Schwabentor Freiburg
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Best location

Experience nature in the city

Freiburg's most important location factor is its location. The prime location between the Black Forest and the Rhine plain ensures that the city is a nature experience. The people of Freiburg appreciate this and enjoy life outdoors with all their senses. Their favourite destinations: the Schlossberg (castle hill), which you can walk up, jog up or even take a comfortable gondola ride on the Schlossbergbahn (castle hill funicular), depending on your mood and fitness level. Then there's the Dreisam with its riverside spots for picnics and sunbathing. And finally the Seepark in the Betzenhausen district, a ten-hectare garden idyll and legacy of the State Garden Show. And these are just three of the many places that make Freiburg a natural beauty spot

Dream panorama

Sunset at Cannon Square

The romance factor is high at Cannon Square. When the sun sets behind the Vosges Mountains and the pink sky sets the filigree cathedral tower centre stage, even otherwise unsentimental minds start to rave. Anyone who proposes this location for a first or second date may not win an originality award, but has a good chance of getting goosebumps. The atmosphere is very relaxed - but not lonely. You're rarely alone here, neither at Cannon Square nor in the Greifeneggschlössle beer garden next door. But it doesn't matter, because the light and location enchant everyone here.

Freiburger Kanonenplatz mit Blick auf den Münsterturm
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Kanonenplatz Freiburg
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Waldtraut is the greatest

Germany's tallest tree

Germany's record tree measures just under 67 metres: a more than 115-year-old Douglas fir. It is a likeable champion called Waldtraut vom Mühlenwald, modest, down-to-earth, upright - and it is green all year round. Every few years she is officially measured by several organisations and has held her title since 2008, when she left a competitor from the Odenwald behind. If you want to look up to Waldtraud's peak, you will find it in the Günterstal city forest, almost halfway south from Freiburg in the direction of Schauinsland. The pretty Mühlwanderweg trail leads directly to the Douglas fir lady - who is still growing, by the way. But only very slowly in her old age.

Fine facade

To the Wasserschlössle (water castle) in the Sternwald forest

It's only a 15-minute walk from the old Wiehre railway station up to Sternwald, then you're standing in front of the castle that isn't a castle. Freiburg's Wasserschlössle (water castle) makes do with an imposing portal complete with crenellated towers - as an elegant façade for an elevated tank built into the hillside. The Freiburg waterworks store millions of litres of drinking water here; and if the castle looks familiar, no wonder: its image also adorns Freiburg's manhole covers. To the east of the castle is the Sternwaldwiese, where Freiburg's students are not the only ones who enjoy chilling out and picnicking. Those who prefer to sit down at a laid table will find two lovely places to stop for a bite to eat: St.Valentin and the Bauerntafel on St. Barbara. Incidentally, Sternwald not only has a mock castle, but also a castle that is no longer a castle. At Kybfelsen Castle, only a few stones remain as a reminder of the bastion that stood here 1000 years ago. However, the view probably impressed the builders back then too: at an altitude of 820 metres, you can look out over the Breisgau Bay and the Günterstal valley. Mountain bikers love coming here, albeit less for the dream view than for the spectacular Canadian Trail, which leads downhill from Kybfelsen Castle to Sternwaldwiese. An adrenalin kick is guaranteed: MTB fans like to call the trail "the slingshot".

Up on the Lorettoberg

The word "mountain" is a stretch for the 380 metre high hill in the south of Freiburg. But the "Bergle" is definitely a top location. The path up leads past stately Gründerzeit villas and once you reach the top, you should enjoy at least two things: the view of Freiburg, which lies beautifully at your feet, and a delicious piece of cake in the elegant castle café.

Far East in the west of Freiburg

The Japanese garden in "Seepark

Freiburg received an extraordinary gift from its twin city Matsuyama in Japan in 1990. The garden architect Yoshinori Tokumoto had planned a Japanese garden including a temple, waterfall and stream for his friends in Freiburg. Matsuyama's city council also sent three Japanese gardeners to create the garden with their Freiburg colleagues in the lake park "Seepark". The result is a German-Japanese success story: the large boulders over which the water flows into Lake Flückiger come from Schauinsland, the stone lanterns are originals from Japan. The plants come from Freiburg's municipal nursery, but the gardeners from Freiburg's garden department learnt how to tie and cut them directly on site in Japan. 

The people of Freiburg quickly took their Japanese garden to their hearts, and today it is one of the reasons why the lake park in the west of the city is one of the locals' favourite destinations. The ten-hectare site used to be a gravel pit and was transformed into the Seepark for the 1986 State Garden Show. It is a real asset for the city: Lake Flückiger is ideal for pedal boating, Freiburg residents meet here to go for a walk, play mini golf, take a break in the café - or even in the Japanese Garden.

