Task #23: The Frankfurt Dom

"Visit the place the locals in Frankfurt call 'The Dom.' Find out what elections were held there and take a photo of yourself there, holding a paper that answers that question."

You might think Dom means dome, but it doesn't. Do you see any dome on this place? I didn't think so. Beware, English-speakers, Dom is one of many "false friends" in German. It comes from the old German, D'om, or der Om, meaning a place where you could go inside and meditate on Om, even if it's a Catholic or Protestant place of worship. Just kidding. It doesn't mean that at all. It means cathedral. And it's the only major surviving historical building in Frankfurt. Thank god. I mean, there certainly aren't enough Gothic cathedrals to see in Europe...

As you can see the Dom is undergoing a little facelift (through 2008). If I was smart, I'd get stock in the restoration companies that take care of Europe's monuments. Seeing as I've never viewed a scaffold-free cathedral, it's safe to say these companies are *always* employed and doing well. Nonetheless, it was under this spire that the Holy Roman Empire's electors chose emperors and it subsequently served as the coronation ceremonies site between 1562 and 1792.

It's a construction-y area at the moment, but if you're going to hit the Frankfurt Museum of Modern Art, you may as well swing by since it's only a block away.