View source for Offenbach am Main

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox German place
|name               = Offenbach am Main
|type               = City
|image_coa          = Wappen Offenbach am Main.svg
|image_flag         = Flagge Offenbach am Main.svg
|coordinates        = {{coord|50.10466|N|8.76132|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan         = 
|state              = Hessen
|region             = Darmstadt
|district           = urban
|elevation          = 98 <!--average of 97 - 166-->
|area               = 44.88
|Gemeindeschlüssel  = 06413000
|postal_code        = 63001 - 63075
|area_code          = 069
|licence            = OF
|website            = [https://www.offenbach.de/ www.offenbach.de]
|mayor              = Felix Schwenke<ref name=mayor/>
|leader_term        = 2023&ndash;29
|Bürgermeistertitel = Lord Mayor
|party              = SPD
|image_photo        = Offenbach am main from drone.jpg
|image_caption      = The downtown of Offenbach}}

'''Offenbach am Main''' ({{IPA|de|ˈɔfn̩bax ʔam ˈmaɪn|-|De-Offenbach am Main.ogg}}, {{lit|Offenbach on the Main}}) is a [[List of cities and towns in Germany|city]] in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river [[Main (river)|Main]]. It borders [[Frankfurt]] and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger [[Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority|Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area]]. It has a population of 138,335 (December 2018).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.offenbach.de/medien/bindata/of/Statistik_und_wahlen_/dir-18/dir-37/VJB-2018-04_-_Jahreszahlen.pdf|title=Statistischer Vierteljahresbericht der Stadt Offenbach IV/2018|date=2018|website=Stadt Offenbach|publisher=Stadt Offenbach am Main, Amt für Arbeitsförderung, Statistik und Integration|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=15 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715223840/https://www.offenbach.de/medien/bindata/of/Statistik_und_wahlen_/dir-18/dir-37/VJB-2018-04_-_Jahreszahlen.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the 20th century, the city's economy was built on machine-building, leather-making, typography and design, and the automobile and pharmaceutical industries.

==History==
[[File:Offenbach (Merian).jpg|thumb|Offenbach in 1655]]
[[File:Frankfurterstr-of.jpg|thumb|The main street ''Frankfurter Straße'' around 1900]]
The first documented reference to a suburb of Offenbach appears in 770.<ref>{{cite web|last=Braun|first=Lothar|title=Offenbach und seine Vororte|url=http://offenbach.de/offenbach/themen/unterwegs-in-offenbach/stadtinfo/stadtteile/article/Vororte.html?pdfurl=http://offenbach.de/offenbach/themen/unterwegs-in-offenbach/stadtinfo/stadtteile/article/Vororte.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221201536/http://offenbach.de/offenbach/themen/unterwegs-in-offenbach/stadtinfo/stadtteile/article/Vororte.html?pdfurl=http%3A%2F%2Foffenbach.de%2Foffenbach%2Fthemen%2Funterwegs-in-offenbach%2Fstadtinfo%2Fstadtteile%2Farticle%2FVororte.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 February 2014|publisher=City of Offenbach|access-date=4 February 2014|date=12 February 2004}}</ref> In a document of the Holy Roman [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Otto II]] dating to 977 exists the first mention of the place of Offenbach.<ref name="factsfigures">{{cite web|title=Offenbach – Facts and Figures|url=http://www.offenbach.de/stepone/data/pdf/67/22/00/of-in-zahlen-2012_final_engl.pdf|publisher=City of Offenbach|access-date=4 February 2014|page=2|year=2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822010347/http://www.offenbach.de/stepone/data/pdf/67/22/00/of-in-zahlen-2012_final_engl.pdf|archive-date=22 August 2013}}</ref>  During the Middle Ages Offenbach passed through many hands. Only in 1486 could the Count Ludwig of [[County of Isenburg|Isenburg]] finally take control of city for his family, and 1556 Count Reinhard of Isenburg relocated his Residence to Offenbach, building a palace, the Isenburger Schloß (Isenburg Palace), which was completed in 1559. It was destroyed by fire in 1564 and rebuilt in 1578.

In 1635, Offenbach was given to the [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt|Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt]], but it was returned to the Isenburg-Birstein Count (later Prince) in 1642. It remained in that principality until 1815, when the [[Congress of Vienna]] gave the city to the Austrian Emperor, [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]]. A year later it was given to the [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt]].

Always very close to the city centre of Frankfurt, Offenbach was a popular location for business. The town has its own trade fair, and many companies have opened facilities here because there are fewer restrictions and no closed businesses. French Protestants ([[Huguenot]]s) came in the 17th century and settled in Offenbach and contributed to making Offenbach a prosperous city, e.g., bringing knowledge of tobacco with them and turning Offenbach into a centre for rolling cigars. The town was more cosmopolitan than Frankfurt; famous people such as [[Goethe]] and [[Mozart]] visited it several times.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

The Rumpenheim Palace and its park were a popular destination for monarchs in the 19th century. The city was thereafter ruled by [[Rulers of Hesse|Grand Dukes of Hesse and by Rhine]] until the monarchy was abolished in 1918. Offenbach became the center of the traditional design with figures such as the architect [[Hugo Eberhardt]], the typographer [[Rudolf Koch]], the bookbinder and designer [[Ignatz Wiemeler]] and [[Ernst Engel]] and the painter [[Karl Friedrich Lippmann]].{{cn|date=August 2025}}

