Frankfurt an der Oder

Frankfurt an der Oder , city (1994 pop. 83,850), Brandenburg, E Germany, a port on the Oder River, at the Polish border. It is an industrial center, agricultural market, and rail junction. Manufactures include textiles, machinery, foodstuffs, shoes, and furniture. Lignite is mined nearby. Frankfurt was chartered in 1253. It joined the Hanseatic League in the 14th cent. and became an important commercial center. Frankfurt was frequently besieged, notably in 1631 (during the Thirty Years War), when it was stormed and sacked by the Swedes under Gustavus II. The university founded there in 1506 was transferred to Breslau (now Wrocław) in 1811. The city was severely damaged in World War II. The suburb of Damm-Vorstadt, now Słubice, on the east bank of the Oder, was placed under Polish administration in 1945. The dramatist and poet Heinrich von Kleist was born (1777) in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt, Germany 1. To distinguish the two cities with this name, the rivers on which they lie are included: Frankfurt am Main ‘Frankfurt on the Main’ in Hesse, and Frankfurt an der Oder ‘Frankfurt on the Oder’ in Brandenburg.2. Hesse: originally Franconofurt, the name means ‘Ford where the Franks crossed (the River Main)’ when in pursuit of the Alemanni c.500. It was the capital of Germany 1816–66. It has given its name to a type of sausage, the frankfurter, also known as the wiener or hot dog and which originated here.