Bornheim

Bornheim holds about 30,200 people on roughly one square mile in the east of the city, right up against downtown. It was probably a Frankish settlement around the year 500, though the first documented mention is 1194, describing a fortified farm called the Bornburg. It was already a desirable address in 1327, when Frankfurt's mayor chose to live out here rather than in the city. Bornheim was incorporated into Frankfurt in 1877, and the city collected the village's fortune of a million gulden along with it.

The merry village nickname is earned two ways. One is the carnival clubs, of which Bornheim has plenty. The other is the taverns. Apfelwein, the tart local cider, is on every menu along and around the Berger Straße, in long-established houses such as Zur Sonne and Schmärrnche. On weekends the rest of Frankfurt comes east to eat, drink and dance here.

The festival calendar is old. The Dippemess has run since the 14th century, a fair and market originally built around the sale of ceramic pots, which is what a Dippe is. The Bernemer Kerb, the parish fair, dates from 1608 and still takes place in the second week of August, Friday through Wednesday.

For a quarter known mainly for its street life, Bornheim keeps a few landmarks. The Bernemer Museumslädchen on the Turmstraße is a small museum of local history, and the old Bornheim town hall on the Berger Straße dates from 1770. It was probably built as a wealthy farmer's house and only later took on official duties, which is why it looks like a half-timbered home rather than a civic building.