Frankfurt am Main is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth-largest city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, with an end-2006 population of 661,877. The urban area had an estimated population of 1,468,140 in 2000. The city is at the center of the larger Frankfurt Rhine Main Area which has a population of 5 million and is Germany's second largest metropolitan area.Situated on the river Main , Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany. Frankfurt is the place of residence of the Europen Central Bank, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is one of the two largest financial centres in continental Europe (the other one being Paris). Frankfurt was named Europe's richest city in 2001 as measured by GPD per capit. It is also listed as one of nine Alpha world cities.