Online-Card - Frankfurt (Oder)

Since receiving the Town Charter in 1253 Frankfurt (Oder) has had a varied but always interesting history. Owing to its favourable site the city has always been a centre for trade and development between eastern and western Europe. The splendid Town Hall and the St. Marienkirche (St. Mary‘s Church) - the largest hall church in northern Germany - bear witness through their north German brick gothic style to this period of the city‘s history. In 1506 the first state university in Brandenburg was founded in Frankfurt (Oder). Such famous names as the brothers Humboldt, Ulrich von Hutten, Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach and Thomas Müntzer can be found in the early registers.

Frankfurt‘s most famous poet, Heinrich von Kleist, was born in 1777 near the Oder - since 1998 the city bears his name. The Kleist city is home to the world‘s only Kleist Museum and plays host each year to the Kleist Festival Days which successfully combine serious and popular cultural events. In March 2001 the Kleist Forum Frankfurt (Oder) was opened as a cultural centre and European congress centre in the heart of the city. This modern new site for cultural, academic, economic and metropolitan events offers space for theatre performances, concerts, meetings, congresses and dance balls of all sizes - from 5 to 500 visitors.