construction of the grand tower in frankfurt am main.
in late july i met up with my frankfurt bestie l. at the shopping center skyline plaza - because it meant that it was air-conditioned, which sounded wonderful as the weather was so incredibly hot and humid that day and nothing else would've made us happy ( especially if that had meant that we had to be walking around in the heat ). we browsed the shops and did other funny shenanigans, like eating big ass ice cream desserts. when evening started to emerge we went up on top of the building, like, the roof and had some dinner inside ALEX restaurant. and when THAT was finished we decided to have a look at our surroundings, which are, in fact, BREATHTAKING. because the skyline plaza is situated right in the middle of frankfurt's skyscraper district you are able to gorge yourself on all the good buildings reaching up into the sky. as the evening hours went on, the sunny and hot day magically turned into a pleasurable blue hour marvel. really, i couldn't quite grasp the beauty of it all. i just know, that whenever there's someone visiting me, and they ask for a good sundown spot in the area, i will always recommend the skyline plaza to them. it's a really special place, that's for sure.
right next to the skyline plaza a 172 meter of a behemoth is under construction: the grand tower. it's gonna be germany's highest residential tower when it is completed this year. also a very expensive and exclusive one - and i do wonder if they will sell all the appartments there, i simply can't imagine that 400 families are rich enough to afford these high-end homes? they're worth about 3 and a half million euro - mind-boggling. and probably destroying even more of frankfurt's already undescribably high rent index...
well, it sure looks pretty amazing, though, i tell you that as an architecture afficionado.
i won't list all the towers seen here, but the one on the left front is tower 185 - a 200 meter high scyscraper. it is the 4th tallest skyscraper in germany. yes, as you noticed, we are playing with ballpark figures here! frankfurt is full of record-breaking architecture. i think that is probably the appeal of this city and the fact that it doesn't shy away from breaking rules either.
this one's the kastor building, which is part of an architectural ensemble including the pollux building on the other side of a little park that divides them. it is 'only' 95 meters high, but the design of this is so unusual. it was completed in 1997 and is a good example of postmodernism, which is known for defying the status quo of the international style and modern architecture. the buildings of postmodernism always showcase elements of contradiction and asymmetries, they rarely have the tendency to look 'in line' with their surroundings. i'd say postmodernism is a very cheeky architectural style, never quite taking architecture serious, but mocking it a bit. the architects responsible for this creation are kohn pedersen fox.
the tower in the back is the frankfurt tv tower, also called europe tower or ginnheim asparagus ( ginnheimer spargel - because it looks a bit like asparagus and is situated in the district of ginnheim ). it's the second highest structure of germany, with about 330 meters in height. ( of course it looks quite small here, because of the distance :P )
oh, the distinct pyramid roof of the messeturm ( trade fair tower ) 😍 it is especially wonderful to look at in the night, when it is illuminated. the messeturm is a figurehead of frankfurt history, 257 meters in height, and completed back in 1991. it was for a long time the highest building in europe - until 1997 when the commerzbank tower ( also in frankfurt ) was built. it is part of the messe frankfurt, the largest trade fair grounds of the world. helmut jahn was the creator of this iconic building, which also boasts elements of postmodernism.
on the left we continue with another high-rise of 159 meters height: the westend gate. it houses a marriott hotel and several high-end offices. it is also one of the older skyscrapers of frankfurt, completed in 1976! still looks pretty timeless ( as modern buildings do ;P )
above the roof of the skyline plaza. the dome belongs to the shopping center. in the back you can see that there's more construction going on - frankfurt is never without any cranes. it's a very busy city!
next to the grand tower ( not the one in the back - we'll zoom in on that one in the next picture ) is the commerzbank trading center from 1976. i love the offset window placement of the staircase!
but a more interesting building is this one, right? the triangle windows are so catchy and looking at it feels so pleasing in a way ( especially how the sunlight is reflecting back on those select few windows )! this is the westhafen tower - where the european insurance authority is situated. 110 meters in height, it is not one of the biggest towers, but at least a visually compelling one! it was completed in 2004 by the architects schneider + schuhmacher. you can find it near the river main on the former grounds of the westhafen, a main harbour.
