The brick building of the former Dondorf Printing Works, erected in 1890, is an important architectural structure attesting to the industrial history of the City of Frankfurt and the district of Bockenheim. The surviving building complex also bears witness to the story of the Dondorfs, a family of Jewish businesspeople. Under the direction of Bernhard Dondorf, who founded the company in 1833, the firm specialized in high-quality printing products of international renown, such as securities and unforgeable banknotes, as well as playing cards and board games.

The company’s original headquarters were situated on a street called Saalgasse in the historic city center of Frankfurt am Main, but the Dondorf printing works moved to the Bockenheim district in 1873, so as to meet the growing demands being made on production. The Dondorf Printing Works played a significant role in the economy, with the very latest technology and a workforce of up to 550 employees.

During the First World War, and also during the 1920s as a result of high inflation, the printing company decided to reallocate production to other locations, after which the property was sold. In 1928, the facility was taken over by the social-democratic Union Printing Works, which released the daily newspaper Volksstimme there. After the National Socialists seized power in 1933, the site was confiscated. Most of the Jewish Dondorf family members were persecuted, deported, and murdered. The National Socialists temporarily produced the regional newspaper Volksblatt in the printing works, which was loyal to the regime. During the Nazi period, firms from the food and pharmaceuticals sectors, which were considered “of importance for the war effort,” were located at the site.

Large parts of the commercial building complex were destroyed during the bombing raids on Frankfurt in 1944, and the brick building that survived was badly damaged. After the war, a less elaborate ensemble was rebuilt so that printing operations could resume. In 1961, the buildings were integrated into the Bockenheim campus of Frankfurt’s Goethe University. After the location was later abandoned and the Art Education Institute moved out in 2022, the building stood empty and was threatened with demolition. Numerous cultural-political and local initiatives by citizens of Frankfurt campaigned for the preservation of the historic structure and its permanent cultural use. In 2024, the decision was made that the facility should be used temporarily by the SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT. Groups which had made an outstanding contribution to the preservation of the building also use one floor of the vast printing works building.