Travel Guide Frankfurt Am Main

Frankfurt-an-der-Oder - as it is called in German - is not to be confused with its big sister in the West, Frankfurt am Main. Once an important trading centre on the road to what was once eastern Germany, for half a century it found itself at a dead end, separated from its former suburbs by the Polish border, which now runs along the Oder River. Its former right bank suburbs have become a Polish city, Słubice. Since the fall of communism, and even more so since Poland joined the EU, this quirk has allowed these two cities to be, like some others on the border, a model for the future "eurocity", a transnational European city. The Frankfurt/Słubice couple has implemented a large number of successful common policies. The foundation of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt contributes, in the same logic, to "open up" the city and revitalize this cross-border area. Destroyed 90% by a bombing in April 1945, Frankfurt does not have the characteristics of a historic city. But one should not forget its prestigious past: its university, founded by Joachim I in 1506 - the first in the Electorate of Brandenburg - included among its illustrious students Thomas Müntzer, Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, and the romantic Heinrich von Kleist. Today, around 6,200 students are enrolled at the Europa-Universität Viadrina, a quarter of them foreign students.