60 Years of Kleinmarkthalle 1954 - 2014

History with Stories

An important piece from the heart of Frankfurt celebrates a round birthday in 2014: the Kleinmarkthalle turns 60! An anniversary that must be celebrated not only on site. That is why Johannes Hucke now presents "60 Jahre Kleinmarkthalle" not only a charming birthday greeting to the popular market hall. He also offers readers an interesting look at the history of the building, which he underlines with numerous archive photographs and invites, always accompanied by quotations from Émile Zola's novel "The Belly of Paris" to a tour through the lively and above all tasty hustle and bustle of the Kleinmarkthalle.

After a brief introduction, the journey through time begins first of all. The reader first learns a little about Frankfurt's market history and the first market hall, inaugurated in 1879, before the construction and opening of the new Kleinmarkthalle after its destruction in the Second World War. In the following pages, Hucke explains how the Kleinmarkthalle itself, trade and the relationship of Frankfurt's inhabitants to this institution changed in the following decades and also briefly traces the struggle to preserve the hall, which was to make way for a new, more modern building for some time until the lack of money in the city treasury put a (temporary) end to the discussion. Now a thorough refurbishment is on the agenda for the next few years. This is, despite the very original charm of the Kleinmarkthalle, also urgently needed.

After the almost twenty-page history lesson, Hucke leads the reader on five thematic tours of the hall. After visiting the two entrance areas with their shops such as the Holzmann newspaper stand, the Rollanderhof, the Hessen Shop, the legendary Fahrrad Thöt and, of course, the quaint Marktstubb, the reader is allowed to stroll through the rich selection of flowers, meat, greens and delicacies. In the process, not only are the goods presented in detail, again richly illustrated, but also their traders. Here there are all kinds of amusing and interesting stories from everyday life in the Kleinmarkthalle to read, which beautifully illustrate what makes the very special charm of this "piece of Frankfurt with heart".

Once you have started reading the booklet, it is difficult to put it down again before the last of the 93 pages. The five tours in particular not only make you want to visit the Kleinmarkthalle again and take the time to really try and buy something at each of the stalls or just talk to the traders. It also makes your mouth water many a time when Hucke explains what delicacies are on sale here. In combination with the personal stories of traders and customers, an extremely entertaining, endearing and fitting homage to the popular birthday boy has been created, which can be warmly recommended not only to all regular customers, but also to every Frankfurt fan. In this sense: Happy birthday, Kleinmarkthalle!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp