Memorial · Frankfurt · Updated on 1 November 2026.
Frankfurter Engel is a memorial in Frankfurt, Hesse. This place has a story in the app. 47 of the 50 well-known points of interest nearby are within 1 km. Within 490 m you'll find a bench, a public toilet, a bike pump and a water point.
Story · Frankfurter Engel
You're standing where Schäfergasse meets Alte Gasse, right in the middle of Frankfurt. Take a look at the angel here. This is the Frankfurter Engel, the Frankfurt Angel. It might look like just another statue on a street corner, but it's a memorial with a heavy story behind it.
Read the whole story in the Outdoor Pitstop app: check in at this place and it is yours (with Pro; new users are Pro for the first 4 weeks).
Source: OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
3 photos from Wikimedia Commons. In the app you add your own photo when you are there.
The Frankfurter Engel is a memorial on a street corner in the centre of the city. It commemorates gay men and women who were persecuted and often murdered. It was the first memorial of its kind and was unveiled in 1994. You will find it at the junction of Schäfergasse and Alte Gasse, in the middle of Frankfurt. The Hauptwache, a well-known spot in the city, is 592 metres from the memorial.
At first glance, it looks like an ordinary angel statue on a street corner. Walk over to the base of the figure, because there is a text there. Loosely translated, it says that gay men and women were persecuted and murdered, that the crimes were denied, the dead were passed over in silence, and the survivors were scorned and condemned. The text ends with a warning: anyone who loves someone of the same sex can still be persecuted at any time. It is a short text, but it stays with you. The memorial stands outside, right on the street. You do not need to go inside anywhere, and you can stay as long as you like to read the words and look around.
The memorial grew out of a competition. On 20 July 1992, artists were invited to submit their designs. Rosemarie Trockel won, and her angel was unveiled on 11 December 1994. The injustice the angel commemorates did not end in 1945. Sex between men remained a criminal offence under Paragraaf 175 of the criminal code, and men were still being convicted in the years that followed. This only changed in 1968 in Oost-Duitsland and in 1969 in West-Duitsland. The Frankfurter Engel was the first of its kind in Duitsland. Similar memorials followed in other cities: in Keulen in 1995 and in Berlijn in 2008.
You'll find benches at the Frankfurter Engel memorial: the nearest is 3 metres away, at Klaus-Mann-Platz. There are 82 benches within 500 metres. The nearest public toilet is at Zeil, 256 metres away. This public toilet is free and always open. There are 5 public toilets in total within 500 metres. At 313 metres, at Kurt-Schumacher-Straße, you'll find a free bike pump. For drinking water, you'll need to walk a little further. The nearest water point is at Löwenbrunnen, 573 metres away. There you can fill a bottle, and the spot is wheelchair accessible.
After your visit to the memorial, you can explore some other spots in the centre of Frankfurt. The Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew is 685 metres away, St. Paul's Church is 702 metres away, and the Römer is 751 metres away. Each of these has an audio story, so you can listen to more about the place as you go. The distances are short, so you can easily walk them one after another. You can combine them into a small loop through the centre, and along the way you will pass the benches and toilets listed above.
The nearest pitstop of each kind within 1 km, as the crow flies. No honesty box within 1 km.
50 well-known points of interest nearby, those with an audio tour first. 47 of the 50 well-known points of interest nearby are within 1 km.
Hear the story of Städel Museum on the spot with the app
The 5 nearest points of interest with a story, within 2 km.
Museum MMKMuseum · 530 m away
St. Catherine's ChurchAttraction · 580 m away
HauptwacheAttraction · 590 m away
Goethe HouseAttraction · 830 m away
Alte OperAttraction · 950 m away
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The Frankfurter Engel stands at the crossroads of Schäfergasse and Alte Gasse, in the middle of Frankfurt. The memorial stands on the street, so you can stay as long as you like.
Artist Rosemarie Trockel made the Frankfurter Engel after winning a competition on 20 July 1992. Her angel was unveiled on 11 December 1994.
The Frankfurter Engel commemorates gay men and women who were persecuted and often murdered. After 1945, sex between men also remained punishable, until 1968 in the East and 1969 in the West.
Yes, the nearest bench is 3 metres from the Frankfurter Engel, at Klaus-Mann-Platz. There are 82 benches within 500 metres.
The nearest public toilet is 256 metres from the Frankfurter Engel, at Zeil. It is free and always open.
The nearest water tap is 573 metres from the Frankfurter Engel, at the Löwenbrunnen. It is wheelchair accessible and suitable for filling a bottle.
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