| 794 | First official reference of “Franconovurt” (City of Franks) as venue for a significant ecclesiastical council of Franconian nobility under the direction of Emperor Charlemagne. |
| 822 | Emperor Ludwig the Pious orders the construction and renovation of Frankfurt´s palatial residences. |
| 1074 | First official mention of a royal tariff in Frankfurt. |
| 1150 | First official mention of the Frankfurt fair (Autumn fair). |
| 1152 | Frederick Barbarossa elected king of Germany in Frankfurt. |
| 1157 | A royal certificate historically substantiates the existence of the Frankfurt fair. |
| 1222 | First official mention of the Main Bridge. |
| 1240 | Frederick II guarantees visitors of the Frankfurt fair safe passage to and from Frankfurt. This marks the beginning of Frankfurt´s tradition as an international trade fair centre. One year later, official tax documentation specifies Frankfurt as the German Empire´s most profitable city. |
| 1247 | Heinrich I is named first landgrave of Hesse. |
| 1254 | Frankfurt joins the Rhenish City Alliance. |
| 1356 | Frankfurt is selected as electoral site for German kings by way of the “Golden Bull”, i.e., the imperial constitution. |
| 1372 | Frankfurt is named a "Free Imperial City" and is thus member of the Reichstag, i.e., a self-governing city-state dutybound only to the empero. |
| 1405 | The city council purchases two houses, “Zum Römer“ and “Zum Goldenen Schwan“ and converts them into a town hall. |
| 1417 | Frankfurt, as an imperial city, is requested by King Sigismund to partake in the Council of Constance. |
| 1460 | A Jewish district is formed into which all Jews must move. |
| 1478 | Book merchants make their first appearance at the Frankfurt fair. In the decades to come, Frankfurt´s reputation and standing as Germany´s premier centre of trade continues to grow. Thousands flock to the annual fairs to sell and buy expensive consumer goods such as books, weaponry, fabrics, herbs and spices; the first cashless payments are transacted. |
| 1495 | The Imperial Court of Justice is established. |
| 1509 | The gradual reception of Roman law is legalised via a systematic codification of Frankfurt law ("Frankfurt Reformation"). |
| 1533 | Reformation is officially “introduced” to Frankfurt; public practice of Catholicism is prohibited for the next 15 years. |
| 1585 | With the establishment of the bourse, Frankfurt has its very first municipally controlled money exchange. At the end of the Middle Ages, Frankfurt is one of Germany´s richest and mightiest places of trade. The reformist, Martin Luther, calls Frankfurt “… a hoard of silver and gold!" |
| 1612/1614 | A constitutional conflict arises between the council and citizenry, causing social unrest, some of which is aimed at the city´s Jewish population. Intervention by the emperor puts an end to the conflict. Swedes occupy Frankfurt during the Thirty Years´ War. |
| 1631-1635 | A Swedish garrison is stationed in Sachsenhausen. The plague breaks out in the city. |
| 1666-1686 | The head of the Lutheran Preachers´ Council, Philipp Jakob Spener, speaks in Frankfurt; the beginnings of pietism are associated with his person. |
| 1685 | The revocation of the Edict of Nantes opens Frankfurt´s gates to a stream of religious refugees from France, the Huguenots. |
| 1711 | The great “Jewish Fire” destroys the Jewish quarter; a second fire erupts in 1721. |
| 1742-1745 | Under Charles VII, Frankfurt is, albeit briefly, official residence of the Holy Roman Emperor. |
| 1749 | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is born in Frankfurt on the 28th of August. |
| 1763 | The physician, Johann Christian Senckenberg, establishes the Senckenberg Foundation, which means to support the promotion of the natural sciences. |
| 1792 | The last imperial coronation takes place in Frankfurt (Franz II). |
| 1800 | Frankfurt numbers some 35,000 residents. |
| 1804 | The town council decides to demolish the city fortifications. The grounds are turned into extensive parklands. |
| 1806 | When the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation came to an end in 1806, it was replaced by the Deutscher Bund (1816-1866) located in Frankfurt. |
| 1810 | Frankfurt is named a grand duchy (until 1813). |
| 1815 | After the formation of the German Federation at the Congress of Vienna, Frankfurt is declared free city and seat of the Bundestag. |
| 1833 | A group of students, farmers and Polish officers attempts to overthrow the Bundestag with the aim of establishing a republic. Poor organisation and a lack of public support cause the revolt to crumble after a very short time. |
| 1839 | The opening of the Taunusbahn railway connecting Frankfurt, Höchst and Wiesbaden marks the start of Frankfurt´s significance as a future railway junction. |
