‘Boring’ Frankfurt gets the party started … finally

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This article titled "‘Boring’ Frankfurt gets the party started … finally" was written by Benjamin Cunningham, for The Guardian on Saturday 3rd September 2016 11.00 UTC

Next Thursday, locals and tourists alike will flock to an annual street party held in Frankfurt’s station quarter (8 September from 7pm). Bahnhorsviertelnacht will see streets closed to traffic, and bars and restaurants becoming live music venues. Some brothels and strip clubs will even operate an open door policy, allowing people inside to nose around. It certainly doesn’t reinforce the popular notion that Frankfurt is boring.

Railway stations and their seedy surroundings are rarely worth hanging about in for long. But these days, the area once known solely for its red light district is attracting crowds year-round, as it cements its reputation as one of the city’s most interesting areas, with a string of new restaurants, galleries and clubs. And with the city council committed to keeping the red light district here, the blend of rough edges and cultural hotspots produces an environment that is vibrant, varied and irreverent.

Pizzeria Montana

“What makes it interesting is that everybody just minds their own business,” says James Ardinast who, along with his brother David, has launched a series of ventures in the area, most recently Stanley Diamond (Ottostrasse 16-18), an upscale restaurant with creative takes on wiener schnitzel and classic fish dishes. Just behind the railway station and named after a New York gangster, it mixes fine white table cloths and retro decor, with the front completely open to the street, and offers great cocktails and a hefty wine list (ask the sommelier to recommend some of the German ones).

Frankfurt’s main station, Bahnhofsviertel neighbourhood. Photograph: Alamy

Earlier this year, a group of DJs began holding impromptu performances in a laundromat. The hum of creativy can also be felt in the Taunusstrasse Arts and Bites monthly art market in the Kaiserpassage, which started last year and the Asian Arts Centre (Wilhelm-Leuschner-Strasse 17) – another gallery space – opened in June. While on Gutleutstrasse, an abandoned building is being converted into artist studios. “It feels like there is a new place opening every week,” Ardinast says.

The neon sign on the Pizzeria Montana (Weserstrasse 14), which opened last year, is a work of art by the party-loving German sculptor Tobias Rehberger reading “Free Parking, Free Coffee, Freedom”. The Galerie Rundgaenger (Niddastrasse 63) exhibits work by emerging German artists and others, just 100 metres away from a busy methadone clinic (during Bahnhorsviertelnacht it will show paintings by South Korean painter Ha Nuk Jung).

Galerie Rundgaenger

After dark, AMP (Gallusanlage 2), a cross between a cafe and a club, opened this summer overlooking a park and some of Europe’s tallest skyscrapers in the financial district beyond. Back closer to the railway station itself, the Karlson Club (Karlstrasse2) opened late last year and features DJs and live music.

But if you do have to catch a train, be sure to stop at Yok-Yok (Münchener Strasse 32). It looks like an average corner convenience store but actually sells 300 types of beer by the bottle. Grab one for your journey onwards.

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