During the [[Second World War]], a third of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing, which claimed 467 lives. With the new district [[Offenbach-Lauterborn|Lauterborn]] the city was expanded to the south in the 1960s. On the border with Frankfurt, the office district Kaiserlei was built. Offenbach is a so-called "Sozialer Brennpunkt" (deprived area) because of unemployment, poverty, gang related crime and migration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fnp.de/rhein-main/Gangster-Ghetto-Offenbach-was-ist-dran;art801,1166004|title=Nach dem Tod von Tugce A.|first=Frankfurter Neue|last=Presse|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080441/http://www.fnp.de/rhein-main/Gangster-Ghetto-Offenbach-was-ist-dran;art801,1166004|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Before its eradication in the [[Holocaust]], the city had a Jewish population. Jews settled in the city as late as the late 16th century, and it is believed that out of the 871 residents of the town as of 1829, the 40 Jewish families accounted for nearly a quarter of the town's population. They also established [[Jewish cemetery Offenbach-Bürgel|their own cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ehemals große jüdische Landgemeinde mit langer Tradition |url=https://www.offenbach.de/kultur-und-tourismus/stadtgeschichte/veranstaltungen-27/juedisches-buergel.php |website=offenbach |access-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914034729/https://www.offenbach.de/kultur-und-tourismus/stadtgeschichte/veranstaltungen-27/juedisches-buergel.php |archive-date=14 September 2016 |language=de}}</ref>

==Geography==
===Subdivision===
The inner city area of Offenbach is quite large and consists of the historic center of the city and its expansions of the 1800s. Three formerly independent suburbs were incorporated in the first half of the 20th century: [[Offenbach-Bürgel|Bürgel]] being the first in 1908, then [[Offenbach-Bieber|Bieber]] and [[Offenbach-Rumpenheim|Rumpenheim]] in 1938 and 1942.

South of the inner city area are the suburbs [[Offenbach-Lauterborn|Lauterborn]], [[Offenbach-Rosenhöhe|Rosenhöhe]] and [[Tempelsee]]. [[Offenbach-Kaiserlei|Kaiserlei]] is a commercial district in the far west of the city bordering Frankfurt. In the west [[Offenbach-Waldheim|Waldheim]] is a residential neighborhood on the city limits with ''Mühlheim am Main''. In 2010 the eastern part of the city center was officially named [[Offenbach-Mathildenviertel|Mathildenviertel]], as the area was already unofficially called by the locals.<ref>{{cite web|title=Antrag Magistratsvorlage Nr. 144/10|url=http://pio.offenbach.de/index.php?docid=2010-0015188&dsnummer=DS%20I%20(A)%20588|publisher=City of Offenbach|access-date=4 September 2016|date=21 April 2010}}</ref>

Unlike most larger cities in Germany, Offenbach was not completely divided into districts. Only the nine neighborhoods mentioned above were officially districts, leaving the largest parts of the city officially unnamed. Although specific names for neighborhoods and areas were already in use among the locals and residents.

In June 2019, the city council approved a new act that subdivides the city's area entirely into 21 districts. The nine existing districts largely remained the same, most of them were even expanded. The new districts were laid out after the already by locals commonly known neighborhoods, such as the Westend, the Nordend or Buchhügel. A completely new name was only needed to be found for one neighborhood south of the city center, which never had commonly used name before: Lindenfeld. The name derived from an old name of a land lot in this area, when it was still fields in agricultural use prior to the 1800s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/aus-9-mach-21-offenbach-verpasst-sich-12-neue-stadtteile,offenbach-stadtteile-100.html|title=Aus 9 mach 21: Offenbach verpasst sich 12 neue Stadtteile|last=Germany|first=hessenschau de, Frankfurt|date=28 June 2019|website=hessenschau.de|language=de|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>

As of July 2019, there are the following 21 districts:
{{Div col|colwidth=10em}}
*Bieber
*Bieberer Berg
*Buchhügel
*Buchrain
*Bürgel
*Carl-Ulrich-Siedlung
*Hafen
*Kaiserlei
*Lauterborn
*Lindenfeld
*Mathildenviertel
*Musikerviertel
*Nordend
*Offenbach-Ost
*Rosenhöhe
*Rumpenheim
*Senefelderquartier
*Tempelsee
*Waldheim
*Westend
*Zentrum
{{div col end}}

===Climate===
Offenbach experiences a [[Oceanic climate|temperate oceanic climate]] (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). Due to its location in the [[Upper Rhine Plain]], the whole Rhein-Main Metropolitan Region generally experiences one of the warmest climates in Germany, making it possible to grow plants such as [[vineyards]], [[palm trees]] and [[olive trees]].

