Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as of 31 December 2018), Freiburg is the fourth-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

, and

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

. The population of the Freiburg metropolitan area was 656,753 in 2018. In the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

of the country, it straddles the

Dreisam The Dreisam (Celtic: ''*tragisamā'', "the very fast one") is a 29 km long river (48.8 km including its source river Rotbach), and a tributary of the Elz in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The waters of the Dreisam feed the fam ...

river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

region on the western edge of the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...

in the

Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...

. A famous old German university town, and archiepiscopal seat, Freiburg was incorporated in the early twelfth century and developed into a major commercial, intellectual, and ecclesiastical center of the upper Rhine region. The city is known for its medieval minster and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, as well as for its high

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...

and advanced environmental practices. The city is situated in the heart of the major Baden wine-growing region and serves as the primary tourist entry point to the scenic beauty of the

. According to meteorological statistics, the city is one of the warmest in Germany, and held the all-time German temperature record of from 2003 to 2015.

History

Freiburg was founded by Konrad and Duke Berthold III of Zähringen in 1120 as a free market town; , also Arnold, Benjamin ''German Knighthood 1050–1300'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985) p. 123. hence its name, which translates to "free (or independent) town". ''Frei'' means "free", and ''Burg'', like the modern English word "

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

", was used in those days for an incorporated city or town, usually one with some degree of autonomy. The German word ''Burg'' also means "a fortified town", as in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. Thus, it is likely that the name of this place means a "fortified town of free citizens". This town was strategically located at a junction of trade routes between the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

regions, and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

and

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

rivers. In 1200, Freiburg's population numbered approximately 6,000 people. At about that time, under the rule of Bertold V, the last duke of Zähringen, the city began construction of its Freiburg Münster cathedral on the site of an older parish church. Begun in the Romanesque style, it was continued and completed 1513 for the most part as a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

edifice. In 1218, when Bertold V died, then Egino V von Urach, the count of Urach assumed the title of Freiburg's count as Egino I von Freiburg. The city council did not trust the new nobles and wrote down its established rights in a document. At the end of the thirteenth century there was a feud between the citizens of Freiburg and their lord, Count Egino II of Freiburg. Egino II raised taxes and sought to limit the citizens' freedom, after which the Freiburgers used catapults to destroy the count's castle atop the Schloßberg, a hill that overlooks the city center. The furious count called on his brother-in-law the Bishop of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

, Konradius von Lichtenberg, for help. The bishop responded by marching with his army to Freiburg. Neues Rathaus (Freiburg) 4029

According to an old Freiburg legend, a butcher named Hauri stabbed the Bishop of Strasbourg to death on 29 July 1299. It was a Pyrrhic victory, since henceforth the citizens of Freiburg had to pay an annual expiation of 300 marks in silver to the count of Freiburg until 1368. In 1366 the counts of Freiburg made another failed attempt to occupy the city during a night raid. Eventually the citizens were fed up with their lords, and in 1368 Freiburg purchased its independence from them. The city turned itself over to the protection of the Habsburgs, who allowed the city to retain a large measure of freedom. Most of the nobles of the city died in the

battle of Sempach The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the loo ...

(1386). The patrician family Schnewlin took control of the city until the guildsmen revolted. The guilds became more powerful than the patricians by 1389. The silver mines in Mount Schauinsland provided an important source of capital for Freiburg. This silver made Freiburg one of the richest cities in Europe, and in 1327 Freiburg minted its own coin, the ''Rappenpfennig''. In 1377 the cities of Freiburg,

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

, Colmar, and

Breisach Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway ...

entered into a monetary alliance known as the ''Genossenschaft des Rappenpfennigs'' (Rappenpfennig Collective). This alliance facilitated commerce among the cities and lasted until the end of the sixteenth century. There were 8,000–9,000 people living in Freiburg between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and 30 churches and monasteries. At the end of the fourteenth century the veins of silver were dwindling, and by 1460 only approximately 6,000 people still lived within Freiburg's

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. A university city, Freiburg evolved from its focus on mining to become a cultural centre for the arts and sciences. It was also a commercial center. The end of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and the dawn of the

was a time of both advances and tragedy for Freiburg. In 1457, Albrecht VI, Regent of Further Austria, established Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, one of Germany's oldest universities. In 1498, Emperor Maximilian I held a Reichstag in Freiburg. In 1520, the city ratified a set of legal reforms, widely considered the most progressive of the time. The aim was to find a balance between city traditions and old

Roman Law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

. The reforms were well received, especially the sections dealing with civil process law, punishment, and the city's constitution. Freiburg from above

In 1520, Freiburg decided not to take part in the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and became an important centre for

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

on the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the sc ...

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

moved here after

accepted the Reformation. In 1536, a strong and persistent belief in

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

led to the city's first

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern pe ...

. The need to find a scapegoat for calamities such as the Black Plague, which claimed 2,000 area residents (25% of the city population) in 1564, led to an escalation in witch-hunting that reached its peak in 1599. A plaque on the old city wall marks the spot where burnings were carried out. The seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries were turbulent times for Freiburg. At the beginning of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

there were 10,000–14,000 citizens in Freiburg; by its end only 2,000 remained. During this war and other conflicts, the city belonged at various times to the

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

, the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, the

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

, the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...

