Being around for more than 775 years, Messe Frankfurt has proven its tenacity through international success and a growing portfolio, boasting 132 (and counting) trade fairs across over 40 locations on five continents, with 29 subsidiaries and approximately 2,300 employees. How did we reach this point? Where did it all begin? Let’s take a look back at some of the pivotal moments in Messe Frankfurt’s history.
Frankfurt International 1922
International Cooking Fair 1937
First post-war trade fair 1948
Music Instrument Stand 1958
Frankfurt Fairground 1970
Frankfurt International Fair 1972
Frankfurt Fairground 1980s
Frankfurt Fairgrounds 1990s
Frankfurt Fairground 2004
Frankfurt Fairgrounds 2015
1105 - The first recorded reference to a trade fair in Frankfurt.
1240 - Emperor Frederick II grants Frankfurt the right to hold fairs and exhibitions and approves an autumn trade fair.
1330 - Emperor Louis IV allows Frankfurt to hold a second fair in the spring.
1585 - The establishment of the Frankfurt Exchange lays the foundation for the development of Frankfurt into a financial center.
1891 - The first edition of International Electrotechnical Exhibition.
1907 - Establishment of Ausstellung- und Messegesellschaft mbH, now known as Messe Frankfurt GmbH.
1907 - Construction of the Festhalle, one of the largest European exhibition halls of its time.
1909 - The Festhalle is officially opened by Emperor Wilhelm II.
1919 - First Frankfurt International Trade Fair.
1920/21 - Transformation of the Festhalle site into a “trade fair city”.
1948 - Resumption of international Frankfurt trade fairs with the first “DM Fair”.
1949 - The first post-war Book Fair is held in Frankfurt.
1951 - The IAA motor show is relocated from Berlin to Frankfurt and experiences tremendous success until 2019.
1959 - The textile segment is spun off to create Interstoff.
1960 - The first edition of ISH.
1971 - The first edition of Heimtextil.
1971 - The first edition of Automechanika.
1980 - Musikmesse becomes an independent event.
1987 - Interstoff Asia takes place in Hong Kong – Messe Frankfurt’s first trade fair outside Germany.
1990 - Establishment of the first foreign subsidiary, in Japan.
1990 - The International Spring Fair is reorganized into the Premiere and Ambiente trade fairs.
1996 - The Autumn Fair is rechristened Tendence.
1996 - Premiere is split into Paperworld, Beautyworld, and Christmasworld.
2000 - The first edition of Light + Building.
2015 - Organization and running of the German Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).
2020 - As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions and quarantine regulations, the global trade fair business almost came to a standstill. Physical trade fairs either could not be held at all or are only possible in locally restricted forms.
2021 - The pandemic continued to cause upheaval in the trade fair business due to the ongoing volatile situation and worldwide travel restrictions.
2022 - Similarly, few events could be held in the first quarter due to the pandemic. However, after the restrictions were lifted in April, trade fairs resumed on Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds. Throughout the year, the event calendar around the world, especially in Frankfurt, remained busy with both Messe Frankfurt’s events and a wide range of guest events.
The trade fair industry's most important success factor remains personal encounters – something that Messe Frankfurt’s platforms have been making possible for 780 years now.
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