Tongesgasse, Frankfurt

Another major shopping street in Frankfurt's Old Town, Töngesgasse is not a designated pedestrian zone and, therefore, has less pedestrian traffic than the prime locations, like the Zeil or Neue Kräme. The street runs south, from Liebfrauenberg to Fahrgasse, parallel to the Zeil. In contrast to the Zeil, though, the Töngesgasse retailers are not part of the regional chains but are rather privately-owned specialty stores. Some of them have been in place for more than 100 years, like the W. Wächtershäuser haberdashery shop – open since 1822, the Hensler optician's shop – since 1864, the Andreas seed shop – since 1868, the Gabler leather shop – since 1877, or the Dotzert knife and weapon shop – since 1879. The local Café Mozart is one of the most famous coffee houses in the city. An ideal place to spend an afternoon.

The street was built after the Hohenstaufen city expansion in the 12th century. In 1236, the Antonine monks founded a farm in the area, to which later was added a church, the Antoniterkloster. The emerged monastery gave its name to the street (Antonius = Tönges). The monastery itself, hardly used since the Reformation, was demolished in 1803. In its place, the city architect Johann Georg Christian Hess put a number of multi-storey classicist apartment buildings in 1810.

In March 1944, almost the entire Old Town of Frankfurt, including Töngesgasse, was destroyed by Allied air raids. Among those that survived were only the Baroque rear building and the Renaissance-period octagonal stair tower of the Rosenberg house, built circa 1600, known as Schönborner Hof.

After the war, the street was rebuilt, and the urban layout and the adjacent road network changed completely. Today, local retailers are united in the Töngesgasse interest group. Each year in August, the group organizes a street festival, called the Antoniterfest.