Rossmarkt — Gutenberg's Printing Conspiracy

Your quest begins on the Römerberg, the heart of Frankfurt am Main's medieval old town. This 2,600 m² cobbled square is surrounded by 11 gabled houses, faithfully reconstructed in 1953-1954 after World War II, reflecting the Rhenish Renaissance. It was here that 17 emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned between 1562 and 1806. Leaving this seat of power, you walk past the Römer, the city hall, towards the Hauptwache, a strategic rallying point where the first rumors of the conspiracy against Gutenberg began to circulate in the 1450s.

Your journey then takes you to the Paulskirche, a neoclassical Protestant edifice built from 1787 to 1833, with its characteristic 65-meter-high dome. Although later than Gutenberg's era, this church served as the seat of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848-1849, marking the first democratic meeting place in Germany. Its capacity of 2,000 seats and its reconstruction after 1944 make it a symbol of freedom and unity, ideals that Gutenberg's printing press would, centuries earlier, help to spread. Approximately 800 meters from the Römerberg, it offers you a perspective on the evolution of thought in Frankfurt.

Not far from there, on the Rossmarkt (the old horse market), stands the Katharinenkirche, a 14th-century Gothic Protestant church, consecrated in 1400. Its 65-meter bell tower, restored after 1945, watches over the Gutenberg-Denkmal, a statue erected in 1837. This 4.5-meter statue, sculpted by Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz, depicts Johannes Gutenberg holding a printed sheet, with the inscription 'Dem Erfinder der Buchdruckerkunst'. Frankfurt is Gutenberg's birthplace, born around 1400, and this monument is a key point in your investigation into the 'Gutenberg's Printing Conspiracy', highlighting the importance of his invention for the city of Hesse.

Continuing your exploration of Frankfurt, you reach the Börse Frankfurt, the stock exchange building, erected between 1874 and 1879 by Oskar Sommer in an Italian Renaissance style. Its red sandstone facade and 60-meter tower symbolize Frankfurt's financial power in the 19th-20th centuries. Although Gutenberg's printing press first revolutionized the dissemination of knowledge, it also laid the foundations for the modern economy by facilitating trade and the exchange of information. This site, about 1 km from the Römerberg, reminds you that innovation, whether technological or financial, shapes the history of the city and Hesse.

Your journey finally leads you to the Karmeliterkloster, a former Carmelite monastery founded in 1294, whose 14th-15th century Gothic buildings now house the Historisches Museum. Its preserved cloister, with its ribbed vaulted galleries, holds collections of art and historical objects from Frankfurt, from the Middle Ages to the modern era. This place of knowledge and memory is a testament to the city's rich past, where Gutenberg's legacy is celebrated. By completing your investigation near the Domplatz, dominated by the Kaiserdom, you will have traversed the ages and understood why Frankfurt am Main is inseparable from printing and innovation.