Stadterlebnis Freiburg

We start in the middle of the city on Rathausplatz: the old town hall with its red façade and tourist information office is the place to go if you have any questions or requests. Next door is the new town hall, which served as the college building of the University campus Freiburg until the end of the 19th century. Anatomy and the polyclinic were once located where Freiburg's city leaders meet today. Directly opposite, St. Martin's Church was built around 1300 and was the monastery church of the adjacent Franciscan monastery until 1783. There is a special legend surrounding the monk Berthold Schwarz: As an alchemist, he is said to have invented black powder by chance. At the foot of his fountain monument in the middle of the town hall square, the coats of arms of Freiburg and its twin towns shine as artistic mosaics. Many such works of art made of colorful Rhine pebbles adorn Freiburg's old town and also decorate the entrances of numerous stores.

We stroll past St. Martin's Church on the left through Franziskanerstraße. The Whale House with its magnificent, late Gothic portal bay was built by Emperor Maximilian's Grand Treasurer. The famous humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam lived here from 1529-1531. A little further on, we reach the regional council Basler Hof, one of the city's most important secular buildings, which has always been the seat of important institutions since its construction in 1494-96 and today houses the Regional Administrative Council. Here in Kaiser-Joseph-Straße - still called "Große Gass" in the Middle Ages - was the city's market. Today, the "Kajo", with its arcades built after the war, is Freiburg's promenade and shopping mile.

Passing the regional council Basler Hof on the right, we can already see the heart of Freiburg, Münsterplatz. Here, from Monday to Saturday, farmers and traders sell their wares at the Münstermarkt (cathedral market): try a "Lange Rote", drink a glass of wine or enjoy one of the other specialties. Freiburg Minster rises imposingly in the middle of the square with its 116 m high tower. Built between 1200 and 1513, it has survived numerous wars almost unscathed and impresses with its magnificent gabled relief in the vestibule, the historic stained glass windows and the high altar by Hans Baldung Grien.

On the south side of the cathedral, the historical merchants' hall catches the eye with its red façade. Decorated with Habsburg sculptures and coats of arms, it was built between 1520 and 1532 for the city's market administration and served as a customs, trade and finance building. In the immediate vicinity is the Archbishop's Palace, once the residence of the Breisgau knighthood, with its richly decorated balcony. Further east, we reach the Wentzingerhaus, which was built in 1761 as the "Wohnhaus zum Schönen Eck" by the painter, architect and sculptor Johann Christian Wentzinger. Today it houses the Museum of City History. For wine connoisseurs, the "House of Baden Wines" is an absolute must: the Alte Wache invites you to taste numerous wines from Freiburg and the region.

The tour continues past the Alte Münsterbauhütte (cathedral workshop) into Herrenstraße, which is home to the former Archbishop's Palace (Cathedral School), one of the most outstanding late historicist buildings in Baden. Through the narrow Münzgasse we reach one of the most beautiful streets in Freiburg, the "Konviktstraße". In the Middle Ages, it was a lively street for craftsmen and today, with its charming house facades and small boutiques, it is an inviting place for a stroll. We stroll on and come to the Schwabentor (Swabian Gate). Built in the mid-13th century, it is the younger of the two remaining city gates and its façade tells the legend of the Swabian who once unsuccessfully tried to buy the city. Numerous restaurants around the Schwabentor (Swabian Gate) offer Baden specialties. Germany's oldest inn "Zum Roten Bären" is particularly worth a visit. A detour into the countryside is worthwhile from here! Cross the Schwabentorsteg footbridge to reach the Schlossberg (castle hill) five minutes away and enjoy the magnificent view of Freiburg.

Freiburg's upper old town with the Gewerbekanal, Gerberau, Fischerau and the island is worth every step over the cobblestones! "Little Venice" - as the idyllic quarter is also known - invites you to visit galleries, explore owner-run stores, linger in one of the lovely cafés or gaze at the crocodile in the canal. Following the commercial canal, we come to the lively Augustinerplatz with the former monastery of the Augustinian Hermits. Built in 1300 and baroqueized at the beginning of the 18th century, it houses what is probably Freiburg's most beautiful museum, the Augustian museum. The Upper Old Town was once the craftsmen's quarter of Freiburg in the Middle Ages.

Today you can enjoy the almost Mediterranean charm of the city here, cool your feet in the little stream and watch the hustle and bustle. Freshly refreshed, we reach the city's oldest preserved defense and watchtower, the Martinstor (Martin's Gate) - which at times served as a prison and was extended at the beginning of the twentieth century.

We continue past the Bertold's Fountain, the hub of the local public transport system, into Bertoldstraße. Here we follow the streetcar tracks towards the university district, can marvel at the history of the university in the Uniseum (university museum) and reach the old synagogue square. Here, tradition meets modernity with the new University library and the historic municipal theater. Via the Rotteckring we reach the Colombi Park with the Colombischlössle. Built for the Countess de Zea Bermudez y Colombi in 1859-61, the villa in the English neo-Gothic style now houses the Archaeological Museum. On the last few meters of our route, we can take a look at the city's oldest council building in Turmstraße, past the guild house of the Breisgau jesters (carnival museum). The old court house, documented in 1303 as the Ratsstubenbau, is located in the courtyard behind the old town hall, the starting point of our circular route.