the sun slowly faded and made way for a pastel coloured sky. i shot this into the direction of the taunus mountains. this is europa-allee, one of the bigger streets in frankfurt. there are several high-rise residentials on this street, on the left there's the praedium residential, and in the far back you can see axis residentials. and on the right you see the westside tower, another residential building.
but frankfurt is not entirely skyscrapers and costly residential buildings, either! the gallusviertel, while being a rather industrial and manufacture-related district of frankfurt, also is home to many people! and where there are people you also need churches. and therefore the galluskirche is greeting you from afar.
view up the grand tower.
and the other part of the kastor & pollux ensemble: the pollux building, 130 meter high. love the concave side of it!
this interesting looking structure that seems like it's straight out of the movie metropolis ( which frankfurt always reminds me of - it's like this city IS the movie ) is a power & heat supply station smack-dab next to the main river. it uses mainly natural gas & coal for the production. all three blocks were built in the 1990ies, even though the history of the power station dates back to the 1890ies.
the sun turned into a blurry blob of yellow and orange the more it set deeper down. soon enough the blue hour would start to arrive.
first pastel-coloured hues of the blue hour. the building on the bottom is the trade fair hall number 1.
the rooftop of the skyline plaza is called 'skyline garden'. you can eat outside ALEX and enjoy the view, but you can also just generally visit the garden without eating at the restaurant. there's a platform above the restaurant that you can enter ( and where all of these pictures were shot from ) and it gives you a pretty neat 360 degree view.
pink skies and industrial cityscapes. the gritty looking building is a deutsche bahn possession and was formerly the head office of the company. it still houses some administrative divisions. it was build by stephan böhm in 1993 in the style of functionalism.
flying flag on top of the festhalle ( the oldest building on the trade fair grounds ).
the sun was almost gone, but gave us a little spectacle before that happened.
by the way, on this day, i got a message from someone wanting to meet up with me, which made me super giddy and a tiny bit fearful, but at the same time excited. we had made conversation before via instagram, which was kept pretty friendly and without any expectations, but when that someone texted me on this day and asked to meet up, my anxiety flared up immensely. while i was pondering whether i should meet up with him or not, the views of this evening, in review, were maybe a reason why i decided to say yes. i was so charmed by the beauty of it all, that i felt like it was a wink from mother nature and the architecture gods (😏), to dive in and to overcome my fears - respectively my fear of meeting up with people i have never met before. it's funny how we humans can be affected by external happenings and take them as omens or signs. in my case it brought me 3 months of flying on a cloud of bliss, until it abruptly dissolved under me, without me noticing it. life's like that sometimes. you don't always see things coming or discover new signs that tell you the direction of where things might take you...
blue hour in full glory 😍
the curved roof belongs to hall 3 of the fair trade center.
the candy cotton colours of the evening light tinted everything so beautifully.
the last remains of the sun captured in the high-rises of the bankenviertel. from left to right: under construction tower of the omniturm, commerzbank tower, the skyper, the silver tower & galileo and in the far back a snippet of the eurotower can be made out.
i love to throw those 'artistic' pictures in - i think there's no explanation needed. just simple sunset glory.
zoomed out. showcasing the sparkassen-informatik high-rise ( from 2006 ) in the back situated in the bockenheim district and the messe torhaus in the front ( architect: oswald mathias ungers, 1984 ).
that sky was to die for!
better view on the upper part of the messe torhaus.
and the pyramid up on the messeturm was also beginning to glow.
it was such a sight to see the skyscrapers come to life in the evening. the windows were lit up one by one, and illumination elements came alive.
the sky garden was simply the perfect place to witness all this. i was awe-struck. that's the frankfurt charm. even when you think it's already mind-boggling in daylight, it will BAFFLE you at night.
my last picture from that evening shows you a building i haven't introduced to you yet: the 142 meter high city-haus I from 1976 by johannes krahn. in the back, yet again, the skyscrapers of the bankenviertel.
