Plan a trip to Freiburg

Freiburg im Breisgau is a university city in the Black Forest in southwest Germany. The name from the 14th century, comes from the German meaning “Free Town”. The Old City is “air-conditioned” by the Freiburg Bächle (water-filled channels, streamlets) fed by the Dreisam River which  rapidly  flow down the streets, making the Freiburg Bächle one of the city's best known landmarks. 

The Cathedral: They began building the Freiburg im Breisgau Cathedral (called the Freiburg Minster) at the beginning of the 13th century (Romanesque style) and completed the Cathedral Gothic style around 1230 with a 116-meter Gothic tower, which is a landmark and is considered by many experts as one of the most memorable and exclusive spires on this planet!

As was the custom then, stonemasons were asked to add sculptures and gargoyles on the cathedral’s roof. If it is a chuckle you’re looking for then look up, way up and you will see the “mooning gargoyle” of Freiburg Minster. According to the legend that has been passed on over the decades, a resentful stonemason who wanted revenge for not getting his salary, created this grotesque and placed him so that water would be spilling onto the streets from the opposite end of his body facing the city council building.

Note: Gargoyles were created as a means of making sure water did not collect on rooftops and would spill off through the gargoyle’s mouth onto the streets.

Ahh – the bells of the Freiburg Minster! There are 16-19 bells on the tower including the “oldest bell” which weighs more than 3 tons. If you are feeling “athletic”, you can get to the top of the church for a magnificent view of the Old Town by going up 330 stairs. 

Secret: The ringing of the bells are on specific days and times: Thursday evening; Friday at 11:00 am; Saturday evenings; on November 27- to commemorate the air raid of Freiburg on that day in 1944.

The Historical Merchants' Hall (Historisches Kaufhaus) went through a few changes over the centuries, but today’s building is as it was back in the mid 1500’s - eye-catching with its bright reddish-brown  façade on the exterior and the opulent halls in the Merchants building, which are only open for special events. The most popular and famous is the Kaisersaal (Emperors' Hall). On the face of the building there are four statues of kings from the Habsburg house, with spires on each side, also draw your attention to the building. The halls are not open at all times, only when there are special events and the most popular one is the Kaisersaal (Emperors' Hall).

Secret: The original statues are stored away for protection from the elements and the ones displayed on the walls are replicas.

Once there were five –now there are two! We’re referring to the City Gates: The two medieval gates that survived are called the Martinstor and the Schwabentor. The latter is also a unique museum holding the Zinnfigurenklause (Tin Figure Cabinet) with about ten thousand small figures cast from tin in a setting of about 21 dioramas that tell the history of Baden and the area.

When progress “reared its head”, there was need for more advance public transportation and the Martinstor Gate was to be removed in order to make room for an electric tram. The mayor of the time, Lord Mayor Otto Winterer of Freiburg, insisted on keeping it intact and actually built on top of it, thus tripling its height and eventually made a large opening for the tram to pass through.  

The Rathausplatz is a lovely and charming square. The administrative center is located here, with the Old Town Hall and the New Town Hall next to it and the governing bodies housed in both buildings. There is a bridge which you can cross to get from one to the other. However, the New Town Hall is actually older than the Old Town Hall. Originally, the New Town Hall was not used as a Town Hall, so when they eventually decided to use this building as such, it became ‘the New Town Hall’!  

A large fountain with a statue of Berthold Schwarz stands in front of the Town Halls. Who is Berthold Schwarz?  The Germans claimed he is an alchemist who invented gunpowder. However, according to our research, he probably never even existed and gunpowder was probably invented in China! Nevertheless, the Germans wanted to be known as the inventors of gunpowder, so they came up with this creative idea, perhaps because Schwarzpulver is German for gunpowder. So there it is and nobody seems to care!

Muenstermarkt (The Farmers Market) – in the Old City, selling mostly flowers, produce and crafts. True to this day, the market is open daily except for Sunday and only in the mornings. Go, enjoy and buy!

Alter Friedhof (Old Cemetery): This old cemetery from the 17th century is one of the oldest German cemeteries, preserved as a whole in a park-like atmosphere. There are fascinating, artistic and interesting tombstones of people from all types of lifestyles.

Schlossberg Hill that is a part of the Black Forest just east of the Old Town is a wonderful area for small hikes and walks culminating with marvelous views for that “Kodak moment”.
Moreover, you cannot leave Freiburg without eating the skinny, reddish-brownish, 35 cm long red sausage (Lange Rote Sausage) lovingly called by the locals “the Münsterplatzwurst, Queen of the Wurst”.

Secret: If you don’t want to give yourself away as a tourist, do not fold the sausage in half. The locals eat their sausage with both ends hanging out of the roll!

One more thing - don’t count your calories! Make sure you find time to relax in one of the lovely cafes and enjoy the famous Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte) which is made up of layers of chocolate, cherries (and a little cherry liqueur)  with real, dairy whipped cream, decorated with chocolate shavings and cherries. Wicked!  Recipe available upon request.

We cannot leave Freiburg without at least mentioning Europa-Park, which is second only to Disneyland in Paris. It is the biggest theme park in Germany, about 230 acres, and is about 40 km south-west of Freiburg Im Breisgau. You can imagine the wild and innovative rides and attractions you can find here!

Besides all the attractions of an amusement park there is a fairly new water park known as Rulantica, a movie theatre and shows - entertainment for adults and children. One can also make arrangements for on-site transportation and accommodations, from five-star hotels to campgrounds.