, and various members of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

. Between 1648 and 1805, when the city was not under French occupation it was the administrative headquarters of Further Austria, the Habsburg territories in the southwest of Germany. In 1805, the city, together with the

and

Ortenau The Ortenau, originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black For ...

areas, became part of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

. In 1827, when the Archdiocese of Freiburg was founded, Freiburg became the seat of a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

archbishop. Martinstor (Freiburg im Breisgau) jm10177

Freiburg was heavily bombed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In May 1940, aircraft of the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

mistakenly dropped approximately 60 bombs on Freiburg near the railway station, killing 57 people, most of them civilians and including 22 children. This was reported by the official German news agency as an attack by the Western Allies, and retaliation against them was threatened. The Freiburg police commander subsequently established that the bombs were German, but the full story was not published until many years later. On 27 November 1944, a raid by more than 300

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s of RAF Bomber Command (

Operation Tigerfish Operation Tigerfish was the military code name in World War II for the aerial warfare, air raid on Freiburg in the evening of 27 November 1944 by the Royal Air Force with about 2,800 dead. The name ''Tigerfish'' goes back to Air Vice-Marshal Rob ...

) destroyed a large portion of the city centre, with the notable exception of the ''Münster'', which was only lightly damaged. After the war, the city was rebuilt on its medieval plan. On 22 October 1940, the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

of Baden, Robert Heinrich Wagner, ordered the deportation of all of Baden's and 350 of Freiburg's

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population. They were deported to

Camp Gurs Gurs internment camp was an internment camp and prisoner of war camp constructed in 1939 in Gurs, a site in southwestern France, not far from Pau. The camp was originally set up by the French government after the fall of Catalonia at the ...

in the south of France, where many died. On 18 July 1942, the remaining Baden and Freiburg Jews were transferred to Auschwitz in Nazi-occupied Poland, where almost all were murdered. A living memorial has been created in the form of the 'footprint' in marble on the site of the city's original

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

, which was burned down by the Nazi Germans on 9 November 1938, during the

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

known as '' Kristallnacht''. The memorial is a fountain and contains a bronze plaque commemorating the original building and the Jewish community which perished. The pavements of Freiburg carry memorials to individual victims, in the form of

brass plates Laban () is a figure in the First Book of Nephi, near the start of the Book of Mormon, a scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement. Unlike many of the other Book of Mormon characters, Laban neither ends up in the New World, nor is he a Biblical ...

outside their former residences. It was occupied by the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

on 21 April 1945, and Freiburg was soon allotted to the French Zone of Occupation. In December 1945 Freiburg became the seat of government for the German state Badenia, which was merged into

in 1952. The

maintained a presence in Freiburg until 1991, when the last French Army division left the city, and left Germany. On the site of the former French Army base, a new neighborhood for 5,000 people, Vauban, began in the late 1990s as a "sustainable model district". Solar power provides electricity to many of the households in this small community.

Points of interest

Because of its scenic beauty, relatively warm and sunny climate, and easy access to the

, Freiburg is a hub for regional

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. In 2010, Freiburg was voted as the Academy of Urbanism's European City of the Year in recognition of the exemplary

sustainable urbanism Sustainable urbanism is both the study of cities and the practices to build them (urbanism), that focuses on promoting their long term viability by reducing consumption, waste and harmful impacts on people and place while enhancing the overall wel ...

it has implemented over the past several decades. The longest cable car run in Germany, which is long, runs from Günterstal up to a nearby mountain called '' Schauinsland''. The city has an unusual system of gutters (called ''

Freiburg Bächle The Freiburg Bächle are small water-filled runnels or formalised rills in the Black Forest city of Freiburg. They are supplied with water by the Dreisam and can be seen along most streets and alleyways in the old city, being one of the city' ...

'') that run throughout its centre. These ''Bächle'', once used to provide water to fight fires and feed livestock, are constantly flowing with water diverted from the

. They were never intended to be used for sewage, and even in the Middle Ages such use could lead to harsh penalties. During the summer, the running water provides natural cooling of the air, and offers a pleasant gurgling sound. It is said that if one accidentally falls or steps into a ''Bächle'', they will marry a Freiburger, or 'Bobbele'. Friburgo Ruscelli nel Centro -- Freiburg with the city center streams

Friburgo Ruscelli nel Centro -- Freiburg with the city center streams

The ''Augustinerplatz'' is one of the central squares in the old city. Formerly the location of an Augustinian

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

that became the Augustiner Museum in 1921, it is now a popular social space for Freiburg's younger residents. It has a number of restaurants and bars, including the local brewery 'Feierling', which has a Biergarten. On warm summer nights, hundreds of students gather here. At the centre of the

old city Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

is the Münsterplatz or Cathedral Square, Freiburg's largest square. A farmers market is held here every day except Sundays. This is the site of Freiburg's

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

, a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

minster

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

constructed of red sandstone, built between 1200 and 1530 and noted for its towering spire. Historisches Kaufhaus Freiburg

The Historical Merchants' Hall (''Historisches Kaufhaus''), is a Late Gothic building on the south side of Freiburg's ''Münsterplatz''. Built between 1520 and 1530, it was once the center of the financial life of the region. Its façade is decorated with statues and the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of four Habsburg emperors. The ''Altes Rathaus'', or old city hall, was completed in 1559 and has a painted façade. The ''Platz der alten Synagoge'' "Old Synagogue Square" 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 in 1938. Zum Roten Bären, the oldest hotel in Germany, is located along ''Oberlinden'' near the

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n Gate. The ''

Siegesdenkmal The ''Siegesdenkmal'' ("victory monument") in Freiburg im Breisgau is a monument to the German victory in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. It was erected at the northern edge of the historic center of Freiburg im Breisgau next to the former Kar ...

