Frankfurt, Germany, is one of the few European cities with a large cluster of high rise buildings in its downtown area. In many other European cities, skyscraper construction was not well received in the past due to the historical value of existing buildings. For this reason, Frankfurt is sometimes referred to as "Mainhattan" (a portmanteau of the local Main river and Manhattan), and Chicago am Main. The 15 tallest buildings in Germany are located in Frankfurt.
The tallest structure in Frankfurt is the Europaturm, which rises 337 metres (1,106 ft). However, the tower is not generally considered a high-rise building as it does not have successive floors that can be occupied. The tallest habitable building in Frankfurt is the Commerzbank Tower, which rises 259 metres (850 ft) and has 56 floors. As of December 2024, it is the 22nd-tallest building in Europe and the second tallest building in the European Union.
Most of Frankfurt's downtown area was destroyed by Allied air bombardment during World War II, and only a small number of the city's landmarks were rebuilt. This left ample room for and little opposition against the construction of modern high-rises in the city. Frankfurt went through a first high-rise building boom in the 1970s; during this time, the city saw the construction of nine buildings over 100 metres (330 ft). In the 1990s, Frankfurt went through another building boom, with eight buildings over 100 metres (330 ft) completed, including four of five 200 metres (660 ft) skyscrapers. Since 2000, Frankfurt has been experiencing a continuous building boom, starting with 5 (2000–2009), 7 (2010–2019) and probably 13 (2020–2029). As of 2024, the city has 20 buildings which rise at least 150 metres (490 ft) in height, more than any other city in Germany.
The increasing demand for real estate, the exit of Great Britain from the European Union and the favorable economic development in Germany led to a new "boom" in high-rise construction from 2015 onwards. In addition to the 185-meter-high new building of the European Central Bank, high-rise projects such as the Omniturm, the Maintor site and the development of the former Deutsche Bank site with four high-rises between 120 and 228 meters embody this development. With the 180-meter-high Grand Tower, Germany's tallest residential high-rise has been located in Frankfurt am Main since its completion in 2020.
There are several proposed and approved plans for new skyscrapers, including Millennium Tower I, 288 metres (945 ft), Das Präsidium, 175 metres (574 ft), Millennium Tower II, 157 metres (515 ft).
Tallest buildings
This lists ranks the tallest buildings in Frankfurt that stand at least 100 metres (328 ft) tall. Only habitable building are ranked which excludes radio masts and towers, observation towers, steeples, chimneys and other tall architectural structures. These buildings are included for comparison.
Under construction or proposed
Under construction
Proposed
Timeline of tallest buildings
This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Frankfurt.
See also
- List of tallest buildings by German federal state
- List of tallest buildings in Germany
- List of tallest buildings in Europe
Notes
- A. ^ Topped out but not completed.
References
- General
- "Tall buildings of Frankfurt". Phorio. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
- Specific
External links
- SKYLINE ATLAS - An online book about the skyscrapers in Frankfurt with more than 250 pages - incl. all high-rise buildings under construction and planned
- Frankfurt Skyscraper Map
- Diagram of Frankfurt skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage.com
