About Frankfurt

De-Frankfurt_am_Main-pronunciation.ogg|Frankfurt am Main (German: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊət], English: [ˈfɹæŋkfɜːt^h] American English: [ˈfɹɛŋkfɝt]) is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2007 population of 667,598. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001. The city is at the center of the larger Frankfurt Rhine Main Area which has a population of 5.3 million and is Germany's second largest metropolitan area.

Situated on the River Main, Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany and one of the two largest financial centres in continental Europe, the other being Paris. It is the place of residence of the European Central Bank, the German Federal Bank, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Frankfurt Trade Fair. Frankfurt International Airport is one of the world's busiest airports, Frankfurt Central Station is one of the largest terminal stations in Europe and the Frankfurter Kreuz (Autobahn interchange) is the most heavily used interchange in Europe. Frankfurt is the only German city listed as one of ten Alpha world cities.

Among English speakers the city is commonly known simply as "Frankfurt", though Germans occasionally call it by its full name when it is necessary to distinguish it from the other (significantly smaller) Frankfurt in the German state of Brandenburg, known as Frankfurt (Oder). It was once called Frankfort-on-the-Main in English, a translation of Frankfurt am Main. It is sometimes called FFM or Ffm, which is short for Frankfurt am Main. On road signs its mostly shortened as "F", for example "F-Sachsenhausen".

Frankfurt is sometimes nicknamed "Bankfurt", "Mainhattan" (a word-play with the local River Main and Manhattan) or "The Big Äppel" (also a reference to New York City and the local "Äppelwoi", or apple wine, a type of cider which is produced and drunk mainly in the region).


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