Volksbildungsheim, Cultural heritage monument and cinema at Eschenheimer Tor, Frankfurt, Germany

The Volksbildungsheim stands at Eschenheimer Anlage 40 by the Eschenheimer Tor, outside the Westend. Only the listed facade of the 1908 building by architect Wilhelm Helfrich survives; behind it, the CineStar Metropolis cinema opened in 2001 with 12 screens and 3551 seats. Its roof echoes the original mansard, and the golden facade lettering now reads Metropolis.

The Kaufmännischer Verein opened the building on 1 February 1908 as its Gesellschaftshaus, designed by architect Wilhelm Helfrich, with a 1,400-seat hall and a 300-seat hall. Used as a military hospital in World War I, it was bought by the city for 1.6 million Mark and reopened on 5 October 1919 as the Volksbildungsheim of the Bund für Volksbildung, funded by donors including Heinrich Roessler and Charles Hallgarten.

The name recalls the Bund für Volksbildung, which reopened the house as a Volksbildungsheim on 5 October 1919 with donations from figures such as Degussa director Heinrich Roessler and philanthropist Charles Hallgarten. The golden lettering Volksbildungsheim on the facade was replaced by an identical sign reading Metropolis. Two restaurants occupy the ground floor and the Wernecke dance school the attic.

The building stands at Eschenheimer Anlage 40 by the Eschenheimer Tor, on the northern edge of Frankfurt's city centre. The preserved facade fronts the street; the cinema entrance lies behind it, with two restaurants on the ground floor and a dance school under the roof. The Metropolis opened in April 2001 with 12 screens and 3551 seats.

The golden "Volksbildungsheim" lettering on the facade was replaced by an identical sign reading "Metropolis" after the 1998–2001 rebuild. The 1966 premiere of Peter Handke's Publikumsbeschimpfung took place in the great hall under director Claus Peymann, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder was director of the Theater am Turm for eight months in the 1970s.