A black-letter typeface created in 1517; the most common typeface in Germany until the 20th century though also widespread in countries neighboring Germany to the east and southeast. Its name (Latin for "broken") was derived from the broken strokes made when the font was handwritten. Precursors to Fraktur are the Gothic and Schwabacher typefaces.

The German word Fraktur refers to a specific sub-group of blackletter typefaces. The term derives from the past participle of Latin frangere ("to break"), fractus ("broken"). As opposed to Antiqua (common) typefaces, modelled after antique Roman square capitals and Carolingian minuscule, the blackletter lines are broken up.

Fraktur is a Blackletter script used to write the German language from the beginning of the Sixteenth Century until 1945. Fraktur enjoyed a resurgence as a font favoured by Heavy Metal bands such as Motörhead, from the 1970s to the present.