Offenbach - the small city on the Main
Offenbach am Main, located in the center of the Rhine-Main conurbation, presents visitors with the image of a young and modern city. With just over 117,000 inhabitants, Offenbach is only a "small city" (since 1954), manageable, with many green spaces and situated on the Main.
Its first documented mention dates back to the year 977, when a Mrs. Ruotlint donated goods in Offenbach to the Frankfurt Salvatorstift. At that time, it was still spelled "Ovenbach"; the name probably goes back to the first name "Ovo".
In the second half of the 16th century, the so-called "Isenburg Castle" was built, which still stands today and is said to have the most beautiful Renaissance façade north of the Alps. With the transfer to the Counts of Isenburg, Offenbach became the headquarters of a small territory and was to remain so as the seat of administration until 1815.
Until the end of the 17th century, it remained a small, tranquil town with far fewer than a thousand inhabitants who lived in seven alleyways in the shadow of the castle (Sandgasse, Schloßgasse, Schloßgrabengasse, Borngasse, Glockengasse, Kirchgasse and Mühlgasse).
The upswing begins
Things took a lasting upturn when Count Johann Philipp (* 1655, + 1718) came to power in 1685. With an eye for what was economically necessary and feasible, he created the conditions for a lasting upswing for his domain and Offenbach in particular. He single-mindedly attempted to increase the population (so-called "Peuplierung"), as new inhabitants meant workers and therefore also taxpayers.
When French religious refugees (Huguenots) flocked to Germany in the years following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), Count Johann Philipp also agreed to take in a group of "réfugiés" in 1699 and grant them far-reaching privileges in 1705. From then on, the newcomers formed their own parish (new parish) alongside the old residents (old parish), a situation that was to continue until January 1, 1824 (formation of the independent parish).
Growth spurt for the town
Almost at the same time, a community privilege was issued for the new Jewish residents (1708). Both settlements brought a "growth spurt" for the town: the population more than doubled, new streets were laid out, a synagogue and the French Reformed church were built.
New professions settled here: Thanks to the French, the textile industry flourished in the 18th century, but there was also an important snuff factory (Bernard brothers) very early on (from 1733), whose owners had the manor house known today as the "Büsingpalais" built from 1775.
Despite this, the town initially remained an idyll, which Goethe was to describe as a "garden-rich cluster of spacious country estates". It was here in Offenbach that the poet prince's romance with the young Lili Schönemann took place in 1775, before he followed the call to Weimar.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Offenbach began its rise as an industrial location. After the town fell to the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1816, it was designated a "state factory town" by the regent. It was given a ship bridge to bypass the customs in Frankfurt (1819), a chamber of commerce (1821) and a dead straight road link to the south (towards Sprendlingen).
New branches of industry emerged: The declining textile industry was more than replaced by the up-and-coming leather and leather goods industry. In addition, there was an increasingly important metal industry and, alongside chemical companies (including paints and soaps), large printing works and publishing houses emerged. Since then, Offenbach has been known as the "City of Leather and Letters", and not without good reason.
The fact that the Frankfurt Trade Fair was held here between 1828 and 1835 was favorable for Offenbach's rise, as Frankfurt had initially refused to join the Prussian-Hessian Customs Treaty.
Population increased tenfold in 100 years
And the city grew: while in 1800 there were only around 5,000 inhabitants, by 1850 there were already 11,000 people living here and by 1900 there were 50,000.
From 1848, the "Lokahlbahn" connected the two cities of Frankfurt and Offenbach, from 1873 a rail link was added and in 1884 there was a streetcar line, then still operated by a "Trambahn-Gesellschaft", which was taken over by Frankfurt and Offenbach in 1906 under municipal management. The local line has not been running since 1955 and streetcar line 16 ceased operation with the opening of the Hanau-Frankfurt S-Bahn in 1995.
However, Offenbach was not just an "industrial town". After all, it had a theater since 1791, the "Fürstlich isenburgische Schauspielhaus" and the music publishing house founded by the Huguenot family André in 1774 still exists today.
Jacques Offenbach was a famous namesake, although he was born in Cologne and not in Offenbach. His grandfather, who was originally called Eberscht and came from the Rhön, was buried here. His father, born in Offenbach, then named himself after his home town after moving away.
The strong economic upturn, especially in the 19th century, was accompanied by improvements to the infrastructure: in 1887 the town was given an indoor swimming pool, in 1894 a hospital planned with foresight and in 1904 an abattoir.
In the leather goods industry, however, there was already a tendency to relocate homework to the surrounding communities.
The metal industry experienced its decline mainly in the sixties and seventies of the 20th century. The chemical industry was still able to buck the trend, but has recently undergone structural change.
Even if the International Leather Goods Fair (since 1949) is still a reminder of the tradition as the "City of Leather Goods", it is clear that Offenbach is on its way to becoming a modern service center.