Frankfurt am Main is known throughout the world as a continental financing capital and European transit nexus, as well as a recognized convention and stock exchange center. Frankfurt was originally founded in 794 and by the Middle Ages had already developed into an urban center, and then into a Free Imperial City by the Late Middle Ages. Today, the tall skyscrapers that make up its famous skyline give it all the character of a major city. At the same time, with its reconstructed half-timbered houses encircling the Rathaus (City Hall) am Römerberg, this European city on the beautiful Main River has remained a true dollhouse. Residents here call themselves, with pleasant modesty, the smallest metropolis in the world. Frankfurt am Main is the fifth largest city in Germany, and is suffused with an international orientation and an openness to the world: You can hear people on the streets speaking in almost every language in the world, and on every corner you will find Turkish, Italian, Indian, Chinese, or Pakistani food for sale. However, Frankfurt is also known for its local culinary specialties, such as its traditional Frankfurter sausages and the famous Green Sauce. People eat and live gladly and well in this city, where metropolitan flair and down-home friendliness are often separated by only a few paces.