Freiburg
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Freiburg city from Schlossberg |
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in
Baden-Württemberg,
Germany, in the
Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern
Black Forest (German:
Schwarzwald) with about 214,000 inhabitants. It is situated at . Freiburg has a sunny
microclimate and popular opinion has it that Freiburg is the warmest, sunniest city in Germany. It straddles the Dreisam river, on the foothills of the Schlossberg. The city is surrounded by the Black Forest mountains
Rosskopf and
Bromberg in the east, and in the south and west by the
Schönberg,
Tuniberg and the
Kaiserstuhl.
Freiburg was founded in the
12th century by Duke Konrad of
Zähringen as a free market town, hence its name. It was strategically located on a junction of trade routes between the
Mediterranean and the
North Sea, and the
Rhine and the
Danube rivers. In the year
1368 Freiburg bought its liberty from a local count, and turned itself over to the protection of the
Habsburgs, who allowed it to retain a large amount of freedom.
Around 1200 the city began construction of its
Minster (Münster or Muenster in German) on the site of an older parish church. The end of the
Middle Ages and the beginning of the
Renaissance was a time of both advances and tragedy for Freiburg.
In 1457, Duke Albrecht VI established
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, one of Germany's oldest universities.
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Freiburg Münster medieval cathedral |
In 1520, the city undertook a set of legal reforms, widely known as the most progressive of the times. They attempted to create a balance between the old city traditions and old
Roman Law. The reforms receive extensive acceptance, especially the sections dealing with civil process law, punishment and the city's constitution.
In 1520, Freiburg decided against joining the
Reformation and became an important center for
Catholicism on the
Upper Rhine. In 1536, a strong and persistent belief in
witchcraft lead to the city's first
witchhunt. The need to find a reason for tragedies such as the
Black Plague, which claimed 2000 area residents in 1564, led to an escalation in witch hunting until it reached its peak in 1599. A plaque on the old city wall marks the spot where burnings were carried out.
The
17th,
18th and
19th centuries were turbulent times for Freiburg. Through battles in the
Thirty Years' War and other conflicts, the city belonged at various times to the
Austrians, the
French, the
Swedish, the
Spanish and various members of the
German Confederacy. In the period between 1648 and 1805 it was the administrative headquarters of
Further Austria, the Habsburg territories in the South-West of Germany, when the city was not under French occupation. In 1805, the city, together with the
Breisgau and
Ortenau areas, became part of
Baden.
In 1827, when the archdiocese Freiburg was founded, Freiburg became the seat of a Roman-Catholic Archbishop.
In 1889, the entire city had to be evacuated when the odorous compound
thioacetone was produced in a laboratory.
The city was heavily bombed during
World War II. In
1940 German planes mistakenly dropped approximately 60 bombs on Freiburg near the train station. An Allied bombing of the city in November 1944 destroyed a large portion of the city. Most of city centre was leveled, with the notable exception of the
Münster. After the war, the city was rebuilt on its medieval plan. It became for a short time the site of government for the German state
Badenia, which was merged into
Baden-Württemberg soon after. It was occupied by the
French Army in
1945. They maintained a presence in the city until
1991, when the last tank division left the city.
On the site of the former French army base, a new neighborhood of 5,000 people,
Vauban, was begun in the late
1990s as a "sustainable model district". Solar power is used to power many of the households in this small community.
Because of its scenic beauty, relatively warm and sunny climate and easy access to the Black Forest, Freiburg is a hub for regional
tourism. The longest
cable car in Germany (3.6 km, or about 2.25 miles) runs from the city center to a nearby mountain called
Schauinsland. The city has an unusual system of gutters (called
Bächle) that run throughout its centre. These
Bächle, once used to provide water to fight fires and refresh livestock, are constantly flowing with water diverted from the
Dreisam. Despite local lore to the contrary, they were never used for sewage. Local tradition has it that if you step in a
Bächle, you will marry a Freiburger, or 'Bobbele'.
The
Augustinerplatz is one of the central squares in the old city. Formerly the location of an
Augustine monastery which became the
Augustinermuseum in 1921, it is now a beloved gathering place for Freiburg's younger residents. It has quite a few restaurants and bars, including the local brewery 'Feierling' with a nice Biergarten. On warm summer nights, and there are many of those in this southern German climate, hundreds of students will gather and enjoy guitar music and socialize.
At the center of the old city is the its largest square, the
Münsterplatz, home of a farmers' market every day except Sundays. This is the site of Freiburg's
Münster, a
gothic Minster Cathedral constructed of red sandstone, built between 1200 and 1530. The Freiburg
Münster is noted for its flamboyant spire.
The
Historisches Kaufhaus, or historical marketplace, is a
Renaissance building constructed between 1520 and 1530 which was once the center of the financial life of the region. Its façade is decorated with the
coat of arms of the Habsburgs.
The
Altes Rathaus, or old city hall, was completed in 1559 and has a painted façade.
The
Platz der alten Synagoge "Place of the Old Synagogue" is one of the more important squares on the outskirts of the historic old city. The square was the location of a Synagogue until it was destroyed on the
Night of Broken Glass in
1938.