==Governance==
=== Mayor ===
[[File:Felix Schwenke 01.jpg|thumb|Mayor Felix Schwenke]]
The current mayor of Offenbach is Felix Schwenke of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD). He was first elected in 2017,<ref name="op-onlin-543003">{{cite web|title=Rührung im Blitzlichtgewitter: Ära Schneider geht in die Ära Schwenke über|periodical=Op-online.de|url=https://www.op-online.de/offenbach/ruehrung-blitzlichtgewitter-9543003.html|access-date=20 January 2018|last=Thomas Kirstein|date=20 January 2018|language=de}}</ref> and was re-elected for a second term in 2023.<ref name=mayor>[https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/region-und-hessen/ob-wahl-offenbach-amtsinhaber-schwenke-siegt-im-ersten-wahlgang-deutlich-19181379.html Amtsinhaber Schwenke siegt schon im ersten Wahlgang deutlich], ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]'', 17 September 2023.</ref>

The following is a list of mayors since 1824:
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
*1824–1826: Peter Georg d'Orville
*1826–1834: Heinrich Philipp Schwaner
*1834–1837: Peter Georg d'Orville
*1837–1849: Jonas Budden
*1849–1859: Friedrich August Schäfer
*1859–1867: Johann Heinrich Dick
*1867–1874: Johann Martin Hirschmann
*1874–1882: Hermann Stölting
*1883–1907: Wilhelm Brink
*1907–1919: Andreas Dullo
*1919–1933: Max Granzin
*1947–1949: Johannes Rebholz
*1950–1957: Hans Klüber
*1957–1974: Georg Dietrich
*1974–1980: Walter Buckpesch
*1980–1986: Walter Suermann
*1986–1994: Wolfgang Reuter
*1994–2006: Gerhard Grandtke
*2006–2018: Horst Schneider
*2018–: Felix Schwenke
{{div col end}}

=== City council ===
The Offenbach city council (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 14 March 2021, and the results were as follows:

{{election table}}
! colspan=2| Party
! Lead candidate
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD)
| align=left| Felix Schwenke
| 610,508
| 28.4
| {{increase}} 3.6
| 20
| {{increase}} 2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}| 
| align=left| [[Alliance 90/The Greens]] (Grüne)
| align=left| Sybille Schumann
| 390,305
| 18.1
| {{increase}} 3.6
| 13
| {{increase}} 3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU)
| align=left| Roland Walter
| 389,099
| 18.1
| {{decrease}} 6.0
| 13
| {{decrease}} 4
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}| 
| align=left| [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]] ({{lang|de|Die Linke}})
| align=left| Sven Malsy
| 183,773
| 8.5
| {{increase}} 0.7
| 6
| ±0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alternative for Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Alternative for Germany]] (AfD)
| align=left| Christin Thüne
| 157,125
| 7.3
| {{decrease}} 1.7
| 5
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}| 
| align=left| [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP)
| align=left| Dominik Schwagereit
| 134,284
| 6.2
| {{decrease}} 3.3
| 4
| {{decrease}} 3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Free Voters}}| 
| align=left| [[Free Voters]] (FW)
| align=left| Dennis Lehmann
| 91,446
| 4.2
| {{increase}} 1.5
| 3
| {{increase}} 1
|-
| 
| align=left| Forum New Offenbach (FNO)
| align=left| Muhsin Senol
| 57,626
| 2.7
| {{decrease}} 0.2
| 2
| ±0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Pirate Party Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Pirate Party Germany]] (Piraten)
| align=left| Gregory Engels
| 46,459
| 2.2
| {{increase}} 0.5
| 2
| {{increase}} 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Die PARTEI}}| 
| align=left| [[Die PARTEI]] (PARTEI)
| align=left| Daniel Pfeiffer
| 34,957
| 1.6
| {{increase}} 1.1
| 1
| {{increase}} 1
|-
| 
| align=left| Young Offenbach (JO)
| align=left| Dominik Imeraj
| 28,525
| 1.3
| {{steady}} 0.0
| 1
| ±0
|-
| 
| align=left| Alliance for Innovation and Justice (BIG)
| align=left| Fikri Türet
| 27,574
| 1.3
| New
| 1
| New
|-
! colspan=3| Valid votes
! 32,424
! 96.1
! 
! 
! 
|-
! colspan=3| Invalid votes
! 1,308
! 3.9
! 
! 
! 
|-
! colspan=3| Total
! 33,732
! 100.0
! 
! 71
! ±0
|-
! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout
! 94,827
! 35.6
! {{increase}} 2.7
! 
! 
|-
| colspan=8| Source: [https://wahlen.statistik.hessen.de/k_2021/html/Gemeindewahl/VG413000 Statistics Hesse]
|}

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Offenbach am Main is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Offenbach und seine Partnerstädte|url=https://www.offenbach.de/rathaus/stadtinfo/staedtepartnerschaften/staedtepartnerschaften-intro.php|website=offenbach.de|publisher=Offenbach am Main|language=de|access-date=4 March 2021|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225140312/https://www.offenbach.de/rathaus/stadtinfo/staedtepartnerschaften/staedtepartnerschaften-intro.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Puteaux]], France (1955)
*{{flagicon|LUX}} [[Esch-sur-Alzette]], Luxembourg (1956)
*{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Mödling]], Austria (1956)
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Saint-Gilles, Belgium|Saint-Gilles]], Belgium (1956)
*{{flagicon|ENG}} [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], England, United Kingdom (1956)
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Zemun|Zemun (Belgrade)]], Serbia (1956)
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Velletri]], Italy (1957)
*{{flagicon|NCA}} [[Rivas, Nicaragua|Rivas]], Nicaragua (1986)
*{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Kawagoe, Saitama|Kawagoe]], Japan (1983)
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Oryol]], Russia (1988)
<!--Kőszeg - friendship, not twinning-->
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Yangzhou]], China (1997)
{{div col end}}

