Frankfurt an der Oder

Frankfurt an der Oder (frängk'foort än der ō'dur) [key], 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.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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