the next pictures were again shot in frankfurt, and i think it was the very next day even! met up again with my friend l. for a more thorough night excursion through the inner city of frankfurt. i always had wanted to do a night walk through frankfurt, because that is what makes frankfurt so special. it is a twinkly and sparkly metropolis after all.
in one of the former pictures you have already seen a tiny glimpse of this tower in the front - the eurotower. 148 meter in height and with a big fat euro sculpture in its 'front yard' it is a pretty distinct building in the middle of the inner city. it once served the european central bank as headquarters until they built a new skyscraper near the main river and moved there in 2015. since that time the tower is used by the european banking supervision of the ECB. the tower itself was built between 1971 and 1977 by one richard heil and johannes krahn.
in the middle of the picture you see the commerzbank tower again, the small black building is the global tower and the high one next to it is the taunusturm ( from 2014 ).
surrounding those tall buildings is a construction called wallanlagen. it's basically a park that surrounds the former inner city in a circular way - a 5 kilometer green belt, following the ground plots of the historic city wall. that wall does not exist anymore, at least not in a palpable way, only as an imaginary one. you can find all kinds of sculptures and fountains inside that huge park, such as this saurian fountain! it's the fairy-tale fountain. there's more to it, but i liked the critters most.
next to the taunustower there's another wonderful building: the japan center. i LOVE this building, it looks so neat! it's only 115 meter high, but wins you over with an elegance that reminds you of japanese temples. apparently, the inspiration behind this were tatami mattresses and toros ( stone lanterns ). it was erected in 1996 by the architect joachim ganz. the taunustower itself is also quite a pretty sight, it looks so chiselled, like out of a computer animation.
on the other side of the wallanlagen you can marvel at the twin towers of deutsche bank. they were completed in 1984 after a 6-year construction. the biggest bank of germany has its headquarters inside these buildings, hence the name. i LOVE how some of the skyscrapers on the other side are mirroring themselves inside the glass windows. the big one shows a building that is under construction, the marienturm, which will end up being 155 meter high when it's finished ( which should be this year ).
the taunustower again, with its adjacent residential tower ( the small one on the right ).
i just love the little windows, the brickstone facade and the symmetries on the japan center. next to it is the maintower from 1999, which is 200 meters in height.
this fountain is not far away from the frankfurt opera. it's the marshall fountain, named after a george c. marshall who initiated a lot of humanitarian aid after world war II. it depicts three water nymphs.
the old opera ( alte oper ) is an important part of frankfurt, a jewel that frankfurt citizens are very proud of. a lot of musical oeuvres had their premiere inside these halls and were put into a state of prominence and fame. opened in 1880, designed by richard lucae & built by philipp holzmann it is a house of splendor and cultural importance.
it is truly a very majestic sight, especially during the blue hour. the fountain is called the lucae fountain, after the designer of the opera.
and another perspective. it was such a balmy evening, too and lots of people were on the plaza in front of the opera. while i love my pictures human-free, sometimes it creates something special, like a capture of a moment in time.
changing the perspective even a slight bit, can reveal to you the disparity of old and new. these two high-rises ( from left to right ) are the 170 meter high opernturm ( opera tower - from 2010 ) and the 115 meter high park tower ( from 1972 ).
the mission statement of the opera is 'TO THE TRUE, THE BEAUTIFUL, THE GOOD'. it is a modified goethe quote from his poem 'epilogue of schiller's bell'. the illumination of the opera house is simply wonderful.
this little modern flatiron mock-up exuded such a perfect mid-century air. the building existed before it was renovated and rebuilt in 2016.
we also set foot into the church on hauptwache square - katharinenkirche ( st. catherine's church ), the largest protestant church in frankfurt. it's relatively simple interior-wise, shows elements of baroque architecture, though and some modern additions ( it was heavily bombarded in world war II, they couldn't really restore it to how it was before ). it stands on hauptwache square since 1681, so it is also one of the oldest churches in frankfurt.
the nave towards the altar.