==Demographics==
Offenbach has a large non-German population. In 2016, foreign nationals made up 37% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.offenbach.de/medien/bindata/of/Statistik_und_wahlen_/dir-18/dir-29/BEV3-2016_-_Nichtdeutschenanteil_seit_2009_Grafiken.pdf |title=Official statistics |access-date=28 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329050435/https://www.offenbach.de/medien/bindata/of/Statistik_und_wahlen_/dir-18/dir-29/BEV3-2016_-_Nichtdeutschenanteil_seit_2009_Grafiken.pdf |archive-date=29 March 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The largest communities are, in that order, from Turkey, Greece, Romania, Poland and Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.offenbach.de/medien/bindata/of/Statistik_und_wahlen_/dir-18/dir-29/BEV3-Aktuell_Nationalitaeten.pdf |title=Official statistics for nationalities in 2016 |access-date=28 March 2017 |archive-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329050347/https://www.offenbach.de/medien/bindata/of/Statistik_und_wahlen_/dir-18/dir-29/BEV3-Aktuell_Nationalitaeten.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As of 2019, residents with a [[migration background]] enumerated 88,608, or 63.4% of the population, while Germans without a migration background enumerated 51,241 residents.<ref name="Statistische Publikationen">{{Cite web |title=Statistische Publikationen |url=https://www.offenbach.de/buerger_innen/rathaus-politik/offenbach-in-zahlen/statistikveroeffentlichung.php |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=Stadt Offenbach |language=de}}</ref> Nearly one-in-three, 29.5%, of foreign residents originate from Europe, particularly from countries like [[Romania]], [[Greece]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Poland]], [[Croatia]] and [[Italy]].<ref name="Statistische Publikationen"/>

According to census data, Offenbach<ref name="op-online.de">{{Cite web |date=2023-03-06 |title=Rund 14 Prozent der Offenbacher sind Muslime |url=https://www.op-online.de/offenbach/offenbach-prozent-sind-muslime-4648763.html |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=www.op-online.de |language=de}}</ref> and [[Duisburg]] had the highest share of [[Muslims|Muslim]] migrants of all German districts in 2011. Muslims were between 14% and 17% of the city's population as of 2011.<ref name="op-online.de"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://kartenseite.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/muslime-in-deutschland-landkreise/ |title=Kartenseite: Muslime in Deutschland – Landkreise |publisher=kartenseite.wordpress.com |date=5 April 2017 |access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hahn |first=Michael |date=9 May 2011 |title=Muslime in den Großstädten beim Zensus 2011 |url=https://kartenseite.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/brd_muslime_in_den_grossstaedten_beim_zensus2011_sortiert_nach_muslimanteil-1.pdf |access-date=24 October 2023 |website=kartenseite files wordpress.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-05 |title=Muslime in Deutschland 2011 – Zahlen für die Großstädte |url=https://kartenseite.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/muslime-in-deutschland-2011-zahlen-fuer-die-grossstaedte/ |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=Kartenseite |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-05 |title=Muslime in Deutschland 2011 – Landkreise – Karte (Islam-Karte) |url=https://kartenseite.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/muslime-in-deutschland-landkreise/ |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=Kartenseite |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ZENSUS2011 - Press - 2011 Census: 80.2 million inhabitants lived in Germany on 9 May 2011 |url=https://www.zensus2011.de/SharedDocs/Pressreleases/2013_Archiv/PR187_80_2_million_inhabitants_lived_in_Germany_on_9_May_2011.html |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=www.zensus2011.de}}</ref> [[Turks in Germany|Turks]] made up 11% of the city's population in 2019.<ref name="Statistische Publikationen"/>

