Paulskirche

The Paulskirche at Paulsplatz 11 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the national memorial of German democracy. It was built between 1789 and 1833 as a Protestant church with a circular neoclassical plan, replacing the medieval Barfüßerkirche, and its domed rotunda and gallery were unusual for a church of its time. On 18 May 1848 the first freely elected German national parliament, the Frankfurt National Assembly, convened here after the March revolution. The delegates debated and approved a constitution on 28 March 1849, which contained a catalogue of fundamental rights, and offered the imperial crown of a united Germany to the Prussian king Frederick William IV, who refused it in April 1849. The assembly was dissolved soon afterwards, but the text influenced later German constitutions and is often cited as an ancestor of the Basic Law of 1949. The church was destroyed in the air raids of March 1944, leaving only the shell. The city decided to rebuild it as a symbol of national unity, and it was reopened on 18 May 1948, exactly a century after the first session. The rebuilt interior is deliberately plain, with a large hall under the dome and an exhibition space on the lower level rather than a restored nave, because the building serves as a venue for civic ceremonies. It hosts the annual award of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade and other national occasions. The facade and square can be seen freely, while access inside depends on current renovation and event schedules, so visitors should check the latest information with the Frankfurt tourist office. The Paulskirche stands between the Römer and the shopping district around the Hauptwache, within a short walk of the Goethe-Haus and the Kaiserdom, which makes it an easy stop between those sites. Reading about the assembly beforehand helps in appreciating how modest the building looks compared with its political importance for the German democratic tradition.