Frankfurt

Frankfurt was a self-governing city under imperial protection at a ford of the Main. Its fairs drew European merchants, and German kings were customarily elected there.

The Golden Bull confirmed Frankfurt as an election site in 1356, and the city bought the imperial bailiwick in 1372. It adopted Lutheranism in 1533; from 1562 emperors were crowned in its cathedral. The Fettmilch uprising of 1612 to 1614 ended in a pogrom in the Jewish lane. After imperial rule ended in 1806, Vienna restored Frankfurt as a free city in 1815, making it the German Confederation's seat.