==Population history==
[[File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung in Offenbach.png|thumb|The development of the population in Offenbach between 1540 and 1997]]
Until the end of the 17th century, Offenbach remained a small town with less than a thousand inhabitants. With the coming into power of the count [[Johann Philipp]] in 1685, the city began to develop and the population rose steadily. In the 19th century the city became industrialized and the population increased even tenfold.<ref name="grossstadtmain">{{cite web|title=Offenbach – die kleine Großstadt am Main|url=http://www.offenbach.de/offenbach/themen/unterwegs-in-offenbach/stadtinfo/article/ofportrait.html|publisher=City of Offenbach|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219072938/http://www.offenbach.de/offenbach/themen/unterwegs-in-offenbach/stadtinfo/article/ofportrait.html|archive-date=19 February 2014}}</ref> 
Offenbach is one of the German cities where Germans without migrant background make up a minority of the population. As of 31 December 2012, approx. 44.3% of residents or 55,047 people had no foreign background. In contrast to that, there were 55.7% or 69,214 people with at least one non-German grandparent.<ref>{{cite web|title=Einwohner mit Migrationshintergrund am 31.12.2012|url=http://www.offenbach.de/stepone/data/pdf/e0/21/00/migrationshintergrund-migra-pro-seit-2009.pdf|publisher=Melderegister Offenbach, MigraPro|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109180449/http://www.offenbach.de/stepone/data/pdf/e0/21/00/migrationshintergrund-migra-pro-seit-2009.pdf|archive-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> The largest of those groups are:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.offenbach.de/stepone/data/pdf/3a/1e/00/bevoelkerung-mit-migrationshintergrund-1-2012.pdf |title=Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund in Offenbach am Main : Erhebungsmethode und Ergebnisse |publisher=Offenbach.de |access-date=17 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201052018/http://www.offenbach.de/stepone/data/pdf/3a/1e/00/bevoelkerung-mit-migrationshintergrund-1-2012.pdf |archive-date=1 December 2012 }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable floatright"
|+Largest groups of foreign residents by 2022
|-
! Country|| Population
|-
|{{flag|Turkey}}||6,179
|-
|{{flag|Romania}}||5,631
|-
|{{flag|Syria}}||5,416
|-
|{{flag|Greece}}||5,180
|-
|{{flag|Bulgaria}}||4,984
|-
|{{flag|Poland}}||4,112
|-
|{{flag|Croatia}}||4,052
|-
|{{flag|Italy}}||3,919
|-
|{{flag|Ukraine}}||3,469
|-
|{{flag|Serbia}}||3,127
|-
|{{flag|Afghanistan}}||2,715
|-
|{{flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}||2,380
|-
|{{flag|Iraq}}||1,807
|-
|{{flag|Morocco}}||1,386
|-
|{{flag|Spain}}||1,234
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Year
! Population
|-
|1540 ||style="text-align:right;"|480
|-
|1685 ||style="text-align:right;"|600
|-
|1718 ||style="text-align:right;"|1,500
|-
|1800 ||style="text-align:right;"|5,000
|-
|1816 ||style="text-align:right;"|6,210
|-
|1825 ||style="text-align:right;"|7,147
|-
|1828 ||style="text-align:right;"|7,466
|-
|1830 ||style="text-align:right;"|7,498
|-
|1 December 1834 ||style="text-align:right;"|9,433
|-
|1 December 1840 ||style="text-align:right;"|9,597
|-
|3 December 1843 ||style="text-align:right;"|9,883
|-
|3 December 1846 ||style="text-align:right;"|11,565
|-
|3 December 1852 ||style="text-align:right;"|11,087
|-
|3 December 1855 ||style="text-align:right;"|13,724
|-
|3 December 1861 ||style="text-align:right;"|16,708
|-
|3 December 1864 ||style="text-align:right;"|19,390
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Year
! Population
|-
|3 December 1867 ||style="text-align:right;"|20,322
|-
|1 December 1871 ||style="text-align:right;"|22,689
|-
|1 December 1875 ||style="text-align:right;"|26,012
|-
|1 December 1880 ||style="text-align:right;"|28,597
|-
|1 December 1885 ||style="text-align:right;"|31,704
|-
|1 December 1890 ||style="text-align:right;"|35,064
|-
|2 December 1895 ||style="text-align:right;"|39,388
|-
|1 December 1900 ||style="text-align:right;"|50,468
|-
|1 December 1905 ||style="text-align:right;"|59,765
|-
|1 December 1910 ||style="text-align:right;"|75,583
|-
|1 December 1916 ||style="text-align:right;"|67,197
|-
|5 December 1917 ||style="text-align:right;"|67,483
|-
|8 October 1919 ||style="text-align:right;"|75,380
|-
|16 June 1925 ||style="text-align:right;"|79,362
|-
|16 June 1933 ||style="text-align:right;"|81,329
|-
|17 May 1939 ||style="text-align:right;"|85,140
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Year
! Population
|-
|31 December 1945 ||style="text-align:right;"|70,600
|-
|29 October 1946 ||style="text-align:right;"|75,479
|-
|13 September 1950 ||style="text-align:right;"|89,030
|-
|25 September 1956 ||style="text-align:right;"|104,283
|-
|6 June 1961 ||style="text-align:right;"|116,195
|-
|31 December 1965 ||style="text-align:right;"|117,893
|-
|27 May 1970 ||style="text-align:right;"|117,306
|-
|31 December 1975 ||style="text-align:right;"|115,251
|-
|31 December 1980 ||style="text-align:right;"|110,993
|-
|31 December 1985 ||style="text-align:right;"|107,090
|-
|25 May 1987 ||style="text-align:right;"|111,386
|-
|31 December 1990 ||style="text-align:right;"|114,992
|-
|31 December 1995 ||style="text-align:right;"|116,533
|-
|31 December 2000 ||style="text-align:right;"|117,535
|-
|30 September 2005 ||style="text-align:right;"|119,833
|-
|31 March 2007 ||style="text-align:right;"|117,224
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Year
! Population
|-
|31 December 2008 ||style="text-align:right;"|118,103
|-
|31 December 2009 ||style="text-align:right;"|117,718
|-
|31 December 2010 ||style="text-align:right;"|119,734
|-
|31 December 2011 ||style="text-align:right;"|121,970
|-
|31 December 2012 ||style="text-align:right;"|116,945
|-
|31 December 2013 ||style="text-align:right;"|126,934
|}