'', or victory monument, is a monument to the German victory in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. It is situated at the northern edge of the historic city center of Freiburg, and was built by Karl Friedrich Moest. In everyday language of people living in Freiburg, it serves as an orientation marker or as a meeting place. To the east of the city centre, the Schlossberg hill provides extensive views over the city and surrounding region. The castle (Schloss) from which the hill takes its name was demolished in the 1740s, and only ruins remain. Schlossberg retained its importance to the city, however, and 150 years ago the city leaders opened up walks and views to make the mountain available to the public. Today, the Schlossbergbahn funicular railway connects the city centre to the hill. Other museums in the city include the Archaeology Colombischlössle Museum.

List of major sights

* Arboretum Freiburg-Günterstal, an arboretum in the suburb of Günterstal * Freiburg Botanic Garden * University of Freiburg *

University Library Freiburg The University Library Freiburg (German ''Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg, UB'') is the library of the University of Freiburg. As an academic and research library, it caters to students and staff of the University of Freiburg, the Universit ...

, the newly renovated library features a modern design *

The Whale House The Whale House (''Haus zum Walfisch'') is a late Gothic bourgeois house in the old town of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and is under conservation. The building is currently used by the ''Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisg ...

, which, in Dario Argento's 1977 horror film '' Suspiria'', served as the Dance Academy, the film's central location * Augustiner Museum *

Freiburg Munster Freiburg Minster (german: Freiburger Münster or Münster Unserer Lieben Frau) is the cathedral of Freiburg im Breisgau, southwest Germany. The last duke of Zähringen had started the building around 1200 in romanesque style. The construction c ...

* Schauinsland * Schlossberg (Freiburg) * Colombischlössle Archeological Museum * Green Spaces in Freiburg * Vauban, Freiburg, a sustainable eco-community * Cobblestone mosaics (Freiburg im Breisgau) * Kybfelsen castle

Geography

Freiburg is bordered by the Black Forest mountains Rosskopf and Bromberg to the east, Schönberg and Tuniberg to the south, with the Kaiserstuhl hill region to the west.

Climate

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

classifies its climate as humid subtropical (Cfa) due to the mean temperatures in July and August just under . Marine features are limited however, as a result of its vast distance from oceans and seas. As a result, summers have a significant

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

influence as the inland air heats up. Thus July and August are, along with

, the warmest within Germany. Winters are moderate but usually with some frosts at night. However, more year-round rain occurs than in the Rhine plateau because of the closeness to the Black Forest. The city is close to the Kaiserstuhl, a range of hills of volcanic origin located a few miles away which is one of the warmest places in Germany and therefore considered as a viticultural area.

Government

Freiburg is known as an "eco-city". In June 1995, the Freiburg city council adopted a resolution that it would permit construction only of " low-energy buildings" on municipal land, and all new buildings must comply with certain low energy specifications. The neighbourhoods of Vauban and Rieselfeld were developed and built in the late 1990s in accordance with the principles of

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

. The city is also home to a branch of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, as well as solar industry and research. The citizens of Freiburg are known in Germany for their love of

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

and

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...

. Freiburg is host to a number of

international organisation An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states an ...

s, in particular,

ICLEI ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (or simply ICLEI) is an international non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable development. ICLEI provides technical consulting to local governments to meet sustainability objectives. ...

– Local Governments for Sustainability, International Solar Energy Society, and the City Mayors Foundation. Politically, it is a longtime stronghold of the Alliance 90/The Greens, who have seen consistent success since the 1990s and have been the largest party on the city council since 2004. For many years, they performed more strongly in Freiburg than any other major city: former mayor

Dieter Salomon Dieter Salomon (born 9 August 1960 in Melbourne, Australia) is a German politician of Alliance '90/The Greens who served as mayor of Freiburg im Breisgau for two terms from 2002 until 2018. Biography Salomon grew up in the German Allgäu. H ...

, who served from 2002 to 2018, was the first member of the Greens to hold such an office in a city of over 100,000 people.

Mayor

Martin Horn (Politiker) (ZMF2018) jm66787

The current mayor of Freiburg is Martin Horn since 2018. He was previously a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD), but left before running for mayor. In the election, he was supported by the SPD and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). The most recent mayoral election was held on 22 April 2018, with a runoff held on 6 May, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Horn , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

( SPD, FDP) , 30,067 , 34.7 , 38,907 , 44.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 27,094 , 31.3 , 27,014 , 30.7 , - , bgcolor=#4D8E8A, , align=left, Monika Stein , align=left, Green Alternative Freiburg (LiSSt/Junges/UFF) , 22,726 , 26.2 , 21,237 , 24.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Anton Behringer , align=left,

, 3,244 , 3.7 , 796 , 0.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Stephan Wermter , align=left,

, 2,252 , 2.6 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Manfred Kröber , align=left,

(

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

) , 1,240 , 1.4 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , colspan=3 align=left, ''Other'' , 70 , 0.1 , 45 , 0.1 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 86,693 ! 99.5 ! 87,999 ! 99.8 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 425 ! 0.5 ! 195 ! 0.2 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 87,118 ! 100.0 ! 88,194 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 170,793 ! 51.0 ! 170,419 ! 51.8 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Freiburg
1st round

