The Kaiserdom — properly Sankt Bartholomäus — is the Gothic red-sandstone cathedral that has stood in the heart of Frankfurt's old town since the 13th century. From 1562 it was the coronation church of the Holy Roman Emperors: a small Wahlkapelle (election chapel) off the south aisle is where the seven prince-electors gathered to choose the new emperor, and the main nave is where the crown was placed on his head. The current 95-metre tower, finished in 1877, is a 19th-century replacement for the unfinished medieval tower; it can be climbed for one of the best views of central Frankfurt (328 steps, fee).
The interior is plain Gothic — the cathedral was gutted by fire in 1867 and again by bombing in 1944, and most of the decoration is reconstruction. The standout pieces are the 15th-century carved Maria-Schlaf-Altar (the sleeping Mary altar) and the wooden choir stalls from the same period. Free entry to the nave; small fee for the tower and the small Domschatz museum.