Mathildenviertel between yesterday and today
The former working-class district between the market square and the old cemetery has since been increasingly transformed into a mixed area for living close to the city center and for services. It has since flourished as a place for young creative people. They appreciate the uncomplicated structures and the colorful coexistence of cultures. In addition, the city, HfG and IHK have initiated the Ostpol start-up center in Hermann-Steinhäuser-Straße, a space for ideas that provides offices and studios for company founders.
Students will find affordable living space and good conditions in a creative environment here - a creative mile has developed along the Main in recent years, ranging from the Ostpol to the cultural center in Sandgasse, the Wagon cultural project and the Hochschule für Gestaltung to Nordend with Hafen 2 and heyne-Fabrik.
However, creatives and students are only one part of this extremely diverse quarter. The Mathildenviertel is a successful example of integration in a pluralistic society and a meeting place for nationalities: no other district in the city brings the world together in just a few square kilometers: Italians, Bosnians, Serbs, Portuguese - over 50 nationalities characterize the colourful diversity of the Mathildenviertel. Be it in the daily life on the streets or in the various stores, kiosks, iosks, pubs or offers that the district has to offer.
Since 1999, the district in the former eastern inner city has been upgraded by the "Socially Integrative City" construction funding program. A lot has been implemented in the district with the funding from the federal-state program: the Ostpol, the courtyards of the Mathilden and Wilhelm schools, the Mainuferpark and KiTa 4. The district office on Mathildenplatz has also been successfully installed as a meeting point.
The district is particularly attractive due to its high recreational value. The River Main is only a few steps away and is attractive with its meadows, paths and the newly designed "Mainuferpark", but there are also many playgrounds and football pitches or green spaces in the district itself, such as Mathildenplatz. The nearby Wilhelmsplatz is a special point both for local recreation with its many restaurants and for shopping with its incomparable weekly market. This is a reflection of Offenbach as a whole: cosmopolitan, multicultural, lively and still Hessian... just like Offenbach...
The name of the quarter in the eastern part of the city center goes back to Princess Mathilde Karoline of Bavaria (1813-1862), who became Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine by marriage in 1833. The lady who gave the quarter its name enjoyed taking trips along the banks of the Main, whose beauty also attracted many wealthy industrialists to Offenbach.