The walls surrounding Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, may be no more, but their former location remains a part of the city. Two hundred years ago, the City of Frankfurt enacted the so-called Wallservitut, an easement with which they moved to protect the parklands along the course of the former medieval city fortifications from destruction.

Known today as the Anlagenring, the section landscaped forms a five-kilometer-long semicircle around the city center. Visitors taking a walk along this “green ring” will come across fountains, ponds, ancient trees, modern sculptures, monuments and memorials, many of which serve as reminders of Frankfurt’s colorful history. The demolition of the former city walls had helped to bring about the establishment of English-style landscape gardens, which were continuously expanded over time. The former course of the star-shaped city fortifications is still recognizable upon closer examination of a city map.

Starting at the massive euro symbol situated in front of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt’s green ring takes visitors past the Beethoven Memorial and Heinrich Heine Memorial to the Opera Square and Alte Oper, Frankfurt’s grand old opera house and one of the city’s premier landmarks.

A few hundred meters further on, one comes across the Nebbiensche Gartenhaus. This oasis of green, built in classicistic style in 1810, was one of the first glasshouses to be erected along the green pathway. From here, it is not far to the Eschenheimer Tor, the only remaining city gate of the former medieval walls.

Continuing on, one arrives at the Odeon, a popular dance club that once served as the home of the Museum of Sculptures. Nearby is Frankfurt’s most beautiful “outhouse”. Ah, yes. This former public toilet with its gabled roof and half-timbered framework is home to a cocktail bar named Lala Mamoona.

At the end of the green ring is the former municipal library. Rebuilt in 2005, it is now the home of the Frankfurt House of Literature, but its biggest attraction for those who’ve walked the whole green ring is its café with an attached beer garden, inviting visitors to a refreshing respite.

For more information on visiting Frankfurt, contact the Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board.