City council

The Freiburg city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 1,232,198 , 26.5 , 2.2 , 13 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 591,603 , 12.7 , 4.0 , 6 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 550,572 , 11.8 , 6.5 , 6 , 3 , - , bgcolor=#05636D, , align=left, Left List – Solidary City (LiSSt) , 322,761 , 6.9 , 1.7 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=#89C832, , align=left, Green Alternative Freiburg (GAF) , 302,278 , 6.5 , 3.3 , 3 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Voters Baden-Württemberg (FW) , 257,458 , 5.5 , 0.4 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=#00A657, , align=left, Livable Freiburg (FL) , 210,173 , 4.5 , 1.1 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=#E17B29, , align=left, Young Freiburg (Junges) , 178,257 , 3.8 , 0.4 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 175,173 , 3.8 , 1.0 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 168,120 , 3.6 , New , 2 , New , - , bgcolor=#E50069, , align=left, Urban Freiburg (Urbanes) , 139,011 , 3.0 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI , 126,790 , 2.7 , 1.2 , 1 , 1 , - , bgcolor=#1E3B4E, , align=left, Culture List Freiburg (KULT) , 103,182 , 2.2 , 1.9 , 1 , 1 , - , bgcolor=#E13134, , align=left, Independent Women Freiburg (UFF) , 88,175 , 1.9 , 0.5 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=#17376F, , align=left, Citizens for Freiburg (BFF) , 87,291 , 1.9 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, List for Participation and Inclusion (LTI) , 63,822 , 1.4 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , , align=left, For Freiburg – Politics of Christian Perpective (Für Freiburg) , 48,145 , 1.0 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, necessary intellectually charging tendency (NICHT) , 8,286 , 0.2 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Total votes ! 4,652,295 ! 100.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ballots ! 107,404 ! 100.0 ! ! 48 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 170,964 ! 62.8 ! 11.4 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Freiburg

Education

Universität Freiburg Kollegiengebäude I (Altbau)

Freiburg is a center of academia and research, in which numerous intellectual figures and Nobel Laureates have lived, worked, and taught. The city houses one of the oldest and most renowned of German universities, the

Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

, as well as its medical center. Home to some of the greatest minds of the West, including such eminent figures as

Johann Eck Johann Maier von Eck (13 November 1486 – 13 February 1543), often anglicized as John Eck, was a German Catholic theologian, scholastic, prelate, and a pioneer of the counter-reformation who was among Martin Luther's most important int ...

, Max Weber,

Edmund Husserl , thesis1_title = Beiträge zur Variationsrechnung (Contributions to the Calculus of Variations) , thesis1_url = https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/get/o:58535/bdef:Book/view , thesis1_year = 1883 , thesis2_title ...

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centu ...

, and

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Hayek ...

, it is one of Europe's top research and teaching institutions. Freiburg also plays host to various other educational and research institutes, such as the Freiburg University of Education, the Protestant University for Applied Sciences Freiburg, Freiburg Music Academy, the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, the International University of Cooperative Education IUCE, three Max Planck institutes, five

Fraunhofer institutes The Fraunhofer Society (german: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., lit=Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research) is a German research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany ...

, and one Leibniz institute. The city is home to the

IES Abroad The Institute for the International Education of Students, or IES Abroad, is a non-profit study abroad organization that administers study abroad programs for U.S. college-aged students. Founded in 1950 as the Institute of European Studies, the ...

European Union program, which allows students to study the development and activities of the EU. This is in addition to an Environmental Science and Sustainability program focused on Freiburg's famed green lifestyle and infrastructure. IES Abroad also offers a German Language and Area Studies program where visiting students get to take classes at the University of Freiburg. The DFG / LFA Freiburg, a French-German high school established by the 1963 Élysée Treaty, is in the city.

Religion

Christianity Freiburg belonged to Austria until 1805 and remained Catholic, although surrounding villages like Haslach, Opfingen, Tiengen, and the surrounding land ruled by the Margrave of Baden became Protestant as a result of the Reformation. The city was part of the

Diocese of Konstanz The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, (german: Hochstift Konstanz, Fürstbistum Konstanz, Bistum Konstanz) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his d ...

until 1821. That same year, Freiburg became an

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg The Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau (Latin ''Archidioecesis Friburgensis'') is a Roman Catholic diocese in Baden-Württemberg comprising the former states of Baden and Hohenzollern. The Archdiocese of Freiburg is led by an archbishop, who ...

. Due to a dispute between the government of Baden and the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

officially took office in 1827. Freiburger-muenster

The borders of the archdiocese correspond with the borders of the former province of Baden and the former Margraviate of Hohenzollern. The cathedral, in which the Bishop resides, is Freiburg Minster. Also part of the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

of Freiburg are the

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandri ...

s of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

and Rottenburg-Stuttgart. Until 1929, the dioceses of Limburg and Fulda also belonged to this ecclesiastical province. The Archbishop of Freiburg holds the title of metropolitan and the German headquarters of the Caritas International is in Freiburg.

Saint George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

(the flag of Freiburg has the cross of George), Lambert of Maastricht and the catacomb saint, Alexander, are the patron saints of Freiburg. Many works of art depicting these saints are in the Freiburg Minster, on the Minster square, just as in the museums and archives of the city, including some by Hans Baldung Grien, Hans Holbein the Younger and

Gregorius Sickinger Gregorius Sickinger (1558–1631) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman, and engraver. Sickinger was born in Solothurn. He had 5 brothers and sisters, and was re-married after the death of his first wife. Sickinger worked primarily with woodcuts ofte ...

. In 1805, with the attack of Breisgau on the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

by a Catholic ruler, many Protestants moved into the city. Since 2007, any Protestants who are not part of a ‘free church’ belong to the newly founded deanery of Freiburg as part of the parish of Südbaden which in itself is a part of the Landeskirche Baden. The seat of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden, a free Lutheran church, is situated in Freiburg. There are multiple other free Protestant churches: e.g. the Calvary Chapel or Chrischona International. An old congregation has existed in Freiburg since the late 1900s, which utilises the old monastery church of the Ursulines in the black monastery at the border of the old city center. The Catholic Church of St. Maria Schutz has been made available for Masses by Greek, Serbian, Russian and Rumanian Orthodox congregations. Judaism

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

are said to have lived in the city before 1230, but it was only after 1230 that they supposedly founded an official community in the Webergasse (a small street within the town center). The counts of Freiburg bought the lucrative

Schutzjude ''Schutzjude'' (, "protected Jew") was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts. Within the Holy Roman Empire, except some eastern territories gained by the Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries (e.g. Brandenb ...