==Economy==
[[File:City Tower Nordseite2.jpg|thumb|The 120-meter high "City-Tower" is mainly used as the German headquarters of [[Capgemini]].]]
Until the early 1970s, Offenbach was dominated by the machine-building and leather industries.{{cn|date=February 2025}} The city hosts the [[Verband der Elektrotechnik, Elektronik und Informationstechnik|German Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies]] to this day. The [[Deutscher Wetterdienst]], commonly abbreviated as DWD, (translated from German as German Meteorological Service), residing in the Westend district.

Offenbach was also the European center of [[typography]], with [[Gebr. Klingspor]] and [[Mergenthaler Linotype Company|Linotype]] (inventors of [[Optima]] or [[Palatino]] [[typeface]]) moving to nearby [[Eschborn]] in the 1970s and [[MAN Roland]] printing machines still a major employer today. Typography and design still remain important with a cluster of graphic design and industrial design companies, as well as the university level [[Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main]] (HfG) design school and the [[Klingspor Museum]].

In recent years Offenbach has become a popular location for a wide array of services, especially from the transport sectors. Offenbach is the host to the European headquarters of [[Honda]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kontakt|url=https://www.honda.de/cars/useful-links/contact-us.html|access-date=8 January 2023|website=www.honda.de|language=de}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2023}} [[Hyundai Motors]]<ref>"[http://www.hyundai.com/eu/en/NewsEvent/NewsEvents/096795.html News & Events] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211112934/http://www.hyundai.com/eu/en/NewsEvent/NewsEvents/096795.html |date=2012-02-11 }}." Hyundai. Retrieved on 22 April 2012. "Kaiserleipromenade 5 63067 Offenbach"</ref> and [[Kumho Tires]].<ref>"[http://www.kumhotire.de/metanavigation/impressum.html Impressum] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104173456/http://www.kumhotire.de/metanavigation/impressum.html |date=2011-11-04 }}." Kumho Tyres. Retrieved on 9 November 2011. "Brüsseler Platz 1 63067 Offenbach am Main"</ref>

<gallery>
Omega-haus01.JPG|An office building in Offenbach-Kaiserlei
Zeitungsrollenoffsetdruck-COLORMAN.jpg|A printing machine produced by [[Manroland]]
Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept.jpg|[[Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept]] developed in Offenbach
Sheraton-offenbach.jpg|The [[Sheraton Hotels and Resorts|Sheraton]] Offenbach
01 Ring Center shopping mall, Offenbach am Main, Germany.jpg|Einkaufszentrum Ring Center
</gallery>

==Arts and culture==
===Attractions===
[[File:Klingspor-Museum.jpg|thumb|Klingspor Museum]]
[[File:Park-of.JPG|thumb|The Büsing-Park in winter]]
[[File:Offenbach 18.04.2014 19-49-55.jpg|thumb|French Protestant church and City Tower]]
In Offenbach there is no specific Old Town, but there are several buildings which survived bombing during the war and have been restored. One of them is the [[Baroque Revival architecture|Neo-baroque]] palace ''Büsingpalais'' with the Büsingpark, reconstructed in the 1980s. Today it is used as a congress center close to the Sheraton hotel. Between the shopping area and the Main, is the ''Lilipark'' and the ''Lilitemple'', named after [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]'s fiancée Lili Schönemann. The most important building is the Isenburger Schloss ([[Isenburg Castle|Isenburg Palace]]), a [[Renaissance architecture|renaissance]] palace from 1576. It is today used by the [[Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main|Offenbach Design University]] which is next to it. There is also a [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassic]] palace in the borough Rumpenheim, the ''Rumpenheimer Schloss'' it now serves exclusively as domestic dwellings but the park is public.
*''Isenburger Schloss'', a Renaissance building, now used by the [[Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main|Offenbach Design University]]
*''Büsingpalais'' with Büsingpark
*''Wilhelmsplatz'' a square with coffee houses and three times a week a market.
*Buildings of the French Protestant Church and the French Protestant Community.
*Rumpenheim Palace.
*Former Synagogue "Capitol" (now a concert hall next to the new Synagogue).
*The Westend Quarter (19th century).
*Several [[art deco]] apartment houses.
*Buildings by early 20th century architect [[Hugo Eberhardt]]: "Heyne" Factory, main building of the [[Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main|Design University]], AOK Insurance building.
*Prefabricated houses by [[Egon Eiermann]] in [[Offenbach-Lauterborn|Lauterborn]]

===Events===
There are several festivals in Offenbach, some of these are:
* ''Lichterfest im Büsing-Park'' (festival of lights in the park of the Büsing palais)
* ''Nacht der Museen'' (with Frankfurt)
* ''Mainuferfest''
* ''Cross Media Night''

===Museums===
* [[German Leather Museum]]
* ''[[Klingspor Museum]]'', museum of [[typography]] and [[calligraphy]]
* ''Haus der Stadtgeschichte'', municipal historical museum
* ''Rosenheim-Museum'' for the painter Bernd Rosenheim

==Sports==
[[File:Diba stadion offenbach 06.JPG|thumb|Home to the football club [[Kickers Offenbach]] stadium "Bieberer Berg"]]
[[Kickers Offenbach]] [[association football|football]] club was founded in 1901.

