Hauptwache (Main Guardhouse)

The Hauptwache is one of Frankfurt's most recognizable landmarks: a small baroque building at the centre of a large public square that has been the symbolic heart of the city for nearly three centuries. Built as a military guardhouse in 1729-30, it has since served as a police station, a prison, and, since 1904, a popular café.

Today the building lends its name to the surrounding square and to one of the busiest transit interchanges in the Rhine-Main region. For most visitors, the Hauptwache is less a single sight to tick off and more a natural starting point: a landmark to get oriented by before heading into Frankfurt's old town, its shopping streets, or its museums along the river.

Origins and Construction (1729-1730)

The Hauptwache was built between 1729 and 1730 to a design by the city's master builder, Johann Jakob Samhaimer (also spelled Samhammer). At the time, Frankfurt was a Free Imperial City within the Holy Roman Empire, governing and defending itself independently.

The new building served as the headquarters of the city's militia, the Stadtwehr, and included guard rooms as well as a small prison. Its distinctive hipped mansard roof and arcaded ground floor were designed to project civic authority in a style fitting the city's status.

The Wachensturm Uprising of 1833

On 3 April 1833, the Hauptwache became the scene of the Frankfurter Wachensturm, an attempted uprising in which a group of revolutionary students stormed the guardhouse in an effort to free prisoners and spark a broader revolt against the German Confederation. Several soldiers were killed in the clash, but the uprising was quickly suppressed and failed to achieve its wider aims.

The building's prison had a colourful history of its own: it once held the notorious robber Johannes Bückler, known as Schinderhannes, one of the most feared outlaws of the era.

From Guardhouse to Café (1866-Present)

The Hauptwache lost its military role in 1866 and continued as a police station for several more decades. In 1904, the building was converted into a café, a use it has retained ever since. It was heavily damaged during Allied bombing raids in the Second World War and rebuilt in the 1950s, closely following its original baroque appearance.

• 1729-30: Built as a militia guardhouse and prison
• 1833: Site of the Frankfurter Wachensturm uprising
• 1866: Military function ends; becomes a police station
• 1904: Converted into a café
• 1944: Heavily damaged in wartime bombing
• 1950s: Rebuilt in its historic baroque style

The Hauptwache is a compact but striking example of civic baroque architecture. Its ground floor is framed by arcaded pillars, above which sits a tall, steeply pitched mansard roof, a hallmark of 18th-century German baroque design. The façade combines warm yellow plasterwork with red sandstone detailing, giving the building a softer, more decorative look than its original function as a guardhouse and prison might suggest.

Because the surrounding square was almost entirely rebuilt after the Second World War in a modern commercial style, the Hauptwache now stands out even more sharply as the one clearly historic structure at the centre of an otherwise contemporary streetscape. Its scale is deliberately human and low-rise, a contrast that helps it read as a landmark despite being dwarfed in footprint by the department stores and office buildings around it.

The square that takes its name from the building, An der Hauptwache, is one of the most heavily used public spaces in Frankfurt. Historically known as Paradeplatz and later Schillerplatz, it has functioned over the centuries as a parade ground, a marketplace, and now as a pedestrian meeting point and transit hub above one of the city's busiest underground stations.

The Hauptwache building itself operates as a café and restaurant, with seating inside the historic arcades and, in warmer months, outdoor tables spilling onto the square. It remains a popular, informal meeting spot for both Frankfurt residents and visitors, sitting at the point where the city's main shopping street meets several older, quieter side streets.

The Hauptwache's central location makes it a natural base for exploring several of Frankfurt's best-known sights and shopping streets on foot.

• Zeil: Germany's high-turnover pedestrian shopping street, running east from the square toward Konstablerwache
• St. Catherine's Church (Katharinenkirche): the city's largest Protestant church, on the square's south side, where Goethe was baptised in 1749
• Goethe House and Goethe Museum: the birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a short walk away
• Alte Oper: Frankfurt's grand former opera house, now a concert venue, reachable via Goethestraße and Grosse Bockenheimerstraße
• Römerberg and the Old Town (Altstadt): Frankfurt's historic city square and reconstructed medieval quarter
• Eschenheimer Turm: a well-preserved medieval city gate tower to the north

By U-Bahn and S-Bahn

Hauptwache station sits directly beneath the square and is one of the busiest rapid-transit stations in the Rhine-Main region, used by tens of thousands of passengers daily. Multiple U-Bahn lines and S-Bahn lines serving the city's underground City Tunnel stop here, making it one of the easiest points in Frankfurt to reach without a car.

By Bus and Tram

Several bus routes stop close to the square, and tram lines run nearby along adjacent streets, connecting Hauptwache to other parts of the city centre.

On Foot

Frankfurt's compact city centre means the Hauptwache is within easy walking distance of the Römerberg old town, the Goethe House, the Alte Oper, and the riverside museum district along the Main.

• Use Hauptwache as an orientation point: most of Frankfurt's central sights, from the Old Town to the Alte Oper, are within a 10-15 minute walk
• Grab a coffee or a light meal at the café inside the historic building itself for a chance to sit within the guardhouse's original arcades
• Visit in the morning or early afternoon if you want a quieter experience, since the square gets very busy with shoppers and commuters, especially around midday and after work
• Combine a stop here with a walk down the Zeil for shopping, or head the opposite direction toward Goethestraße for higher-end boutiques
• The underground station can be confusing on first visit; look for clear signage toward An der Hauptwache exits to surface directly at the square