, which means that all personal information on Jews living in Freiburg was directly sent to Konrad II and his co-reigning son Friedrich. The two issued a comprising letter promising safety and liberty to all local Jews on 12 October 1338. It lost all value shortly after, however, on 1 January 1349. Although the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

had not yet broken out in the city, Jews were accused of having spread it and taken into custody. All Jews except pregnant women were burned alive on 31 January 1349. The remaining children were forced to be baptised. This pogrom left Jews very hesitant to resettle in the city. In 1401, the city council decreed a regulation banning all Jews from Freiburg (orig. Middle High German dialect: “daz dekein Jude ze Friburg niemmerme sin sol” 7 This was officially reaffirmed by King Sigismund with a ban for life (orig. German: “Ewige Vertreibung”) in 1424. Not until 1809 were Jews again allowed permanent residence within the city. They subsequently founded a Jewish community in 1836. At the Kristallnacht in 1938, the synagogue, built in 1870, was set afire. Numerous shops and apartments of Jewish citizens of Freiburg were devastated and plundered by National Socialists without the intervention of police or fire department. Male, wealthy, Jewish citizens were kidnapped and taken to concentration camps (in Buchenwald and

Dachau Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is lo ...

) where they were subjected to forced labor or executed and their money and property stolen. On 22 October 1940, the remaining Jews of Baden and Pfalz were deported to Camp de Gurs in southern France. One among many collecting points was Annaplatz. So-called ' Stolpersteine', tiles with names and dates on them, commemorate the victims of the prosecution of Jews during the Nazi-Era in the city's cobble. Journalist Käthe Vordtriede of the Volkswacht even received two Stolpersteine to commemorate her life. The first one was inserted into the ground in front of the Vordtriede-Haus Freiburg in 2006 and the second one in front of the Basler Hof, the regional authorities, in spring 2013. This was also the seat of the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

until 1941, where unrelenting people were cruelly interrogated, held prisoner or deported. The only solutions were flight or emigration. The Vordtriede family managed to escape in time.

Transport

Freiburg has an extensive pedestrian zone in the city centre where no motor cars are allowed. Freiburg also has an excellent public transport system, operated by the city-owned VAG Freiburg. The backbone of the system is the Freiburg tramway network, supplemented by feeder buses. The tram network is very popular as the low fares allow for unlimited transport in the city and surrounding area. Furthermore, any ticket for a concert, sports or other event is also valid for use on public transport. The tram network is so vast that 70% of the population live within 500m of a tram stop with a tram every 7-8 mins. Freiburg is on the main Frankfurt am Main – Basel railway line, with frequent and fast long-distance passenger services from the Freiburg Hauptbahnhof to major German and other European cities. Other railway lines run east into the

and west to

and are served by the

Breisgau S-Bahn The Breisgau S-Bahn, branded as Breisgau-S-Bahn 2020, is an S-Bahn network centered on Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Lines The network comprises six lines, three operated by DB Regio Baden-Württemberg and three by S ...

. The line to Breisach is the remaining stub of the Freiburg–Colmar international railway, severed in 1945 when the railway bridge over the

at Breisach was destroyed, and was never replaced. The city also is served by the A5

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

–

motorway. Freiburg is served by

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...

in France, close to the borders of both Germany and Switzerland, south of Freiburg. Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport is approximately north of Freiburg and is also served by several airlines. The nearest larger international airports include Zurich (), Stuttgart (), and Frankfurt/Main (). The nearby Flugplatz Freiburg , a small airfield in the Messe, Freiburg district, lacks commercial service but is used for private aviation. Car share websites such as BlaBlaCar are commonly used among Freiburg residents, since they are considered relatively safe. The investment in transport has resulted in a large increase in both cycle, pedestrian and public transport usage with projections of car journeys accounting for 29% of journey times.

Sports

Freiburg is home to football teams

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

, which plays at the Europa-Park Stadion and is represented in the 1. or

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

since 1978, and

Freiburger FC Freiburger FC () is a German association football club based in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg. Freiburger FC were one of the founding clubs of the DFB ( German Football Association) in 1900. History Founded in 1897, for many decades FFC were t ...

, German championship winner of 1907. In 2016, SC Freiburg got promoted to the highest league for the fifth time in its club history. The club became generally known in Germany for its steady staffing policy.

Achim Stocker Achim Stocker (27 May 1935 – 1 November 2009) was the president of German football club SC Freiburg. Biography He worked 37 years as the chairman of SC Freiburg since 1972 and was the oldest and longest serving president in professional Germa ...

was president of the club from 1972 until his death in 2009. Longtime coach was

Volker Finke Volker Finke (born 24 March 1948) is a German football manager. He was the coach of SC Freiburg for 16 years. Coaching career On 6 December 2008, Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds announced they signed a contract with Finke as head coach unt ...

(1991-2007), to whose initiative the football school of the club goes back. In 2004, SC Freiburg celebrated its 100th anniversary. Since December 2011, the coach is

Christian Streich Christian Streich (; born 11 June 1965) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Bundesliga club SC Freiburg. On 29 December 2011, he was named manager following the release of Marcus Sorg. Because of ...

