It is part of the Ortsbezirk Innenstadt I. The Bahnhofsviertel was developed between and Along with the Westend , the Nordend and the Ostend , it is part of Frankfurt's dense inner city districts. The Bahnhofsviertel is known as one of Frankfurt's main entertainment and red-light districts the latter esp. The Bahnhofsviertel is scarcely half a square kilometre larger than the Altstadt , making it the second smallest district of the city.
The longest border line is just short of a kilometre long. The Main river forms a natural border in the south. Adjacent districts to the west are the Gutleutviertel and the Gallus around Frankfurt Central Station , the Westend in the north and the Innenstadt in the east. To the south, on the opposite side of the Main, lies Sachsenhausen.
The area between the Frankfurt city wall and field of the gallows had hardly been constructed by the early nineteenth century.
Only farming estates were to be found in this area. Near to the city gallows and as an unprotected site outside the city walls, it was left alone for a long time. As industrialisation came in, the city walls and its gallows were torn down to be replaced initially by villas with large gardens. The technical advances were especially noticeable here. The track of the Taunus station ran through the middle of the district of today's station quarter. Later the stations of the Main-Neckar and Main-Weser lines were added to that.
The western stations were grouped together until , after which time they were replaced by the new Frankfurt central station , which was situated another m further west. Thus the railway tracks also became redundant, and the year was able to begin with a dividing up of the area. As there was still no significant residential zone existing in , the area became the central site of the International Electro-Technical Exhibition led by Oskar von Miller.
