BERLIN — Thousands of people on Saturday marched through the heart of Frankfurt, Germany’s financial capital and the home of the European Central Bank, to protest against unchecked capitalism and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s insistence on austerity measures for much of Europe.

The peaceful event, called Blockupy, in a nod to the Occupy movement, was the culmination of four days of demonstrations and drew about 20,000 protesters to Frankfurt, the police and organizers said.

The protest, which drew supporters from across Europe, was meant to send a “clear and visible signal of international solidarity against the authoritarian crisis management and the poverty inducing policies of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund,” organizers said.

Germany has pushed for deep spending cuts across Europe to control the debt crisis.

Ms. Merkel faces mounting criticism for championing what critics regard as a rigid agenda of fiscal discipline that has made unfair demands on countries like Greece, Portugal and Spain.