==Transport==
[[File:S-Bahnhof Offenbach Marktplatz.jpg|thumb|S-Bahn station: Marktplatz]]
[[File:S-Bahn-Netz Offenbach.png|thumb|S-Bahn network in Offenbach]]

===Roads===
The streets of central Offenbach are usually congested with cars during the rush hour. Some areas, especially around the shopping streets, are pedestrian-only streets. There are numerous car parks located throughout the city. The Offenbacher Kreuz is an Autobahn interchange where the Autobahnen [[Bundesautobahn 3|A 3]] ([[Cologne]]-[[Würzburg]]) and [[Bundesautobahn 661|A 661]]  meet. The A661 crosses the [[Bundesautobahn 3|A 3]] ([[Cologne]]-[[Würzburg]]) and [[Bundesautobahn 5|A 5]] ([[Basel]]-[[Hannover]]).

===Public transport===
{{unreferencedsect|date=February 2025}}
The city is connected by a major line of the [[Rhine-Main S-Bahn|S-Bahn railway system]] to Frankfurt. The station in the city center is ''Marktplatz''. In general, six stations are located in Offenbach: ''Offenbach-Kaiserlei'', ''Offenbach-Ledermuseum'', ''Offenbach-Marktplatz'', ''[[Offenbach-Ost station|Offenbach-Ost]]'', ''Offenbach-Bieber'', ''Offenbach-Waldhof''. Trains run every 5–10 minutes between Offenbach and Frankfurt. A 24 hours Service between both cities was introduced in 2013. The journey from Offenbach Marktplatz to Frankfurt Main Station takes 15 minutes, Frankfurt Airport can be reached within 26 minutes.
Suburban trains run underground in downtown Offenbach. The city tunnel was opened in 1996. Services split up at Offenbach-Ost Station to Hanau (S8 and S9 trains), Rödermark (S1) and Dietzenbach (S2).
An often-addressed problem is that there is no direct interchange between regional and suburban trains in Offenbach, since the lines were separated when the tunnel was built. Therefore, residents and city officials have proposed several times that platforms for regional trains should be added to the Offenbach-Ost Station.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

The city's municipal public transportation services are operated by the "Offenbacher Verkehrsbetriebe" (OVB) and its subcontractors.
Nine routes (numbered 101–108 and 120) connect all boroughs with the major train stations at Marktplatz, Offenbach-Ost and Kaiserlei as well as the Central Station. The bus network has very good coverage and frequency of service. All routes except for number 102 and number 107 busses stop at Marktplatz station, making it the most important transit hub in the city. Buses usually run with a 15-minute headway on working days and a 30-minute headway on Sundays, public holidays and after 8:00 pm.
Exemptions are routes 103, 107 and 120 which run every 30 minutes. Number 103 and 120 buses share most of their route, creating a 15-minute headway on the shared section in downtown Offenbach. Those two routes also connect the city of Offenbach with its surrounding towns, Frankfurt am Main, Mühlheim am Main and Obertshausen.
Out of all municipal bus services the number 101 bus is the most frequented route. It runs every 7 or 8 minutes Mondays through Fridays. Service on the other most frequented routes (104 and 105) is also increased to a 7/8-minute headway during rush hours.
In addition to the municipal bus services there are regional buses that serve the city. Two express bus routes connect Offenbach to the city of Langen (route X83) and Bad Vilbel (X97). Other services are the number OF-30 bus to Heusenstamm, the 41 bus to Fechenheim as well as the 551 to Gravenbruch, Enkheim and Bad Vilbel.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

Regional trains stop at the Offenbach Central Station in the city's center. The station is on the Frankfurt-Hanau main line which is one of railway with the most traffic in Germany. Mostly hourly service for Wächsersbach, Fulda, Würzburg and Erbach call at the Offenbach Central Station.
There is no long-distance train service at central station, although many high-speed trains pass through on their way from Frankfurt to Munich, Berlin or Hamburg.
The station lost most of its importance when the suburban trains were re-routed through the newly build tunnel beneath Berliner Straße. Nonetheless a train ride from Offenbach Central Station to Frankfurt Central Station takes only ten minutes.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

===Frankfurt Airport===
The city is accessed from around the world via the [[Frankfurt Airport]], (Flughafen Frankfurt am Main) which is located {{convert|12|km|abbr=off}} from Offenbach. The airport can be reached by car or bus and has two train stations, one for regional and one for long-distance traffic. The S-Bahn lines S8 and S9 (direction "Offenbach Ost or "Hanau"), departing from the regional traffic station, take 25 minutes from the airport to get to Offenbach.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

