Hauptwache (Frankfurt am Main)

The Hauptwache building

The Baroque building which gave the square its name was built in 1730. It was the headquarters of the city's Stadtwehr militia when Frankfurt was an independent city state (→ Free City of Frankfurt) and also contained a prison. In the 18th century Frankfurt still had city walls and its own army. Until 1864 the place surrounding the building was called Paradeplatz reflecting its military function.

In 1833 during the Frankfurter Wachensturm, the Hauptwache and the Konstablerwache were stormed in a failed effort by a small revolutionary force of native citizens, among others Gustav Koerner, and some people from different locations in Germany. When Prussia annexed the city in 1866 and took over military activities, the Hauptwache lost this role.

The prison remained and the Hauptwache also became a police station. In 1904, the building was used as a café and remains one to this day. It was the scene of the Hauptwache incident when French troops opened fire on students protesting against the French occupation of Frankfurt on 7 April 1920. Heavily burned in World War II bombing, it was reopened in a provisional form with an altered roof in 1954. In 1967, with the building of the U-Bahn tunnel through the city, it was dismantled so it could be moved and rebuilt over the new underground U-Bahn station. The plaza underwent another major renovation when the S-Bahn station for suburban trains was opened in 1978.

Hauptwache station serves as one of the most important crosspoints of the Frankfurt public transport system. Eight of nine S-Bahn lines serve the station as well as six of nine U-Bahn lines.

The Plaza

The plaza "An der Hauptwache" has been reformed several times. Its current appearance is marked by a sunken terrace leading down to an underground pedestrian area with shops and the public transport station. Frankfurters call the sunken area "das Loch" (the Hole).

The plaza contains a number of different architectural styles. It is towered above and dominated by St. Catherine's Church. Apart from the baroque Hauptwache itself, the surrounding buildings are mostly new architecture because of the damage from the war.

Connecting streets

• Shopping district streets
  • Straßenzug Biebergasse/Fressgass
  • Schillerstraße
  • Steinweg
  • Liebfrauenstraße
  • Zeil
• Thoroughfare Streets
  • Straßenzug Roßmarkt/Kaiserstraße
  • Große Eschenheimer Straße

Gallery

Hauptwache Wachgebaeude Cafe diagonal.jpg|The former guard-house with a café (front side) Hauptwache Kaufhof Verkehrsinsel Zeil.jpg|The Hauptwache plaza with the Kaufhof department store Hauptwache Das Loch.jpg|The Hole in the Hauptwache plaza William henry fox talbot zeil katharinenkirche hauptwache frankfurt am main 1846.jpg|Hauptwache in 1846, by William Fox Talbot Hauptwache Frankfurt.jpg|The Hauptwache at night, seen from the Kaufhof's roof garden

References

References

1. Bittner, Matthias. (29 June 2021). "Stadtteilgeschichte: Zehn Jahre ruhte der Cafebetrieb in der Frankfurter Hauptwache".
2. Rieb, Bruno. (10 January 2020). "Schinderhannes – Christian Vogel entzaubert den Mythos".
3. "Samhammer, Johann Jakob".
4. Gwinner, P.F.. (1862). "Kunst und Künstler in Frankfurt am Main: vom dreizehnten Jahrhundert bis zur Eröffnung des Städel'schen Kunstinstituts". J. Baer.
5. (2004). "Rund um die Hauptwache". Institut für Stadtgeschichte.
6. "Tote und Verletzte an der Frankfurter Hauptwache, 7. April 1920 LAGIS Hessen".
7. "Frankfurter Magistrat beschließt zeitweiligen Abriss der Hauptwache, 25. Januar 1966 : LAGIS Hessen".
8. "Baubeginn für den U-Bahnbahnhof an der Frankfurter Hauptwache, 5. August 1965 : LAGIS Hessen".
9. "Eröffnung der U-Bahn in Frankfurt, 4. Oktober 1968 : LAGIS Hessen".
10. Manus, Christoph. (30 September 2021). "Frankfurt: Was geschieht mit dem Loch an der Hauptwache?".