Sachsenhausen: Apple Wine, Green Sauce & Museums

Sachsenhausen lies “dribbdebach” — that’s what we Frankfurters call the district south of the Main, literally “over the brook”. Here the city’s traditional heart beats: apple wine in the Bembel, green sauce on the plate, cobblestones underfoot. At the same time, the famous museum mile stretches along the riverbank, one of the densest concentrations of museums in Europe. This mix of the down-to-earth and high culture makes Sachsenhausen, for me, one of Frankfurt’s most exciting districts. Come along for a stroll.

Apple wine: the liquid landmark

No visit to Sachsenhausen without “Äppelwoi”. Apple wine — tart, slightly sour, refreshing — is Frankfurt’s national drink and is traditionally served in the “Bembel”, a grey-blue stoneware jug, poured into ridged glasses (“Gerippte”). The ridging once had a practical purpose: it kept the glass from slipping out of greasy fingers.

Around Alt-Sachsenhausen and Schweizer Straße you’ll find numerous traditional apple-wine taverns. My advice: avoid the noisiest party lanes of Alt-Sachsenhausen, which in the evening mainly attract a young party crowd. Instead, seek out one of the long-established, quieter taverns — there you sit at long wooden tables, get talking to locals and soak up the real atmosphere. If you don’t like apple wine, order a “Sauergespritztes” (with sparkling water) or a “Süßgespritztes” (with lemonade).

Green sauce and Hessian cuisine

Food goes hand in hand with apple wine. The most famous Frankfurt speciality is “Grie Soß”, green sauce: a cold sauce of seven herbs — classically borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel and chives — stirred with soured cream and yoghurt. It’s usually served with boiled eggs and jacket potatoes or with boiled beef. Fresh, herby and wonderfully unfussy.

You should also try “Handkäs mit Musik” (a sour-milk cheese marinated in vinegar, oil and onions — the “music” later lives up to its name), Frankfurt sausages or a hearty schnitzel. This cuisine is honest, down-to-earth and just the thing after a walk along the Main.

The Museumsufer

As traditional as one side of Sachsenhausen is, the other is cultural. The Frankfurt Museumsufer on the southern riverbank ranks among the most significant museum locations in Germany and Europe. Along just a few hundred metres, around a dozen institutions line up. Among the most important are:

• Städel Museum — one of Germany’s most significant art museums, with works from the Middle Ages to the present.
• German Film Museum (DFF) — all about the history and technology of film.
• Liebieghaus — an outstanding sculpture collection in a historic villa.
• Museum Angewandte Kunst — design, craft and applied art.
• Museum der Weltkulturen — ethnology and non-European cultures.

My tip: don’t try to do everything in one day — it’s overwhelming. Pick one or two houses that genuinely interest you and take your time. If you want to visit several museums, ask about a combined ticket or the Frankfurt Card.

Museumsuferfest

Once a year, on the last weekend in August, the riverbank turns into an enormous stage for the Museumsuferfest: hundreds of thousands celebrate with music, stalls and a grand closing fireworks display over the Main. If you’re in Frankfurt at that time, be sure to drop by — it’s one of the city’s biggest cultural festivals.

Schweizer Straße: strolling and enjoying

Schweizer Straße is Sachsenhausen’s central shopping street. Over more than a kilometre it links the riverbank in the north with the Südbahnhof and is lined with shops, cafés and restaurants. The late-classical residential and commercial buildings and the many trees give the street its special flair to this day.

Unlike the big, bustling Zeil, Schweizer Straße is upmarket and cosy. Here you shop and stroll more relaxedly, with many owner-run shops and pleasant places for a break. For me it’s one of the most agreeable streets in the city for a wander.

Walks and green corners

Sachsenhausen invites you to walk. From the Eiserner Steg, which connects Sachsenhausen with the old town, you stroll along the riverbank — with a constant view of the skyline opposite. In summer the bank is a popular spot to linger. If you’re after more greenery, you’ll find extensive woodland and parks in the south of the district, where you can escape the bustle entirely.

Practical tips

• Getting there: on foot over the Eiserner Steg from the old town, or by U-Bahn/S-Bahn and tram. Sachsenhausen is very well connected.
• Apple wine done right: choose a quiet, long-established tavern away from the noisiest lanes — it’s more authentic and more relaxed there.
• Ration the museums: better one or two houses at leisure than everything at a rush. Check the Frankfurt Card or a combined ticket.
• Best time: daytime for the Museumsufer and Schweizer Straße, the evening for the apple-wine culture.
• August highlight: the Museumsuferfest on the last weekend in August — plan early, it gets busy.

Conclusion

Sachsenhausen is Frankfurt in miniature: on one side the rustic apple-wine culture with the Bembel and green sauce, on the other the top-class museum mile on the Main. It’s precisely this contrast that makes the district’s charm. My advice for a thoroughly successful day: a museum on the riverbank in the morning, a stroll along Schweizer Straße, a walk by the Main with a skyline view — and in the evening a Bembel of Äppelwoi with green sauce in a cosy tavern. That way you experience both faces of Sachsenhausen in a single day.