| 1848 | The First German National Assembly convenes in St. Paul´s Church in Frankfurt. The first German constitution is adopted in March of 1849, although it never actually goes into effect. Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia refuses the imperial crown, bringing an end to the reformation attempts of the assembly. |
| 1866 | The annexation of Frankfurt by Prussia brings an end to Frankfurt´s status as free city. |
| 1871 | The Peace of Frankfurt brings an end to the Franco-Prussian War. |
| 1875 | Frankfurt now numbers over 100,000 residents. |
| 1880 | Alte Oper, Frankfurt´s grand old opera house, is inaugurated. |
| 1888 | Frankfurt´s main train station is inaugurated. |
| 1891-1912 | Frankfurt emerges as a modern trade and industrial centre during the reign of Lord Mayor Franz Adicke. |
| 1905 | Frankfurt´s population exceeds 400,000. |
| 1914 | Johann Wolfgang Goethe University is established on the 10th of June. |
| 1914-1918 | The unemployment rate increases dramatically during the First World War; Frankfurt´s population suffers as a result of supply bottlenecks. |
| 1925-1930 | Summoned to Frankfurt by Lord Mayor Ludwig Landmann, the renowned architect, Ernst May, is named the city´s new urban planner and conceives many new settlements, creating the so-called “New Frankfurt”. |
| 1926 | The new Frankfurt Airport is opened in Rebstock. |
| 1927 | The “Summer of Music” is first held in Frankfurt. |
| 1928-1931 | Hans Poelzig commissions and oversees the construction of the IG-Farben-Haus, to serve as the head office for IG Farben, a German industrial giant. After World War II, the building is used by the U.S. Army as an administrative centre. Then, in 2001, it becomes part of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. |
| 1933 | After local elections in March, the National Socialists occupy city hall and begin to consolidate all institutional powers. Lord Mayor Landmann is forced out of office and flees to Berlin, then to the Netherlands. To learn more of Frankfurt´s history during the reign of the National Socialists, visit http://www.frankfurt1933-1945.de. |
| 1943/1944 | The city centre and old town of Frankfurt are almost completely destroyed during Allied air strikes. |
| 1945 | American troops enter and occupy the city at the end of May; Frankfurt is declared a district-free city of Hesse. |
| 1947 | Frankfurt is chosen as headquarters for the unified economic area of the American, British and French occupation zones. The newly created Bank of German Federal States organises and carries out the currency reform a year later. |
| 1948 | Celebrations commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First German National Assembly are held in the rebuilt St. Paul´s Church on the 18th of May. |
| 1949 | In May, commercial air traffic resumes at Frankfurt Airport, and in 1958 the airport becomes Germany´s first airport to service jetliners. The extreme population growth is accommodated for by way of the development of numerous new residential settlements (e.g., Nordweststadt, 1963-1969). |
| 1949 | Frankfurt misses out on being named the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany by only a handful of votes. The traditional trade and business centre continues to develop into a major economic metropolis. |
| 1955 | Frankfurt´s population reaches 600,000. |
| 1957 | Deutsche Bundesbank, having emanated from the “Bank of German States“, commences business operations in Frankfurt am Main on the 25th of July. Thanks to the initiation of the stock exchange and the settlement of many national and international financial institutions, Frankfurt begins its development as one of Europe´s foremost finance centres. The first office high-rises are built (AEG -Hochhaus, Bienenkorbhaus, Fernmeldehochhaus, Zürichhaus). However, the present-day skyline of the Main metropolis does not emerge until the late 1980s. |
| 1961 | Construction on the subway system as means of mass transportation is authorised. |
| 1963-1965 | The “Auschwitz Trials“ take place in Frankfurt am Main. |
| 1968 | The realisation of a new public transportation concept commences with the opening of the first subway line. |
| 1981 | Alte Oper is reopened after extensive reconstruction. |
| 1984 | Development commences on the museum embankment, marking its initiation as the city´s art and cultural mile. |
| 1988 | The Messeturm, 256 metres tall, becomes a new Frankfurt landmark, symbolic of the city´s economic prowess. |
| 1993 | The European Monetary Institute (EMI) is established in Frankfurt. |
| 1994 | Frankfurt celebrates its 1200th year of existence. The city skyline continues to grow. |
| 1997 | Construction on the Commerzbank Tower, Europe´s tallest office high-rise at 299 metres (with antenna), is completed. Further skyscrapers (Maintower, Main Plaza, Gallileo) follow. |
| 1998 | Frankfurt is chosen as headquarters for the European Central Bank (ECB), which takes over from the European Monetary Institute. |
| 2000 | The Federal Audit Court is relocated to Bonn. |
