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Some 90km east of Berlin lies the border town of FRANKFURT AN DER ODER . Like so many communities along the course of the River Oder, it was split in two in 1945, with the Altstadt on the west bank remaining in German hands, while the east bank suburb became the Polish town of S'ubice. As Frankfurt was almost totally destroyed during the war, it's mainly of interest now as a stopover point on journeys to and from Poland. Nonetheless, it's a place with a long and distinguished history, dating back to the thirteenth century, when German merchants founded a settlement and built a wooden bridge over the Oder. Subsequently, the town developed as an important trade centre.

Today the Marktplatz remains the focal point of the centre. On its southern side is the Marienkirche , the biggest of all Germany's brick Gothic hall churches. It was reduced to a roofless ruin following a bombing raid, and remained in this forlorn state throughout the GDR epoch. Restoration work has been in progress since the Wende ; it now has a roof once again, and for the time being at least, the enormous interior is devoted to temporary exhibitions. Directly opposite, forming a deliberate juxtaposition of the sacred and secular, is the Rathaus , another exercise in virtuoso brickwork, which ranks among the most impressive town halls in Germany.

Between Marktplatz and the river is the Kleist-Museum (Tues-Sun 11am-5pm; DM4/¬2), which is devoted to the life and works of the town's favourite son, the dramatist and short-story writer Heinrich von Kleist . At C.-P.-E.-Bach-Str. 11 is the Museum Viadrina (Tues-Sun 11am-5pm; DM4/¬2), a grandiose Prussian Junker house containing displays on the history of Frankfurt and the surrounding region. The building will be under renovation until 2003, but a small temporary exhibition is on view.

Further north, beyond the bridge to Poland, is the Konzerthalle C.P.E. Bach , the main concert hall of a town with a strong musical tradition, as is reflected by the presence of the academy alongside. The building, an intact Gothic hall church, is named in honour of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach - son of J.S. and one of the most bizarrely idiosyncratic composers of musical history - who spent part of his life in the town. Finally, at the southern end of the Altstadt, the curious two-storey Gertraudkirche (Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm) contains the treasures formerly kept in the Marienkirche, including two outstanding fourteenth-century pieces: a tall candelabra and a font adorned with 44 reliefs of Old and New Testament scenes.