Ernst May and New Frankfurt
During the great housing shortage the Frankfurt Building Director Ernst May (1886-1970) together with a group of architects under the liberal Mayor Ludwig Landmann were responsible for building around 12.000 apartments and numerous individual projects. Residential estates such as Römerstadt, Praunheim, Westhausen and Am Bornheimer Hang arose during the years 1925 to 1930. They are part of one of the most comprehensive building programmes of the Weimar Republic, where one of the objectives was a sweeping cultural revamping of virtually all areas of life.
Renowned architects like Martin Elsaesser, Walter Gropius, Adolf Meier, Ferdinand Kramer, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and Mart Stam worked in Frankfurt. Estate dwellings of furthest reaching standardization and the so-called Frankfurt Kitchen are internationally acclaimed results of the pioneering rationalization of building. A social and aesthetic Utopia was achieved in Frankfurt: the alleviation of the great housing shortage by the construction of paradigmatically designed estates and dwellings.
The ernst may society
Founded in 2003, the ernst may society has the objective of promoting architecture and culture, monument preservation, science and research. This is implemented predominantly by the establishment and support of a model
house in Frankfurt Römerstadt, events and publications on New Frankfurt. The ideas and dimensions of New Frankfurt and the work of the architect and city planner Ernst May are to be thereby made accessible. The mayoress of Frankfurt Dr. h.c. Petra Roth is the patron of the ernst may house.
The ernst may house
The two-storey terrace house Im Burgfeld 136 in Frankfurt Römerstadt is planned to become a documentation and function centre for architecture enthusiasts from all over the world. The house is currently undergoing restoration to its former state and will be furnished with original items. The original Frankfurt Kitchen and the house garden reconstructed to plans by the landscape architect Leberecht Migge already convey an illustrative picture of living and life in New Frankfurt.
Viewing and guided tours
The ernst may society holds regular guided tours through the housing estates of New Frankfurt and to locations of new construction.
Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 12 a.m. - 5 p.m. Uhr
4,- € per person
2,- € reduced