St George is the
Patron Saint of Freiburg.
Freiburg is known as an "eco-city". In recent years it has attracted
solar industries and research; the
Greens have a stronghold here (the strongest in any major German city; up to 25% of the votes city-wide, in some neighbourhoods they reached 40% or more; figures from the 2002 national elections). The newly built neighbourhoods of
Vauban and
Rieselfeld were developed and built accordingly to the idea of
sustainability. The citizens of Freiburg are known in Germany for their love of
cycling and
recycling.
The Mayor Dr.
Dieter Salomon (elected in
2002) is the only member of
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen who holds this office in a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants.
In June 1992, the Freiburg city council adopted a resolution to the effect that it would only permit construction of "low energy buildings" on municipal land. All new housing must comply with the low energy guidelines. Low energy housing uses solar power passively as well as actively. In addition to solar panels and collectors on the roof, providing electricity and hot water, many passive features use the sun's energy to regulate the temperature of the rooms.
See also: List of mayors of FreiburgFreiburg has several sister-cities throughout the world:
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Fryburg, Pennsylvania,
United States since 1828
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Besançon,
France since 1959
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Innsbruck,
Austria since 1963
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Padua,
Italy since 1967
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Guildford,
United Kingdom since 1979
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Madison, Wisconsin,
United States since 1987
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Matsuyama,
Japan since 1988
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Lviv,
Ukraine since 1989
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Granada,
Spain since 1991
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Isfahan,
Iran since 2000
Iranian president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's, controversial comments, which included calling the
Holocaust a myth, have sparked discussions concerning Freiburg's partnership with Isfahan. Immediately following the comments Freiburg's mayor Salomon postponed a trip to Isfahan, but most people involved, especially those in the
Alliance '90/The Greens party, were opposed to cancelling the partnership. ([
1])
Freiburg has an extensive
pedestrian zone in the city centre where no automobiles are allowed. Freiburg also has an excellent public transit system, anchored by a continually expanding web of tram/streetcar routes known as the
Strassenbahn.
Freiburg is on the main
Frankfurt am Main -
Basel train line with frequent and fast long-distance train services to major German and other European cities. Other train lines run east into the
Black Forest and west to
Breisach.
The city is also served by the A5
Frankfurt am Main -
Basel motorway.
Freiburg is served by
Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg International Airport, actually located in
France.This is now a base for the low-cost carrier,
EasyJet.The airport Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (
Baden Airpark) is situated approximately 120 km north of Freiburg and is served by, inter alia, the low-cost carrier
Ryanair.
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Berthold Schwarz, fabled alchemist and inventor of gunpowder
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Martin Waldseemüller the inventor of the name America
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Edmund Husserl, philosopher
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Martin Heidegger, philosopher
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Hermann Staudinger,
Nobel Prize in
chemistry "for his discoveries in the field of
macromolecular chemistry"
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Jürgen Schrempp Former head of
DaimlerChrysler*
Dany Heatley Superstar player for the
Ottawa Senators hockey team
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Boris Kodjoe Model and actor
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Hans Günther, Nazi eugencist
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Bernhard Witkop, organic chemist
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Edith Stein. Saint of the Roman Catholic Church, martyred by the Nazis, member of the Freiburg faculty; her residence is marked by a plaque.
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Joachim Löw Coach of the German Football Team
Freiburg is home to
Second Bundesliga football team
SC Freiburg, coached by
Volker Finke and playing in the
Badenova-Stadion (formerly Dreisamstadion).
Image:Muenster gegenlicht 1.jpg|The Freiburger MünsterImage:Freiburg vom Schlossberg.jpg|Freiburg seen from the SchlossbergImage:Freiburg Landschaft vom schlossberg aus.jpg|Landscape seen from the SchlossbergImage:Freiburg Martinstor.jpg|The MartinstorImage:Freiburg Schwabentor.jpg|The SchwabentorImage:Freiburg Muensterplatz Kaufhaus.jpg|The Historic Marketplace (Historisches Kaufhaus) at the MünsterplatzImage:Mcdonalds martinstor freiburg.jpg|McDonald's at the MartinstorImage:Freiburg Schlossberg Aussichtsturm.jpg|Look-Out at the SchlossbergImage:Freiburg Rathaus.jpg|Freiburg's town-hallImage:Freiburg_Hauptbahnhof.JPG|Freiburg's Main StationImage:Konzerthaus_Freiburg.JPG|The Konzerthaus (concert hall)Image:Freiburger_Stadttheater.JPG|Stadttheater* http://www.freiburg.de
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Freiburg:History and images*
City of Freiburg and the Black Forest*
Augustinermuseum*
Nightlife Freiburg*
VAG Freiburg Freiburg Public Transit Authority*
Freiburg-Home.com - Information & Reviews about Freiburg in English for expats, tourists and the community*
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg*
Photos ...*
Information and many nice photos of Freiburg (in german)*
Solar City - Germany August 2000
