DISCOVER FRANKFORT ON THE ODER
Frankfurt is a city in Brandenburg, Germany located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Slubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945.
The official name Frankfurt (Oder) and the older and now informal Frankfurt an der Oder are used to distinguish it from the larger city of Frankfurt am Main.
 HISTORY
The town of Frankfurt was chartered in 1253 at the free ford (frank furt means a free crossing) known as the Brandendamm, although the settlement is probably considerably older.
The early settlers lived on the western banks of the Oder: later the town was extended to the eastern bank (today's Slubice).
In late medieval times the town dominated the trade on the river between Wroclaw (Breslau) and Szczecin (Stettin). In 1430 Frankfurt joined the Hanseatic League, but was a member for only a short time.
In the 19th century, Frankfurt played an important role in trade. Centrally positioned in the Kingdom of Prussia between Berlin and Poznan, on the heavily-trafficked river Oder, the city housed the second-largest annual trade fair (Messe) of the German Reich, surpassed only by that in Leipzig.
There was intense fighting for the city in 1945 when the city was declared a fortress (Festung) in an attempt to block the Soviets' route to Berlin. The postwar German-Polish border ran along the Oder, separating the Dammvorstadt on the eastern bank from the rest of Frankfurt; it became the Polish town of Slubice.
Today, the towns have friendly relations and run several common projects and facilities. Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, and intends to implement the Schengen Agreement in coming years, leading to the removal of permanent border controls.
In the post-communist era Frankfurt has suffered from high unemployment and low economic growth. Its population has fallen significantly from around 87,000 at the time of German reunification in 1990.
FC Viktoria Frankfurt is the town's local football team.
VIADRINA EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY
Viadrina European University is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder). With 4,000 students - around 1,000 of whom come from Poland - and some 160 teaching staff, the Viadrina is one of Germany's smallest universities (only the University of Erfurt has fewer students). The word "Viadrina," from Latin, means "belonging to, or situated at, the Oder River": it derives from Viadra, the Latin name for the Oder (the city of Frankfurt was known in Latin as Francofortum ad Viadrum).
The Alma Mater Viadrina was founded in 1506 by the Prince of Brandenburg, Joachim I, as the principal university of Brandenburg. It was organized into four faculties: law, theology, philosophy, and medicine. The university enjoyed an excellent reputation in Brandenburg and the surrounding regions, and its graduates - access to high positions in administration, politics, law and the church. One of its earliest Chancellors, Bishop Georg von Blumenthal (1490-1550) was a vigorous opponent of the Reformation and did his utmost to expel Lutheran dons such as Jodocus Willich.
In 1811 Viadrina University was moved to Breslau (now Wroclaw) and merged with the University of Breslau, the Leopoldina, in order to be competitive with the newly founded University of Berlin (now Humboldt University). Some of the Viadrina professors did, however, accept positions in Berlin.
The old university building in Frankfurt was damaged in World War II and controversially demolished in the early 1960s. Only the arch of the main entrance has been preserved as a monument.
Famous students at the historical Viadrina included the brothers Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, the philosopher Ulrich von Hutten, the musician Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the theologian and political leader Thomas Muntzer, and the poet Heinrich von Kleist.
In 1991 the university was re-established as Viadrina European University. It currently comprises three faculties: Economics and Business Studies; Law; and Cultural Studies. A prime focus of the educational program is to attract students from throughout Europe in order to create a multi-national student body. Currently about 40 per cent of the students are foreigners (mostly Polish), a quite remarkable proportion compared with other German universities.
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Frankfort on the Oder Hotels & Accommodation
Frankfurt is a city in Brandenburg, Germany located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Stubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. The official name Frankfurt (Oder) and the older and now informal Frankfurt an der Oder are used to distinguish it from Frankfurt am Main ...
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