Hesse lost its funniest voice. Terminal 3 finally got a date. And the northern lights showed up uninvited.
CITY PULSE 🏙️
The English Theatre almost lost its home. On February 1, that changes.
After months stuck in negotiations, owner CapitaLand has confirmed it will hand over the Gallusanlage building to the theater. The largest English-language stage in continental Europe will continue without disruption.
The deal ends a standoff that had the expat community holding its breath. Curtain stays up.
Around the city:
Club Voltaire at risk: The historic leftist meeting point (est. 1962) may close. Lease not renewed. Greens and Linke want the city to buy it; CDU calls this "absurd."
Kurdish demo draws 4,500: A peaceful protest over northern Syria far exceeded police expectations on January 24. Two brief arrests at the Römer. Otherwise quiet.
Snow chaos: Sunday's snowfall caused 77 crashes versus 12 on a typical Friday. The RMV app crashed. Buses and trains halted for hours.
Slowest city for drivers: TomTom says Frankfurt had Germany's worst traffic delays in 2025. CDU blames policy. Everyone else blames construction.
Holocaust Memorial Day: A planned January 27 protest linking Gaza to the Holocaust drew condemnation from Frankfurt's Jewish community, who called the comparison "morally reprehensible."
Police blotter:
Chaos Duo: Stolen SUV stopped at Offenbach gas station. Inside: construction site loot, a homemade Böller, and a driver under the influence with no license.
Young burglars: Plainclothes officers caught three burglars ages 12 and 16 in Praunheim. Recovered jewelry from earlier break-ins.
Airport incidents: A 49-year-old tried to grab a security guard's firearm at Terminal 1. Stopped. Separately, a drunk passenger resisted police after being restrained by flight crew.
Offenbach club brawl: Four injured in a knife and pepper spray fight outside a Berliner Straße club. 100 bystanders watched.
Fatal pedestrian collision: A 54-year-old man was struck and killed at a Frankfurt crosswalk late Sunday. Police investigating whether the signal was red.
LIVING HERE 🥨
Gerd Knebel, one half of Badesalz, died Saturday after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 72.
The Rodgau native founded Badesalz with Henni Nachtsheim in 1982. For four decades, they made Hessians laugh at themselves. Their characters Erich and Kallewirsch became cultural shorthand for a certain kind of Frankfurt bloke: loud, blunt, proudly provincial. The TV series Och Joh (ARD, 1990) and Comedy Stories (Sat.1, 2000) made them household names. Their 1991 album Nicht ohne meinen Pappa was the first German spoken-word record to chart since 1983.
Nachtsheim confirmed the news: "He never lost his humor until the end and made us laugh even in our grief."
Before his death, the duo recorded a 12-episode podcast called Die Badesalz-Story, coming soon. Minister President Boris Rhein called him "a true original." The rest of us just said Gell.
Worth knowing:
Teaching Happiness: A Bergiusschule teacher now teaches "Happiness" as a subject. Colleagues laughed at first. Students are thriving.
Laura Nolte for flagbearer: The Frankfurt bobsledder and 2022 Olympic gold medalist is nominated to carry Germany's flag at the 2026 Winter Games. Vote online until February 3.
New openings: Rue 27 (coffee and vinyl, central Frankfurt) and Lamai (Thai, Westend) are open. Frankfurt Bagel Company launches in Sachsenhausen soon.
Frankfurt Tafel under strain: The food bank faces rising demand. Local authorities are seeking solutions.
The Frankfurter Schuss: DJ Sascha Lebemann wants to create a local party shot to rival Berliner Luft. Frankfurt's nightlife awaits the verdict.
MONEY MOVES 💰
Mark your calendars. Frankfurt Airport's Terminal 3 opens April 22, 2026.
Fire protection and safety inspections are cleared. Starting this week, 8,000 volunteers will stress-test the facility through April 16. Then 57 airlines currently in Terminal 2 relocate in four phases between mid-April and early June. Terminal 2 closes for a five-year renovation.
The new terminal adds capacity for 19 million passengers annually. Frankfurt Airport also became the first in Europe to deploy AI-powered security screening. Fraport invested €50 million in CT scanners and lane upgrades. Laptops stay in the bag.
Also in business:
Frankfurt alone at Davos: The only German region to host a WEF reception. Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, and Mayor Mike Josef attended. The region counted 90 new company settlements in 2025.
IHK demands deregulation: At the January 22 reception, IHK President Ulrich Caspar called for cutting red tape. Governor Rhein and Mayor Josef pointed to record employment.
ZEW defies tariffs: Despite Trump's tariff threats, German economic sentiment jumped to 59.6 in January, up from 45.8 in December. Highest since July 2021.
Fintech returns: Frankfurt Digital Finance 2026 brings 1,500 attendees to Palmengarten on February 11-12.
BEYOND THE SKYLINE 🌍
Your broken iPhone might finally be fixable.
The German cabinet launched a "Right to Repair" bill forcing manufacturers of phones, washing machines, and refrigerators to offer repairs at reasonable prices even after the warranty expires. The draft extends the legal warranty from two to three years when consumers choose repair over replacement. If a normally repairable product can't be serviced, that's now a warranty defect.
The legislation implements EU Directive 2024/1799, due by July 2026.
Quick takes:
Digital Führungszeugnis: The government approved digital criminal record certificates. No more paper chase.
More ICE stops in Friedberg: After loud complaints, Deutsche Bahn adds weekend ICE stops from May on the Bremen-Frankfurt-Karlsruhe line.
Hessian films at Berlinale: Six Hesse-funded films screen at the 76th Berlinale. Several shot in and around Frankfurt.
Wolf pack in Hesse: The Wolfszentrum confirmed a six-wolf pack in Greifenstein via camera trap. The raccoons have competition.
THIS WEEKEND 📅
January 30 – February 1
DORIAN GRAY IN MEMORIAM Vintage Factory 1977 hosts a tribute to Frankfurt's legendary 1980s airport club. If you know, you know. Saturday night.
Culture:
Daniel Müller-Schott – Violoncello at Alte Oper (Fri, 20:00)
"Die Nazis waren ja nicht einfach weg" – New exhibition at Museum für Kommunikation (opens Fri)
Kindertag – Family day at Alte Oper (Sun, 10:00 & 15:00)
Club nights:
Synthlab x Demolate: ETHER V2 – Temudo, Obscure Shape, Phil Berg (Fri)
Berliner Naechte x Rebellion der Träumer – Electronic showcase (Sat)
rough cure pres. Chiefs Birthday – ZEUZ, AMBAM b2b DeGuzman (Sat)
Wilde Herzen – Indie Pop Party mit deutschen Texten (Sat, 23:00)
H<3rt CORE – MetalCore / EmoCore night (Sat, 23:00)
Bollywood Night – (Fri, 23:00)
BY THE NUMBERS 📊
160,000
Eintracht Frankfurt's new record membership count, announced at the January 26 members' meeting. One of Germany's largest sports clubs.
Coach search update: Board spokesman Axel Hellmann says they're "on the home stretch." Jacob Neestrup (FC Copenhagen) is the frontrunner. The club crashed out of the Champions League after a 94th-minute collapse against FK Qarabag.
COMING UP 🔜
Loriot's Ring des Nibelungen – The late comedian's Wagner adaptation returns to Alte Oper in early February.
Fastnacht season – Mark February 14 for the Erstürmung des Rathauses, when OB Mike Josef hands the Römer keys to the Narren.
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069 – Your weekly pulse on Frankfurt
