Höchst ( or ) is a quarter of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It is part of the ''

Ortsbezirk A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as " borough". In Germany, ''Stadtbezirke'' usually only exist in a me ...

West''. Höchst am Main was annexed by Frankfurt am Main in 1928, at the same time as

Sindlingen Sindlingen is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the ''Ortsbezirk (Frankfurt am Main), Ortsbezirk West'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Sindlingen-Süd and Sindlingen-Nord. Frankfurt Sindlingen station provides acc ...

, Unterliederbach and

Zeilsheim Zeilsheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the ''Ortsbezirk West'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Zeilsheim-Ost, Zeilsheim-Süd and Zeilsheim-Nord. As the westernmost district of Frankfurt, Zeilsheim is some ...

. Höchst is situated 10 km west of downtown Frankfurt on the north bank of the Main river at the

Nidda River The Nidda is a right tributary of the river Main in Hesse. It springs from the Vogelsberg on the Taufstein mountain range near the town of Schotten, flows through the Niddastausee dam, and the towns of Nidda, Niddatal, Karben, and Bad Vilb ...

estuary. The well-preserved old city has been under the '' Denkmalschutz'' protection law since 1972. An important cultural event is the folklore festival, the ''Höchster Schloßfest'', that brings many visitors to Höchst. It begins in the middle of June and last four weeks. It includes a festival in the old city, fireworks, and a jazz festival in the castle. In Höchst there is the Friedrich-Dessauer-Gymnasium, a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for ...

'' Gymnasium''.

History

Middle Ages

Höchst is first mentioned in 790 as Hostat (meaning high site or high place). The name has nothing to do with the Hostato Saga regarding the Knight Hostato, who after being the only one to survive a battle was given the site by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

in thanks for his bravery. On 11 February 1355 Höchst received its town privileges by emperor Charles IV. In a charter dated 12 January 1356, Charles IV gave additional privileges to Höchst including the right to hold markets every Tuesday. In the medieval part of the city, most of the timber-framed houses stem from the period shortly after the major fire that occurred in 1586. On 22 June 1622, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, the Battle of Höchst saw a Catholic League and

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

armies defeat a Protestant force. A second Battle of Höchst occurred on 11 October 1795 when

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

soldiers clashed with Republican French troops. Höchst am Main became part of Frankfurt am Main in 1928. Until 1987 Höchst was the administrative seat of an independent

Landkreis In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

. Höchst is now the center of the ''Stadtbezirke'' (administrative district) Frankfurt-West with 120,000 residents.

Economy

In contrast to most other ''Stadtteile'', Höchst is an old historical city (with

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

since 1355) and is still the most important subcenter in the western part of Frankfurt. The name Höchst became well known throughout the world for the chemical and pharmaceutical corporation

Hoechst AG Hoechst AG () was a German chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999. With the new company's 2004 merger with Sanofi-Synthélabo, it became a subsidiary of th ...

which was established in 1863; except for a short interruption between 1925 and 1952, Hoechst AG has been headquartered in Höchst. In 1999 the company was merged with the French Rhône-Poulenc S.A. and became Aventis which, after another merger, became

Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...

. Major research and production activities of the company continue to be conducted in Höchst. The site of the Hoechst works is now operated as the Höchst Industrial Park (''Industriepark Höchst''). It includes a notable expressionist building designed by

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading Germany, German architect, graphic and Industrial design, industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG turbine factory, AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a ...

, the Technical Administration Building (''Technische Verwaltungsgebäude''). Image:Höchster Mainufer Batterie 2.jpg, Main river bank in Höchst, called "Batterie" Image:Bolongarostrasse.jpg, Bolongarostraße in Höchst Image:Hoechster Wochenmarkt.jpg, October 2008: Market in Höchst File:Dalberghaus2.jpg, Porcelain manufacturer in the ''Dalberghouse''

Notable people

Joseph Aschbach Joseph Ritter von Aschbach (29 April 1801 – 25 April 1882) was a German historian who studied the Visigoths, writing "''Geschichte der Westgoten''" ("History of the Visigoths") in 1827. Aschbach was born in Höchst (Frankfurt am Main). He ...

(1801-1882),

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

well known for his studies on the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...

. * Tristan Brübach (1984–1998), murder victim. *

Carl Chun Carl Chun (1 October 1852 – 11 April 1914) was a German marine biologist. Chun was born in Höchst, today a part of Frankfurt, and studied zoology at the University of Leipzig, where from 1878 to 1883 he was privat-docent of zoology and an ...

(1852–1914), German marine biologist, born in Höchst. * Hans Fischer (1881–1945), recipient of 1930

Nobel Prize for Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

References

External links