Romerberg, Frankfurt — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Romerberg is the historic heart of Frankfurt and one of the most picturesque squares in Germany. Its row of half-timbered houses, the medieval Romer city hall, and the central Fountain of Justice have been the city's gathering place for over 600 years. The Romer, the complex of three stepped-gable houses that serves as Frankfurt's city hall, was purchased by the city council on March 11, 1405, and has been the seat of government ever since. During the Holy Roman Empire, the Kaisersaal (Emperor's Hall) on the second floor hosted coronation banquets, and portraits of 52 emperors still line the walls. In the 16th century, the Romerberg was considered the most beautiful square in the Holy Roman Empire. The square's centrepiece, the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice), dates to 1543 and features the figure of Justitia holding her scales, unusually without a blindfold. In March 1944, Allied bombing obliterated the entire old town district. What you see today is a faithful reconstruction completed between the 1950s and 1980s. The half-timbered facades along the Ostzeile (east row) were meticulously rebuilt to match their pre-war appearance. The Romerberg hosts Frankfurt's famous Christmas market, one of the oldest and largest in Germany, attracting over 3 million visitors each year. If you're on a Questo quest through Frankfurt, the Romerberg is where 600 years of German history, from imperial banquets to wartime destruction to painstaking reconstruction, are written into every facade.