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Frankfurt (Oder) is a city in Brandenburg, Germany located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the city of Słubice. In German, 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 town 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 Frankfurt housed a university between 1506 and 1811. It was refounded in 1991 under the old name, but with a European emphasis, as the Viadrina European University, which in several respects is a common German-Polish university. Films set in Frankfurt In recent years, Frankfurt has been the setting for several notable German films: Gallery Image:FrankfurtOderRathaus.JPG|The Gothic town hall Image:EUV-FFO.JPG|Viadrina European University, with the tower of the Marienkirche Image:FFOArchive.JPG|The city archives and the C.P.E. Bach Concert Hall Image:Oderturm.JPG|The Oderturm, tallest building in Frankfurt Image:FrankfurtOderPost.JPG|The neo-Gothic post office Image:FriedenskircheFFO.JPG|The Friedenskirche Image:Oderbruecke.JPG|The Oder bridge joining Frankfurt with Słubice Image:FrankfurtOderRiverView.JPG|View of northern Frankfurt riverfront Image:FrankfurtOderStation.JPG|Main railway station Image:GrosseScharrnstrasseFFO.JPG|Große Scharrnstraße, rebuilt in the late 1980s Image:Frankfurt_Oder_oben.jpg|View from the Oderturm Image:PaulinenhofFFO.jpg|The Paulinenhof settlement, built in the 1920s for railway employees | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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