. The women's team of SC Freiburg plays in the first Women's Bundesliga. Freiburg also has the

EHC Freiburg EHC Freiburg, is a professional ice hockey team based in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. They play in the DEL 2, the second-highest level of ice hockey in Germany. History The club was created as EHC Freiburg in 1984. In 2003, they became cham ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

team, which plays at the Franz-Siegel Halle. In the season 2003/2004 the EHC Freiburg (the wolves) played in the DEL, the highest German ice hockey league. Currently, season 2018/19, they play in the second league ( DEL2). Additionally, there is the RC Freiburg Rugby union team, which competes in the second Bundesliga South (Baden Württemberg). The home ground of the club, the only rugby sports field in the wider area, is located in March-Hugstetten. Then, there is the volleyball men's team of the FT 1844 Freiburg, which plays in the second Bundesliga since 2001 and the handball women's team of the HSG Freiburg, which plays in the 3rd Women's Handball League. Freiburg is represented in the first women's basketball league by the Eisvögel (Kingfisher) USC Freiburg. In the season 2005/2006, the Kingfishers took second place after the end of the second round, in the season 2006/2007 it was the fourth place. The men's team of the USC played in the 2009/10 season in the ProA (2nd Bundesliga). The Freiburg men's team played their last first-division season in 1998/1999. Currently, season 2018/19, the men's team plays in the Oberliga and the women's team in the regional league. From 1925 to 1984, the Schauinsland Races took place on an old logging track. The course is still used periodically for European Hill Climb Championships.

Culture

The Union for Aromanian Language and Culture, an Aromanian cultural organization, was founded in 1985 in Freiburg by the Aromanian professor .

Press

'' Badische Zeitung'' is the main local daily paper, covering the Black Forest region.

Twin towns – sister cities

Freiburg im Breisgau is twinned with: * Besançon, France (1959) * Granada, Spain (1991) * Guildford, United Kingdom (1979) * Innsbruck, Austria (1963) * Isfahan, Iran (2000) *

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

, Ukraine (1989) *

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, United States (1987) * Matsuyama, Japan (1988) *

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, Italy (1967) *

Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a popul ...

, South Korea (2015) *

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel (2015) *

Wiwilí de Jinotega Wiwilí may refer to: * Wiwilí de Jinotega, Nicaragua * Wiwilí de Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua {{disambiguation ...

, Nicaragua (2015)

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial comments, which included questioning the dimension of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, have sparked discussions concerning Freiburg's relationship with Isfahan. Immediately following the comments, Freiburg 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 relationship.

Symbols

The city's

is Argent a cross Gules, the St George's Cross.

is the city's patron saint. The cross also appears on the city's flag, which dates from about 1368, and is identical to that of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, which has the same patron. The city also has a seal that can be seen in a few places in the inner city. It is a stylised depiction of the façade of the ''Wasserschlössle'', a castle-like waterworks facility built into a hill that overlooks the residential district of

Wiehre left, View from Bromberg on the Wiehre, from left to right: John Church, University Tower, Martinstor, Christ Church Wiehre (preceded in German with the definite article ''die:'' ''"die Wiehre"'') is a residential district at the edge of Freiburg ...

. The seal depicts a three-towered red castle on a white background, with green-clad trumpeters atop the two outer towers. Beneath the castle is a gold fleur-de-lis.

Notable people

Pre-18th century

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

of Rotterdam (1466–1536), Dutch Renaissance humanist and theologian * Berthold Schwarz (c. 1310–1388), fabled

alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim ...

who introduced gunpowder to Germany * Martin Waldseemüller (c.1470–1520), Renaissance cartographer

18th century

* Joseph von Auffenberg (1798–1857), playwright and poet * Aloysius Bellecius (1704–1757), Jesuit

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

author * Jean-Henri Naderman (1734–1799), leading harp-maker and a music publisher * Johann Nepomuk Locherer (1773–1837), Roman Catholic priest, theologian and professor * Karl von Rotteck (1775–1840), political activist, historian, politician and political scientist *

Heinrich Schreiber Heinrich Schreiber (14 July 1793, in Freiburg im Breisgau – 29 November 1872, in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German Catholic theologian and historian, known for his writings about the city of Freiburg. He studied at the University of Freib ...

(1793–1872), Catholic theologian and historian, wrote about Freiburg

19th century

Sepp Allgeier Josef “Sepp” Allgeier (6 February 1895 – 11 March 1968) was a German cinematographer who worked on around fifty features, documentaries and short films. He began his career as a cameraman in 1911 for the Expreß Film Co. of Freiburg. In 19 ...

(1895–1968), cinematographer, worked with

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...

* Kurt Bauch (1897–1975), art historian * Walter Benjamin (1892–1940), literary critic and philosopher *

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel ''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

(1878–1957), physician and novelist *

Barney Dreyfuss Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss (February 23, 1865 – February 5, 1932) was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Dr ...

(1865–1932),

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

entrepreneur, co-founder of the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

world series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

* Walter Eucken (1891–1950), economist of the Freiburg school and father of ordoliberalism * Arnold Fanck (1889–1974), film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre * Adolf Furtwangler (1853–1907), archaeologist, teacher, art historian and museum director. * Max von Gallwitz (1852–1937), general and politician *

Friedrich Gempp Friedrich Gempp (6 July 1873 – 21 April 1947) was a German army officer, who ultimately attained the rank of Major-General. He is credited as the founder and 1st Chief of the Intelligence Service (Abteilung Abwehr) of the Reichswehr in the Weim ...

(1873–1947),

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

and the founder and first director of the Department Defence of

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

Hans F. K. Günther Hans Friedrich Karl Günther (16 February 1891 – 25 September 1968) was a German writer, an advocate of scientific racism and a eugenicist in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. He was also known as "''Rassengünther''" ("Race Günther") ...

