Marvel of the Middle Ages: Freiburg Münster

People have been building Freiburg Minster for around 350 years. And they were extraordinarily fast in the process. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Freiburg is not only a landmark of the city, it is also one of the few important churches that were started and completed in the Middle Ages. The building was initiated around 1200 by the last Zähringer, Duke Berthold V. Unlike his predecessors, he did not want to be buried in a monastery in the countryside but directly in Freiburg and commissioned the extension of the city church for this purpose. In 1218, he was buried in what is now the oldest late Romanesque part of the cathedral.

Above all, however, the cathedral is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture: slender pillars, struts and arches point skywards and bring light into the interior. The master builders in Freiburg pushed the limits of what was possible. At the top of the 116 metre high west tower, filigree elements come together to form a lacework of stone - never before had a church tower been built using this technique. The cultural historian Jacob Burckhardt called it "the most beautiful tower on earth" in 1869. And if you ask the people of Freiburg, he is still right today.

Anne-Christine Brehm has been Freiburg's cathedral master builder since 2021. She has long been associated with the cathedral: She wrote her doctoral thesis on one of the cathedral's master builders and developed her love of Gothic architecture in the process.

What makes the cathedral unique? 
Clearly the spire. There has never been a construction like this before: completely openwork so that you can look up into the sky from the platform - a window to the heavens, so to speak.

So is the famous quote from art historian Jacob Burckhardt that the cathedral has the "most beautiful tower in human history" true? 
Yes, and for me it's not just because of the spire. The way the lower part of the tower has been elegantly and cleverly designed is also fascinating. It also shows the self-confidence of the town in the Middle Ages. The counts may have initiated the construction, but the citizens then took over quite quickly.

What does the cathedral mean to the people of Freiburg?
Quite simply: the cathedral is the heart of the city.
 

The best way to experience the cathedral? After the view to the top, take enough time for the details that tell stories inside and out.
 

• ...that the bread measures of the Middle Ages were carved into the stone right next to the cathedral portal? This allowed shoppers 600 years ago to check whether the loaves at the Münstermarkt (cathedral market) were the right size.
• ...two brass points on the floor of the portal hall provide evidence of the earth's rotation? One is located directly below the spire. The other - offset by three centimetres - marks the point at which an object falls from the spire to the ground.
• ...that a gargoyle on the south side of the nave sticks out its naked bum at you? The "Hinternentblößer", as it is officially known, is one of 91 figures, sometimes in human form, sometimes in animal form and always as mythical creatures, who all have the same task: They divert water away from the cathedral and thus protect its walls.