we continued our little walk and reached the city hall. the structure consists of 9 buildings and forms the ensemble called römer, which is the official name of the city hall. this picture was shot from the side towards paulskirche ( i didn't take a photo of that church, though it is a very important one in germany's history - they declared the frankfurt constitution in 1849 there ). pictured here is 'haus zum goldenen schwan' - which was once a single patrician house until it was connected to the city hall ensemble. it was first mentioned in 1322. you can also see the 'bürgersaalgebäude' ( civic hall building ) on the right with its beautiful historicized facade from the 19th century.
i like a good discrepancy between aesthetic things and ugly street art ;) do i see a trump here?
we stopped at the historical museum ( which was re-opened in 2012 and 2017 with new looks ). the old building from the 70ies was torn down and built anew, while the historic parts of the museum were spruced up a bit.
it's a really nice building, actually, with lots of geometrical details and brickstone patterns.
all shiny and new ( i mean, it only got re-opened one year prior ). you can also see some of the historic structure as well, the house on the left is also part of the museum, but is definitely not a newly-built one.
a view down into the ancient courtyard with the aforementioned building. it is actually the oldest part of the whole complex, dating back to the time around 1200, when this area was allegedly part of the royal castle of the staufer dynasty ( that assumption is REALLY heavily debated, because it is very close to the actual found royal palace, but doesn't quite fit into the picture).
a few more details.
not far away from the museum is the river main and at night it is so spectacular! along the river you can marvel at the twinkling lights of the shore lanterns that highlight the pathways, the illuminated skyscrapers of the bankenviertel and other surrounding high-rises and enjoy the lively atmosphere of the city at night - which is a true hustle and bustle and so unfamiliar to me, every time i get to experience it. in wiesbaden the city rarely is so vital and animated, actually rather sleepy compared to frankfurt night life. this was into the downstream direction, where the gallus district is situated.
you can get these wonderful views on one of the many bridges crossing the main river - we traversed the bridge 'eiserner steg' on our night adventure. in the back you can see another bridge: untermainbrücke.
the view to sachsenhausen district and dreikönigskirche ( church of the 3 kings ). it was a full moon night and that contributed to the magic of it all!
the view upstream ( direction ostend ) where you can see the funny red lights of the new ECB headquarters. the dark spot surrounded by water is the only island frankfurt city has: the maininsel. you can't really see it, but over this island another bridge reaches onto the other side - alte brücke ( old bridge ), the oldest of all frankfurt bridges.
cute little blurry bokeh picture ❤ it was a failed shot of the next photo, but i ended up loving it.
a zoom-in on the old bridge and the ECB tower.
from the sachsenhausen shores you have a wonderful view on the bankenviertel and old frankfurt buildings ( such as st. leonhard church and the skyscrapers - with eurotower, taunustower, commerzbank tower as the most distinct ones in this picture ). i often refer this city to the emerald city of the wonderful wizard of oz, because i feel this might be the view that dorothy sees when she happens to come across emerald city. i know, i also refer to frankfurt as metropolis, thinking of that silent movie from the early german cinema days. both those fictive cities are perfectly in line with frankfurt, i think!
the frankfurt skyline from sachsenhausen. this view is... fucking amazing, there's no other way to describe it. 😍❤ and i am really proud of this picture!
we hung out on the meadows of the sachsenhausen shores for a while and enjoyed the views and good conversations. it was nearing midnight when we decided to head back to the inner city and home ( home meaning l.'s home in another district of frankfurt ).
we passed by cute little shops with perfect triangle lights! ( even for the illumination of the shops frankfurt is worth visiting, really! )
we ended our night walk with another magical encounter: the flight of the mayflies! we passed by one particular street lamp where hundreds of mayflies were fluttering around towards the light, searching for a mating partner. ( if that wasn't SIGN enough for what was to come for me in the future, i don't know what else would've been necessary to tell me that things were about to change for a tiny little while and end up almost the same way as those poor mayflies would eventually. )
( yes i'm being a bit dramatic, but damn, it is sort of true )
thus ends a post about frankfurt am main - the emerald metropolis.
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