The Römer after bombing

Paulskirche 1945

Römerplatz Another view 1959

Römerplatz seen from the Dom, 16 May 1959, photo by my father. The larger central building of the three at upper left center is the Rathaus. All three of these buildings were destroyed by Allied bombing; the early-postwar image at far left shows that while the façades were standing, there was nothing behind them. Like the Dom itself, these buildings had been rebuilt by 1955. The first structure in Frankfurt to be rebuilt after the war was the Paulskirche, the roundish church in the upper right. At lower right, other structures in are still in ruins in 1959. Around the edges of the Römerplatz, modern construction replaced the ancient buildings of Old Frankfurt destroyed in the bombing. The third inset is a view that I took myself the same day, slightly more to the south, in which the Alte Nikolaikirche is visible on the left; "miraculously" despite heavy damage all around, it escaped any serious bomb damage.

At the lower left of the color photo: vintage autos gathering for a rally; click the Enlarge button on top to see them better.