City in Hessen, West Germany, 72 km/45 mi NE
of Mannheim; population (1988) 592,000. It is
a commercial and banking centre, with
electrical and machine industries, and an
inland port on the river Main. An
international book fair is held annually.
history Frankfurt was a free imperial city
from 1372 to 1806, when it was incorporated
into Prussia. It is the birthplace of the
poet Goethe. It was the headquarters of the
US zone of occupation in World War II and of
the Anglo-US zone 1947-49.