than other old towns
I don't think this is an alternative because both Höchst and the old town square you were at the beginning of the video are small, so you can visit both.
I've got one more reason to visit Frankfurt then.
Nice!
To say that the Römberg area and the Neue Altstadt of Frankfurt are fake is just a bit too much. They are not the original medieval buildings, true, because of WW II bombing. They are reconstructions, rebuilds, but very, very good ones, done as carefully and with as much authenticity as possible. I would still recommend these places to any visitor.
wow.... Love & Regards from Pakistan
1:15 hes walking past my neighbors restaurant boat
Now I know what to do with my
Deutschland-Ticket.
I would just go to Offenbach
I went there yesterday
Yeah the buildings in höchst are old but even the oldest building there isn’t medieval. I dont mean the church i mean the houses.
Ist es nur mein Eindruck oder wird Höchst von jedem in unser Region immer als hässlich abgestempelt? Natürlich ist es nicht der schönste Stadtteil, aber es hat doch irgendwie einen Charm. Ich finde es gibt deutlich hässlichere Stadtteile
Höchst ist ein geteilter Stadtteil. Extrem schön am Mainufer, von der Nieder Wörthspitze aus kommend, mit der Fähre Richtung Schwanheimer Düne und Stadtwald, Hausbooten, Yachthafen, mittelalterliche Gebäude, Bolongaropalast und -garten und der Schiffsmeldestelle als Strandbar fühlt es sich an wie eine Urlaubsmetropole. Ausserdem gibt es absolut keinen Fluglärm, obwohl der Flughafen sehr nah ist. Ein absolutes Alleinstellungsmerkmal in Frankfurt. Direkt neben dem Altstadtidyll ist es allerdings in einigen Ecken nicht mehr ganz so hübsch. Trotzdem insgesamt ein sehr interessanter und heterogener Spot! Bisher noch ein Geheimtipp!
Hoechst interessant.
Look at him, living in Germany and complaining about the krauts..
3:43 but that Spiral stair is not historic and looks ugly.
Have you ever done a video on how to translate Schloss to english? The internet would have me believe that castle is the correct translation, but I always felt that manor house or even palace would be a much better fit. Castle implies a devensive building. At least to my understanding of the word. Something a Schloss very deliberatly is not.
I've certainly considered that as a video.
As one of your fellow originally-Brit-but-now-German dual nationals, I've always been wary of complaining about the historic centres of German cities not being original.
I think you are being a bit harsh on Frankfurt. However, that was very nice of you to feature Höchst. I have been there and think the city in general could use a few more tourists. There are other parts of town that are a little rougher than what you showed.
visit the bahnhofsviertel
0:19 like the ones right behind you?
bahnhofsviertel maybe
Home! Yes - Höchst is real - Frankfurt's eldest existing building is there BTW, the Justinuskirche from 829
Funny though, that you tell the Römerberg fake in front of about the view original buildings there :-) The Römer itself survived the american bombings and what was destroyed was not rebuild (up to now)
I have been quite against the rebuilding of the old town but now like how it turned out.
The Römer was very heavily damaged indeed and had to be rebuilt -- here's what it looked like: www.frankfurt1933-1945.de/uploads/tx_frankfurt3345/hm_pwblickvomdom2.jpg
The only building that survived intact was Haus Wertheim.
@@rewboss everything was damaged. But the fassadestill stood. Look at the surrounding here: www.fr.de/bilder/2019/03/17/11861186/1979122355-roemer-2iVLRJ5P1Sec.jpg
Wo ist das Problem??
Why not visit? You shouldn't "only" visit this place... If you have enough time, you should also visit the other places!
Frankford!
I already knew that this was kinda fake.. ( as in the buildings, ) I don’t understand why they couldn’t just build them one by one than just using an typical Disney/American planning where 50 buildings are all just one slab of concrete. Like Lubeck they reconstructed buildings one by one and it made it look more authentic I know that they’ll still be modern but it’d just look better in old town centers then having it to be fake
Firstly, they are not all made of concrete. Secondly, in Lübeck hardly anything is being reconstructed. Thirdly, the difference is that in Frankfurt one developer built all the buildings, in Lübeck each house is built by a different owner. So your train of thought is more in the direction of fake.
They are all new buildings, so something like "authenticity" plays no role here. The idea itself is absurd. And no, the project in Lübeck looks mostly mediocre to bad. But modern architecture cast in traditional forms has never been a success anywhere.
I dislike Frankfurt as on my last visit I took a wrong turning and ended up in the Red Light District so the next day I avoided the city altogether and visited Wiesbaden instead which was well worth the trip. Next time Höchst looks worth visiting!
The problem with Frankfurt's Old Town is not that it was reconstructed. The problem is rather that it wasn't rebuilt authentically. The same goes for Dresden. In Poland, they have managed to do it properly, but the Germans for some reason must always add ugly modernist buildings. Höchst is a lovely place though!
Because fire safety, accessibility and building regulations are a thing today. And it is a thousand times better than what was there before.
Poland only has a handful of cities, germany's cities each took a different approach. Dresden looks 100% authentic, so does heidelberg, Freiburg and many more. I agree that the full authentic rebuild should be the way to go.
@@K__a__M__I Dude I’m not talking about fire safety, I am talking about adding modernist eye sores to what would otherwise be a beautiful reconstructed old town.
@@MegaCooliam Dresden 100% authentic? Not if you look at the buildings properly. And Heidelberg looks authentic because for the most part it actually is.
That "some reason" is called corruption.
Frankfurt / Höchst == Stuttgart / Weil der Stadt ;)
" the weather was pretty miserable " says a man from a country famous for its shitty weather . 😂
Saint Anthony's Fire or gangrenous ergotism