Hesse

The classical view of the Paulskirche in Frankfurt — the angle that carries the greatest visual impact. The design powerfully conveys the tension between the dominant tower and the elliptical body of the church. The slightly oversized steps lend the composition an inviting quality and draw the eye to the inscription 'HESSEN' below. To the left: the year '2015' and the mint mark ('A', 'D', 'F', 'G' or 'J'); to the right: the country code 'D' and the artist's initials ('HH' — Heinz Hoyer).

St Paul's Church in Frankfurt am Main stands for one of the most consequential attempts to unite Germany by democratic means. When the revolution of 1848 shook the old order, elected representatives from all German states gathered here for the first time as the Frankfurt National Assembly. The building, originally built as a Lutheran church and completed in 1833, thus became the first all-German parliament - and the place where fundamental rights were drafted and a constitutional charter was fiercely debated. That the project ultimately failed does not diminish its historical significance: Frankfurt and Hesse were the cradle of German parliamentarianism.

Hesse is among the most populous and economically significant states of the Federal Republic. Frankfurt am Main, the state's economic centre, is home to the European Central Bank and Germany's largest airport; Wiesbaden serves as the state capital and hosts several federal authorities. The state in its present form emerged in 1945 from the American occupation zone and was constituted as an independent state in 1946. As part of the German Federal States series, Germany honoured Hesse in 2015 as one of sixteen states that together form the federal structure of the republic.