==Notable people==
[[File:JohannAndreKomponistS46.jpg|thumb|150px|Johann André]]
[[File:Salomon Formstecher Rabbiner aus Offenbach am Main.JPG|thumb|150px|Salomon Formstecher]]
[[File:Böhm-2.jpg|thumb|150px|Gottfried Böhm]]
{{Further|Category:People from Offenbach am Main}}
*[[Johann André]] (1741–1799), founder of the music publishing firm named after him
*[[Moritz Wilhelm August Breidenbach]] (1796–1857), jurist
*[[Salomon Formstecher]] (1808–1889), rabbi and philosopher
*[[Philipp Mainländer]] (1841–1876), poet and philosopher
*[[Siegfried Guggenheim]] (1873–1961), lawyer, notary and art collector
*[[Richard Heyne]] (1882–1961), member of Landtag and producer
*[[Christian Dell]] (1882–1974), industrial designer, factory designer on [[Bauhaus]]
*[[Hans Halberstadt]] (1885–1966), American fencer
*[[Prince Philipp of Hesse]] (1896–1980), prince and governor
*[[Bernard von Brentano]] (1901–1964), writer, essayist and journalist
*[[Heinrich von Brentano]] (1904–1964), conservative politician
*[[Berthold Wolpe]] (1905–1989), typographer and [[type designer]]
*[[Hans Hotter]] (1909–2003), opera singer
*[[Helene Mayer]] (1910–1953), fencer, Olympic champion
*[[Edith Schloss]] (1919–2011), artist, writer
*[[Gottfried Böhm]] (1920–2021), architect who won the [[Pritzker Architecture Prize]] in 1986
*[[Hermann Nuber]] (1935–2022), footballer
*[[Ray Bumatai]] (1952–2005), musician, actor and singer
*[[Jimmy Hartwig]] (born 1954), football player, manager and actor
*[[Olli Dittrich]] (born 1956), actor and comedian
*[[Smudo]] (born 1968), musician and rapper
*[[Sven Beckert]] (born 1969), history professor at Harvard, winner of 2015 Bancroft Prize for Empire of Cotton
*[[Helma Wennemers]] (born 1969), German organic chemist and professor
*[[Christian Lammert]] (born 1969), political scientist
*[[Christian Sievers]] (born 1969), journalist
*[[Tarek Al-Wazir]] (born 1971), politician, Deputy of the Hessian Minister-President
*[[Haftbefehl|Aykut Anhan]] (born 1985), musician and rapper
*[[Jochen K. Roos]] (born 1990), politician

===Notable residents===
*[[Jacob Frank]] (1726–1791), Jewish religious leader
*[[Abraham Bing]] (1752–1841), rabbi
*[[Rudolf Koch]] (1876–1934), typeface designer, calligrapher and university professor
*[[Friedrich Kellner]] (1885–1970), official and justice inspector, attended Goethschule here
*[[Heinrich Kaminski]] (1886–1946), composer, worked here
*[[Ignatz Wiemeler]] (1895–1952), [[Bookbinding|bookbinder]] and university professor<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ignatz Wiemeler and his ingenious bindings. A highlight in the collections of the Klingspor Museum Offenbach|url=https://www.aepm.eu/publications/conference-proceedings-2/conference-proceedings/rosita-nenno-ignatz-wiemeler-and-his-ingenious-bindings/|access-date=8 February 2021|website=Association of European Printing Museums}}</ref>
*[[Fritz Kredel]] (1900–1973), German-American artist and graphic designer, studied here
*[[Regina Jonas]] (1902–1944), first female Rabbi, ordained in Offenbach
*[[Karlgeorg Hoefer]] (1914–2000), [[calligrapher]] and [[typographer]]
*[[Cornelia Hanisch]] (born 1952), fencer, Olympic winner
*[[Dieter Müller]] (born 1954), footballer
*[[Rudi Völler]] (born 1960), football player and manager
*[[Götz Otto]] (born 1967), actor
*[[Anthony Rother]] (born 1972), electronic musician

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Offenbach Isenburger Schloss c.jpg|''Isenburger Schloss''
Büsing Palais d.jpg|''Büsingpalais''
Offenbach Rumpenheimer Schloss a.jpg|''Rumpenheimer Schloss''
OFwochenmarkt.jpg|The market on Wilhelmsplatz
Hfg-offenbach-germany.jpg|Detail at the building of the HfG, designed by Hugo Eberhardt
Darmstädter-straße.jpg|A typical street in Offenbach
Klinikum-offenbach-2010.JPG|The municipal hospital
Buchrainweg29.jpg|The house where Rudolf Koch lived, one of the art deco houses in the southwestern part of the town
Offenbach Hills.jpg|Offenbach hills
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Germany}}
{{Commons|Offenbach am Main}}
* {{wikivoyage inline|Offenbach}}
* {{Official website}} {{in lang|de}}
*{{Wikisource inline|list=
** {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Offenbach |volume=20 |page=16 |noicon=x |short=x}}
** {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Offenbach |noicon=x |short=x}}
}}

{{Cities in Germany}}
{{Germany districts Hesse}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Offenbach Am Main}}
[[Category:Offenbach am Main| ]]<!--please leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:Cities in Hesse]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Main basin]]
[[Category:Populated riverside places in Germany]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities]]
[[Category:Urban districts of Hesse]]
[[Category:Darmstadt (region)]]