Langer Franz
Langer Franz rises beside Frankfurt’s Römer as a historic town-hall tower, built between 1900 and 1904. Its architecture formed part of a major expansion designed by Ludwig Neher and Franz von Hoven, after a medieval neighbourhood made way for new wings and towers. At 70 metres, the tower was Frankfurt’s tallest secular building when completed.
Glass mosaics give the structure two striking details: Robert Forell’s eastern image shows Saint Florian, while Karl Julius Graetz’s western work depicts the Archangel Michael. The design drew inspiration from a former bridge tower on the Sachsenhausen side of Frankfurt’s old bridge, built in 1345 and demolished in 1765.
A bombing raid on 22 March 1944 destroyed the steep hipped roof and spire. The removal of the top floor and four corner turrets in 1951 left a flat emergency roof and reduced the height by 10 metres. Reconstruction efforts gained renewed support through a 2022 crowdfunding campaign, which had raised 1.2 million euros by the end of 2023.
- City
- Frankfurt
- Content updated
Image: ArcCanCC BY-SA 3.0 
Image: Johann Caspar ZehenderPublic domain 
Image: Otto Lindheimer (1842–1894)Public domain 
Image: Eva K.GFDL 1.2 
Image: Carl Andreas AbtPublic domain
Take this page with you
The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Frankfurt. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.