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Blick auf den Freiburger Seepark
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Japanischer Garten Freiburg
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Japanischer Garten
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Sunbathing in the river

On the fish ladder

It's a feeling like you used to get in the playground, only better: legs forward, back back and feel how your own body sets the swing in motion. Freiburg's most beautiful swing hangs on long ropes from the Mariensteg, the art nouveau bridge that spans the Dreisam river in the Wiehre district. However, if you want to swing here, you have to cross the water. The path leads through the riverbed to the swing board, but the pleasure is worth the wet feet. Those who prefer to stay on dry land can walk along the riverbank to the fish ladder. The massive structure below the Schwabentor bridge was actually built to make it easier for fish to find their way into the Dreisamtal valley - and has become a sun spot for Freiburg residents, who can soak up the sun on the large stones.

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PÜärchen auf der Dreisamschaukel Freiburg
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Zwei Frauen kühlen sich die Füße in der Dreisam
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Mysterious beauty

Eternal love in the old cemetery

No one has been buried in the old cemetery in the north of Freiburg for 150 years. But the ornately decorated gravestones still stand here and lend the park a dignity and devotion all of its own. Established in 1683, the deceased of Freiburg's bourgeoisie were buried here for almost 200 years. The inscriptions on the stones commemorate famous Freiburg families, scholars and aristocrats - and they tell stories of love, suffering and great emotions. For decades, a mystery has surrounded the grave of Charlotte Walters, known as the "sleeping beauty", who died at the age of 16. Legend has it that her lover could not get over her death and laid flowers on her grave every day. However, this still happens almost every day - and nobody knows who regularly places fresh flowers in the arms of the sleeping beauty. 
 

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Freiburg Alter Friedhof Die schlafende Schöne
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Alter Friedhof
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Freiburg Alter Friedhof
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Alter Friedhof
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Learning from plants

Travelling the world in the Botanic Garden

6,000 plants from all over the world grow in the Botanic Garden of the University campus Freiburg. In four show greenhouses and extensive outdoor gardens, you can stroll through jungle plants and succulents, see medicinal and poisonous plants, ferns, vines and delicate mountain flowers that are otherwise only at home on the highest peaks. But it's not just this botanical journey around the world that is fascinating, it's also the researchers' favourite use of the Botanic Garden: Bionics is the name of the field in which specialists investigate which ideas from biology can be transferred to technology. From the lotus effect in washbasins to Velcro fasteners - humans have already learnt a lot from plants. And the researchers in Freiburg are certain that nature is still a few innovations ahead of humans.

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Botanischer Garten Indoor
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Botanischer Garten
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Botanischer Garten Freiburg
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Botanischer Garten
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Julien Balmer
Learn to beekeep

City bees

A bee year begins in spring - and so do Freiburg's annual beekeeping courses organised by Stadtbienen. Anyone who is interested in organic beekeeping will be taught the necessary knowledge in theory and practice. If you like, you can start beekeeping straight away after the first basic sessions. What makes Stadtbienen special is its consistently sustainable approach: "Slow Beekeeping" puts the well-being of the bees first. The workers build their own honeycombs and only the honey that the bee colony does not need itself - for example for overwintering - is removed. The courses are led by local beekeepers, and the contact with other participants often develops into long-lasting relationships - bee colonies connect.

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From alpaca to dwarf goat

Experience animals at the Mundenhof

The animals and people at the Mundenhof have plenty of space: with a total area of 38 hectares, the former city estate in the west of Freiburg is the largest animal enclosure in Baden-Württemberg. Animals from all over the world can be seen here, although lions, tigers and zebras are deliberately not to be found here. The Mundenhof focuses on domestic and farm animals - from old and endangered cattle breeds to a family of camels. Each enclosure represents a country or continent, with the "Exotic Centre" with monkeys and meerkats being one of the public's favourites. The Mundenhof is open all year round and admission is free of charge. If you arrive by car, you only pay a parking fee, which finances the upkeep. 
The cosy farm restaurantis ideal for a break: delicious Baden cuisine in the most beautiful natural surroundings and with a playground right next door.

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Waldhaus Freiburg
Rediscover nature

Forest house (WaldHaus) Freiburg

Prefer art or nature? In the city forest at the Wonnhalde, you don't have to choose, as the Freiburg sculptor Thomas Rees has created an impressive symbiosis here. The "WaldMenschen" sculpture trail starts directly behind the forest house (WaldHaus) and runs through the forest to the Wonnhalden circular trail. Along the way, you will encounter a good dozen figures that Rees has sculpted from trees. They have names such as "Freedom", "Sleeping Giant" or "Dragon's Nest" and are sometimes so hidden that you discover them almost by chance. They appear fairytale-like to monstrous, sometimes menacing with long pointed teeth, sometimes gentle and peaceful. If you want to learn more about the forest, the forest house (WaldHaus) environmental education centre offers an extensive programme: from exhibitions and courses to a "research backpack", which can be borrowed for a walk in the forest for a deposit.

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