St. Paul’s Church

Dignified gentlemen file solemnly into St. Paul’s Church (Paulskirche). This is how contemporary images show the first elected officials in the year 1848. St. Paul’s Church was first consecrated in 1833 as the main Evangelical Lutheran church in the city of Frankfurt am Main. The elliptical central building made from red sandstone was Frankfurt’s largest and most modern hall, and offered itself as the meeting place for the first all-German Parliament. Here the National Assembly created the first democratic constitution for Germany. Even after the dissolution of the Parliament, St. Paul’s Church was the site of national memorial celebrations. In 1944, St. Paul’s Church was completely destroyed. Its reconstruction began shortly after the end of the war. It was consecrated on 18 May 1948 on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the German National Assembly. Since then it has served exclusively as a place to remember the beginnings of German democracy. 

St. Paul’s Church was renovated in the period from 1988 to 1991. In 1991, the enormous mural “The Path of the Representatives to St. Paul’s Church” by the Berlin-based painter Johannes Grützke was ceremoniously unveiled in the basement. The permanent exhibition “St. Paul’s Church. Symbol of Democratic Freedom and National Unity” shows the development of Germany unity and democracy in its various stages. Sometimes special exhibitions are held here or in the basement. The assembly hall on the first floor is reserved for state or municipal functions – the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade and the city of Frankfurt’s Goethe Prize are awarded in this historic location.