Ostend

Where city and river meet

The new premises of the European Central Bank (ECB) are being constructed on the former site of the wholesale market hall, the Grossmarkthalle, in Frankfurt’s Ostend district. The site’s location marks the fusion between city and river. The highly diverse Ostend has been undergoing development since the 1990s, amid the reorganisation of the immediate vicinity with regard to the area’s urban structure. On the far side of the railway tracks are the Osthafen docks, which still bear the industrial hallmarks that were also still evident until recently around the Grossmarkthalle. Two heritage-listed sets of cranes on the wharf alongside the Grossmarkthalle serve as a reminder of this industrial past.

Structural change

The former industrial zone along the banks of the river Main to the west of the Grossmarkthalle site is gradually evolving into an attractive residential area with green spaces. This is where the changing face of the structures and buildings in Frankfurt’s Ostend is at its most vivid.

The changing cityscape

The continuing structural change from manufacturing over to the services sector has transformed the urban face of Frankfurt’s Ostend district in recent years. The area’s central development corridor is the Hanauer Landstrasse, which generally acts like a magnet in attracting increasing numbers of service providers and cultural-related venues.

• Ostend
• Historic Grossmarkthalle
• Martin Elsaesser
• Surroundings