| Places of interest in Freiburg |
| In the cenre of Freiburg, in both senses of the word, is the cathedral. For over 700 years the life of the town has turned around the "Unser Liben Frowen Bauw" (building of the blessed virgin). Even today the 116 metre high tower dwarfs all other buildings in the town. As one of the few church towers of its kind completed in the Midlle Ages, the Basle cultural historian Jacob Burckhardt described it as "the most beautyful tower in Christendom". Begun as a ducal burial place by Bertold V of Zähringen, the building became the concern of the citizens after the last of the Zähringens died in 1218. To the late-Romanesque east end were added the Gothic nave and the incomparable west tower. The desire of rich families for their own burial chapels determined the form of the late Gothic choir started in 1354. Its consecreation in 1513 marked the completion of the cathedral. The rich interior bears witness to the generosity and civic pride of local families: stained glass windows with coats of arms of patricians and guilds, the high altar by Hans Baldung Grien and above the splendid furnishing of the choir chapels with their 16th century windows and fine altars and monuments. Do not miss the cycle of figures in the tower entrance based on a stylist theological programme. A climb up to the tower is rewarded by the old bell cage with one of Germany's oldest bells, the Hosanna, cast in 1258. From the platform below the fine tracery spire you can admire the artistic and technical skill of the Gothic builders and enjoy fine views of the town and its surroundings. |
| In 1498 a municipal granary was built on the north side of the Münsterplatz. This Kornhaus, also used as an abattoir, was reconstruated in 1970. The Historische Kaufhaus (Historic Merchants' Hall / 1522/32) south of the cathedral is a symbol of the importance of trade in medieval Freiburg. |
| The Basler Hof in Kaiser-Joseph-Straße (Freiburg's main street) built in 1496 for Maximilian's Chancellor Konrad Stürtzel, also has links with the Reformation in Basle. From 1587 - 1677 it was the residence in exile of the Chapter of Basle Cathedral. Through the Martinstor (1201) and lower Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse you will find the Bertoldsbrunnen. Since the early 19th century this has marked the main crossroads of the town. Behind this is the Insel with its sensitively restored old buildings. |
| The Augustinerplatz owes its name to the Monastery of the Augustinian Hermits (built about 1300) and from here you will get to the Salzstraße, after the salt from the swabian salt towns that was transported on it, and to Oberlinden-Platz, with its old houses of citizens. Around 1200 the Schwabentor was built 1200 over the Salzstrasse. In the 16th century this gate was decorated with a painting of a Swabian salt trader. Since 1903 the outer side has borne a painting of St. George, the town's patron saint.Via Münzgasse on the site of the old mint you come to Konviktstrasse, a prize-winning example of Old Town restoration. Don't forget a side-trip to the Schloßberg and enjoy the phantastic view over the town. |
| Past Freiburg's oldest Town Hall, known since 1547 as the Gerichtslaube, you come to the Rathausplatz. The Old Town Hall (1556/61) on the right-hand side with its chime (daily 12.03 p.m.) was made by combining several older buildings. In the front you see the Bertold-Schwarz-Monument (1853) built for the inventor of the gunpowder (1353). Among the fine historical buildings in Franziskanergasse is the Haus zum Walfisch (House of the Whale) with its splendid late Gothic dorway (1514-15). |
| To the left Bertoldstrasse leads past the Old University and the University Church, formerly the 16th/17th century Jesuit church and college, to the University Quarter. |
| Past fine canon's houses and monastery courts runs the main channel for the "Bächle", the rivulets that for centuries have flown through the streets of the Old Town. In the past they served for watering cattle and above all as a fire precaution. |
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For further informations please contact... Freiburg Information Office Rotteckring 14 79098 Freiburg i. Br. Tel.: 0761 3881 880 Fax 0761 37003 E-Mail to Freiburg Information Office... |