When you walk through the city centre of Frankfurt, you’ll probably first recognize the impressing skyscrapers, and bankers and brokers hurrying by. In fact, Frankfurt is well known as Germany’s financial centre, being the residence of many major banks, of one of the world’s most important stock exchanges and of the Frankfurt Trade Fair where many international trade fairs are held each year. However, you’ll get a totally different impression of the city atmosphere when you enter one of the cosy cider pubs in the quarter of Sachsenhausen with their nice beer gardens.

Frankfurt has a rich history that even goes back to Roman settlements. All over the city you can find meaningful historical buildings: the Emperor’s Cathedral, where German kings and emperors were elected and crowned during the Holy Roman Empire; the famous St. Paul’s Church, the cradle of German democracy; or the Römerberg (city hall square), where the Frankfurt Trade Fair was held during the Middle Ages.

Nowadays Frankfurt is home to around 650 000 people of 180 nationalities, which makes especially the area around the central station very multicultural. People enjoy the summer in many nice parks and on the bank of the river Main, a popular meeting place in the city. Wherever you come from, Frankfurt will be easy to reach by train or aeroplane, as it is an international interchange point and Frankfurt Airport is one of the busiest ones in Europe.

The conference will be located at the beautiful Campus Westend, in the ‘IG Farben building’ and the ‘Casino’, buildings which have an eventful history. Built in the 1920s, the complex was the largest and most modern office building all over Europe at that time. After the Second World War, it served as the American headquarters of General Eisenhower who received many important guests here in his office. Now, as residence of the Goethe University, the area with its spacious parks emerged as the so-called most beautiful campus of Germany. It’s a perfect place to hang around and relax in the summer and to have some food and drinks in one of the nice restaurants or cafés.