(1891–1968), Nazi eugenicist * Friedrich von Hayek (1899–1992), economist, philosopher,

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

laureate in economics *

(1889–1976), philosopher *

(1859–1938), philosopher who established the school of

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

* Hans Jantzen (1881–1967), art historian, specialised in Medieval art * Wilhelm Lamey (1854–1910), jurist * Felix H. Man (1893–1985), photographer, art collector and pioneer photojournalist for Picture Post * Carl Christian Mez (1866–1944), botanist *

Bernhard Sigmund Schultze Bernhard Sigmund Schultze; sometimes spelled Bernhard Sigismund Schultze (29 December 1827 in Freiburg im Breisgau – 17 April 1919) was a German obstetrician and gynecologist. He was a younger brother to anatomist Max Schultze (1825–1874 ...

(1827–1919), obstetrician and

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined ...

Hermann Staudinger Hermann Staudinger (; 23 March 1881 – 8 September 1965) was a German organic chemist who demonstrated the existence of macromolecules, which he characterized as polymers. For this work he received the 1953 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is also ...

(1881–1965),

laureate in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

"for discoveries about macromolecular chemistry" *

Edith Stein Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce ; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a D ...

(1891–1942), nun, Saint of the Catholic Church, martyred by the Nazis, Freiburg university faculty member *

Bronisław Trentowski Bronisław Ferdynand Trentowski (21 January 1808 in Opole – 16 June 1869) was a Polish " Messianist" philosopher, pedagogist, journalist and Freemason, and the chief representative of the Polish Messianist "national philosophy.""Trentowski, Bron ...

(1808-1869) - Polish philosopher, pedagogue, insurgent and Freemason * Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883–1970), recipient in 1931 of

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...

* Max Weber (1864–1920), lawyer, political economist, and sociologist * August Weismann (1834–1914), evolutionary biologist * Joseph Wirth (1879–1956), politician (center), member of the Reichstag, chancellor, foreign minister, minister of the interior *

Engelbert Zaschka Engelbert Zaschka (September 1, 1895 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – June 26, 1955 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) was a German chief engineer, chief designer and inventor. Zaschka is one of the first German helicopter pioneers and he is ...

(1895–1955), inventor and one of the first German helicopter pioneers Karl Rahner by Letizia Mancino Cremer

20th century

Wolfram Aichele Wolfram Aïchele (29 April 1924 – 9 June 2016) was an artist from Baden-Württemberg in Southern Germany. His work has been exhibited in America, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. His paintings have been ...

(1924–2016), artist * Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), political theorist *

Jürgen Aschoff Jürgen Walther Ludwig Aschoff (January 25, 1913 – October 12, 1998) was a German physician, biologist and behavioral physiologist. Together with Erwin Bünning and Colin Pittendrigh, he is considered to be a co-founder of the field of chronobi ...

(1913–1998), physician, biologist and behavioral physiologist, co-founded

chronobiology Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines timing processes, including periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms, such as their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. These cycles are known as biological rhythms. Chronob ...

Hans Bender Hans Bender (5 February 1907 – 7 May 1991) was a German lecturer on the subject of parapsychology, who was also responsible for establishing the parapsychological institute ''Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene'' in ...

(1907–1991), lecturer on

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena ( extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related t ...

* Nikolaus Brender (born 1949), journalist * Johannes Boesiger (born 1962), scriptwriter and producer * Alexander Bonde (born 1975) in the Bundestag for Alliance '90/The Greens 2002 to 2011 * Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg (born 1956), head of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

Stephan Burger Stephan Burger (born 29 April 1962 in Freiburg im Breisgau) is a German Roman Catholic clergyman. Since 2014 he has been Archbishop of Freiburg and Metropolitan Bishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Freiburg, succeeding Robert Zollitsch. His ...

(born 1962), Roman Catholic clergyman,

Archbishop of Freiburg The following men have been archbishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg. References SourcesArchdiocese of Freiburg- catholic-hierarchy.org {{Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Germany Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; ...

since 2014 * Hoimar von Ditfurth (1921–1989), physician *

Martin Egel Martin Egel (born 17 January 1944) is a German bass-baritone in opera and concert, who made an international career. He appeared at the Bayreuth Festival from 1975 to 1986. He is also a speaker for television and recordings. Life Egel was born ...

(born 1944), bass-baritone in opera and concert * Hedy Epstein (1924–2016), Holocaust refugee and political activist * Anna Ewers (born 1993), fashion model from Freiburg * Georg Gädker (born 1981), operatic baritone * Heiner Garg (born 1966), politician (FDP) *

Miriam Gebhardt Miriam Gebhardt (born 28 January 1962) is a German historian and writer. Life Gebhardt was born in Freiburg, Germany and trained as a journalist. From 1982, she worked as an editor. From 1988 to 1993 she studied social and economic history, r ...

(born 1962), historian and writer * Svetlana Geier (1923–2010), translator * Michael Glatthaar (born 1953), medieval scholar * Heinrich Haussler (born 1984), professional cyclist Cervelo TestTeam * Dany Heatley (born 1981), former professional ice hockey winger * Peter W. Heller (born 1957), former Deputy Mayor of Freiburg, environmental scientist and venture philanthropist * Thomas Hengelbrock (born 1958), violinist, musicologist and conductor; co-founded the Freiburger Barockorchester * Andreas Holschneider (1931–2019), music historian * Waldemar Hoven (1903–1948), Nazi physician executed for war crimes *

Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch (born 7 October 1990 in Paris, France) is a German athlete specialising in the high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heigh ...

