Frankfurt sights 4

Goethe House and Museum
Joahnn Wolfganng Goethe is to Germany what Shakespeare is to England, arguably the country’s greatest ever literary figure. He was born at this house in Frankfurt in 1749 and lived here until 1765.

Destroyed in 1944
The house was totally destroyed by an air raid in 1944, but rebuilt true to its original form in 1949. Today, only some of the fixtures stem from Goethe’s family itself.

The Goethe Museum is linked to the house, directly next door.

Adult admission (2005): 5 euros

Open: Sun-Fri 10am – 5.30pm
Sat. 10am – 6pm

Goethe House website (German only)

Frankfurt tourist office page on the Goethe House (in English)

Alte Oper (Old Opera)
A grand renaissance period building, built between 1872 and 1880, the Old Opera is centrally located and can be reached via the U6 or U7, getting out at the ‘Alte Oper’ stop, or via any line to ‘Hauptwache’ followed by a few minutes walk. It was almost completely destroyed in the War and lay in ruins for over 30 years.

New era for the Old Opera
It finally reopened in 1981. As by then a new opera house had already been built in Frankfurt, it was designed from the start of its new life to be a venue for concerts, balls and other society events.

Alte Oper website (German only)

Frankfurt tourist office page on the Alte Oper (in English)