| 1509 | During Frankfurt's Reformation the city's legal system is codified for the first time on the basis of Roman law. |
| 1519/20 | Appointment of the Lutheran Wilhelm Nesen as the first teacher at the newly founded municipal Latin School. |
| 1522/24 | First reformation sermons are preached in Frankfurt. |
| 1525 | At the climax of the Peasants' War pent-up religious, social and political tensions unload themselves in an uprising by the guilds. The insurgents sum up their complaints in the 46 Frankfurt Articles. |
| from 1530 | Within a few decades Frankfurt develops into a European centre of letterpress printing and the book trade. |
| 1531 | The General Alms Box is set up as a secular welfare institution. |
| 1533 | Official introduction of the Reformation. |
| 1536 | Frankfurt joins the Schmalkaldic League. |
| 1546/47 | The Schmalkaldic War ends with the victory of Emperor Charles V at Mühlberg. |
| 1548 | The Interim Decree of the Imperial Diet at Augsburg makes Frankfurt a de-facto mixed Catholic/Protestant city. |
| 1552 | Frankfurt is unsuccessfully besieged by Saxon and Hessian troops. |
| 1555 | The Religious Peace of Augsburg endorses bi-denominationalism within the Empire and thus also in Frankfurt. An increasing number of Protestant refugees from the Spanish-occupied Low Countries and from England settle in Frankfurt. |
| 1562 | Since the election and coronation of Emperor Maximilian II Frankfurt is regarded not just as an election venue, but also a coronation city. |
| 1585 | The establishment of exchange rates and bid prices by trade fair visitors leads to lively stock exchange transactions. |
| 1612-1614 | A constitutional dispute between the city council and the citizens leads to civil unrest and the looting of the Jewish ghetto. The emperor intervenes, and the uprising is suppressed. The leader of the rebels, Vincenz Fettmilch, and some of his associates are beheaded on Rossmarkt (Horse Market) in 1616. |
| 1631-1635 | Swedish troops pass through Frankfurt during the Thirty Years War. A Swedish garrison is stationed in Sachsenhausen. The plague breaks out in the city. |
| 1685 | After the withdrawal of the edict of Nantes Huguenot refugees pour into Frankfurt. |
© Helmut Nordmeyer, Translation: Hugh Beyer