(born 1990), high-jump athlete * Walter Kaufmann (1921–1980), philosopher, translator and poet * Fritz Keller (born 1957), football administrator * Boris Kodjoe (born 1973), U.S.based model and actor * Benjamin Lebert (born 1982), author and newspaper columnist * Joachim Löw (born 1960), coach of the German national football team since 2006 * Michael Leuschner (born 1948), classical pianist and professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg *

Hanns Ludin Hanns Elard Ludin (10 June 1905, in Freiburg – 9 December 1947, in Bratislava) was a German diplomat. Born in Freiburg to Friedrich and Johanna Ludin, Ludin began his Nazi affiliation in 1930 by joining the party, and was arrested for his ...

(1905–1947), Nazi diplomat executed for war crimes * Andreas Lutz (born 1981), media artist analyzes perception versus reality * Christoph von Marschall (born 1959), journalist * Christian Meyer (born 1969), track cyclist and gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics * Michael Nehls (born 1962), medical doctor, author, and former cyclist * Herbert Niebling (1905–1966), master designer of lace knitting * Karl Rahner SJ (1904–1984), Jesuit priest and influential Roman Catholic theologian *

(born 1960), Alliance '90/The Greens politician, Mayor of Freiburg until 2018 * Wolfgang Schäuble (born 1942), CDU politician, President of the Bundestag since 2017 * Jürgen E. Schrempp (born 1944), former head of DaimlerChrysler *

Angelika Schrobsdorff Angelika Schrobsdorff (24 December 1927 – 30 July 2016) was a German writer. Life Schrobsdorff's was born the daughter of Else Kirschner (1893–1949), an assimilated Jew from Berlin, and her second husband Erich Schrobsdorff (1893–19 ...

(1927–2016), writer and actress *

Til Schweiger Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin. Early life Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...

(born 1963), actor and director *

Klaus Tschira Klaus Tschira (7 December 1940 – 31 March 2015) was a German billionaire entrepreneur and the co-founder of the German software company SAP AG. Life After gaining his Diplom in physics and working at IBM, Tschira co-founded the German softw ...

(1940–2015), entrepreneur *

Bernhard Witkop Bernhard Witkop (May 9, 1917 in Freiburg, Baden – November 22, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland) was a German-born American organic chemist who worked for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 37 years. During those years, Dr. Witkop – ...

(1917–2010), organic chemist * Joana Zimmer (born 1979), blind pop singer IMDb Database
retrieved 27 August 2018 * Mohamed Dräger (born 1996), German-Tunisian professional footballer

Gallery

File:Muenster gegenlicht 1.jpg, Freiburg Minster File:Octagonal belfrey.jpg, Inside the belfry of Freiburg Minster File:Freiburg Landschaft vom schlossberg aus.jpg, Landscape from the Schlossberg Tower File:Kolleggebäude I Uni.Fr.jpg, University of Freiburg File:Freiburg - Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg1.jpg,

File:Freiburg Martinstor.jpg,

Martinstor The Martinstor (English ''Martin's Gate''), a former town fortification on Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, is the older of the two gates of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, that have been preserved since medieval times. Both gates, the Martinstor and the Sch ...

File:Freiburg Schwabentor.jpg, The Schwabentor File:Freiburg Muensterplatz Kaufhaus.jpg, Historic Merchants Hall at the Münsterplatz File:Sanierter Schlossbergturm mit Stahlstützen in Freiburg 4.jpg, Schlossberg Tower File:Freiburg Hauptbahnhof.JPG,

Main railway station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

File:Konzerthaus Freiburg.JPG, The concert hall File:Freiburger Stadttheater.JPG, Stadttheater File:20120802-DSC 2665.jpg, View of Freiburg File:Luftbild Freiburg 1944.jpg, Freiburg 1944 File:Haus zum Walfisch, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1999.jpg,

File:Colombi Palace 2.jpg, Colombi Palace Museum File:Fischbrunnen Freiburg.jpg, Fish Fountain File:Freiburg Eingangstor Hauptfriedhof.jpg, Main cemetery Freiburg File:1830 Augustinermuseum Neu 2.jpg, Augustiner Museum File:Écoquartier vauban freibourg1.JPG, Vauban, Freiburg, a sustainable model district

References

External links

*
Freiburg Breisgau digital city tourFreiburg Breisgau Tourism & History & Pictures

– Panoramic views and virtual tours
AugustinermuseumFreiburg University of Education

''VAG Freiburg'' Freiburg Public Transit Authority

Freiburg-Home.com – Information & Reviews about Freiburg

Webcams in Freiburg and the Black Forest
*
fudder_–_a_popular_online_magazine_about_Freiburg_(Winner_of_Grimme_Online_Award
_2007).html" ;"title="Grimme Online Award">fudder – a popular online magazine about Freiburg (Winner of Grimme Online Award
2007)">Grimme Online Award">fudder – a popular online magazine about Freiburg (Winner of Grimme Online Award
2007)br>Freiburg's History for PedestriansHotels in Freiburg
*[http://peterjockisch.de/Freiburg/Freiburg_en.html Freiburg Excursion Destinations and Film Recommendations] {{DEFAULTSORT:Freiburg Im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg (region) Populated places established in the 12th century Former states and territories of Baden-Württemberg Baden Holocaust locations in Germany 1120s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1120 establishments in Europe Vauban fortifications

History

Points of interest

List of major sights

Geography

Climate

Government

Mayor

City council

Education

Religion

Transport

Sports

Culture

Press

Twin towns – sister cities

Symbols

Notable people

Pre-18th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links