top of page

Frankfurt an der Oder (Frankfurt Oder)🇩🇪🇵🇱

Updated: Jun 5, 2022


 

Once back in the car, we made our way to our overnight stay at Frankfurt an der Oder, a town that borders Poland, separated by the river Oder. After checking in at our hotel, a little outside the centre of town, we consulted our 1994 blue guide to find out more.


Founded in 1225, Frankfurt has always been an important trade route, a key link across this part of Europe. After World War II, the eastern part of Frankfurt became part of Poland under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement and was renamed to Słubice. The western part became a border town of the DDR in 1949. During the DDR, Frankfurt reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants (as outlined in our 1994 guidebook) at the end of the 1980s. Like many towns, following the reunification of Germany, the population decreased significantly.


It is fair to say that we did not have enough time to really explore Frankfurt further and with a lot of driving the next day, we set about walking to the centre to find something to eat.


As we came towards the centre, we walked past the famous Altes Kino, the cinema of youth. Opened in 1955, this cinema space also acted as a place for youth initiations. In 1998 the cinema closed and as a listed building was left. Some pictures are below and for a more interactive history of the building, there is this fantastic resource here.

Past the impressive cinema, if you continue walking you will reach Brunnenplatz

the main square, which includes a very interesting fountain that follows the staircase down. Known as the “Comic Fountain” or “Comic Brunnen,” the main feature of this fountain is the gigantic figure of a vaguely humanoid shape, painted in bright, vibrant, colours, shown in the pictures below.

We decided to grab a basic dinner at REDO XXL chain restaurant. This will not be everyone's cup of tea, but with some restaurants closed and not the largest of choice within the town. This venue specialised in very large plates, hence the name, and also treats guests for the chance to sample a litre beer, in true tourist fashion. Even the menu at this restaurant could not escape its DDR past, as you will see in pictures below there was a grab yourself a DDR dish of the past section.

Despite the allure of the DDR inspired menu from the past, we opted for steak and very large sausage respectively. As you will see from the below it was huge.

After a substantial dinner and with the sun about to go down, we walked from the square towards the river to see if we could see Poland, the town Sublice, which sits on the other side. You can just about make it out and with the perfect light, this makes for a great photo. It is at this moment, you realise how far East you are within Germany, and its proximity to other former ‘Soviet Bloc’ countries.

Loving this post on Frankfurt an der Oder (Frankfurt Oder)? Read more about our Red Tourists road trip around the former DDR here.











Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page