Walking Tour of the Medieval City of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

(This post published on December 14, 2023)

August 3, 2023 -- Needing to escape the fireworks which are so popular on and around August 1st (Switzerland's national holiday), I traveled to the Black Forest Area of western Germany, just 45 kilometers north of Basel and near the French border, where I rented a lovely cheap room with a family in Bad Krozingen for two nights.

On the first day there (after the first overnight) I did an excursion into the Münstertal (Münster Valley) and walked around the town of Bad Krozingen (those photos are HERE), and on the second (or rather third) day before returning home, I first did a walking tour of the city of Freiburg, a very pretty town near the French border. I downloaded a brochure with a suggestion for the walking tour, and mostly followed that.

The three days in the region were a combination of strong winds, rain and sunshine, and I was pretty lucky that I had mostly sunshine for my walk around Freiburg (I spent three hours there), but at one point I found I was dressed too warmly, and had to stop along the way to change!

Side Note: When reading up on the history of the city—founded in the year 1120(!)—and the important buildings and monuments, I learned the following:  "One of the key air attacks on Freiburg was made by the Royal Air Force on the 27th November 1944. On that night over a period of only 25 minutes, over 1900 tons of bombs were dropped resulting in over 2000 deaths and the widespread destruction of this medieval city. (Wikipedia)".  The amazing thing is, that most of the historical monuments and buildings seem to have been rebuilt by the mid-1950's, so about 10 years after the end of the war. What a fantastic accomplishment!

The walking tour I did around the old part of Freiburg, with a small detour up the "Schlossberg" (Castle Mountain) for a view across the town roofs. This was about 3½ kilometers of walking 

Heading from the train station shortly before 11 a.m. to the Rathaus Platz (City Hall square) to look at the first monuments on the map. Up ahead you can see the spire of the Freiburg Münster cathedral, the dominant building in the old city. 

Map of the old part of Freiburg city (the town was founded in the year 1120!). I used the information on this map to try to visit most of the recommended sites / sights. 

At the Town Hall Square, the interesting features are the Old Town Hall, the mosaics on the street, and St. Martin's Church

This is the New Town Hall

The red house is the Old Town Hall. 

Coat of Arms of Freiburg is displayed in elaborate mosaics in front of the town hall. There were many such mosaics all over the streets of the old town. The city of Freiburg was founded in 1120. 

Across the street from the town hall is St. Martin's Church, a former Franciscan Church. A monastery complex here was built betwen 1262 and 1350, but the church was massively damaged in 1944 when the British dropped bombs on the city, but restored after the war. 

Interior of St.Martin's Church

Interior of St.Martin's Church

Details of St.Martin's Church

The next buildings to look at are the "Whale House" and the Baslerhof

Heading down the road next to St.Martin's church, the next building of note (the pink one) is called the "Haus zum Walfisch" (or "The Whale House"), built 1514-1516.

A feature of this house is the magnificent late-Gothic doorway, which I did not photograph. Apparently, the Dutch psychic Erasmus was housed here between 1529 and 1531. The building was also damaged (burned down) in 1944 and then rebuilt. 

The next building of note is the "Baslerhof", one of the most important secular buildings in the city, built between 1494 and 1496

Baslerhof, seat of the Regional Council and other important institutions since its construction in the late 1400's

The next stop is the Freiburg Minster, which dominates the old town skyline. 

Information about the Freiburg Cathedral and the Cathedral Square, an important marketplace since the Medieval times. 

The north side of the Freiburg Cathedral. Very ornate, as is common with these buildings. This cathedral was built between 1200 and 1513, and has withstood multiple wars almost unscathed. 

Above the entrance to the cathedral

The magnificent interior of the cathedral

I always look for the organ in the churches. This one is magnificent

Other details in the Freiburg Minster, including historical stained glass windows. 

A closer look at some of the details on the south side of the Minster. This is the side on the market square. 

Across the square from the cathedral is this building, the Historical Merchants' Hall, built between 1520 and 1532. Its function was a customs, trade and financial building. 

Details of the Habsburg figures on the Merchants' Building

Continuing on from the Cathedral Square, the next stops are the administrative seat of the Archbishop of Freiburg, the very cute Konvikstrasse with its boutiques, and the 13th Century city gate: The Swabian Gate (Schwabentor), followed by a quick ascent on the Schlossberg

There are many such small canals along the streets of the old town. These cute frogs are figures sold by a local shop at this location. What a fun idea to display them in the street canal. Also, notice more mosaics and designs in the road. 

The Archbishop's Ordiniate. Building is from 1903-1906.

What most impressed me on the Archbishop's building was the fabulous door and the interesting door knocker. 

Lovely road with cute boutiques. In Medieval times, this was a lively street full of artisans.

Near the Schwabentor end of the street is the Hotel Bären, one of the oldest buildings in the city since its foundation, and the oldest inn in Germany, in operation since the founding of the city in 1120! The lineage of hosts for this inn can be traced back to the year 1311.

This is the Schwabentor (Swabian Gate), built in the later part of the 13th Century, and the youngest of the two remaining city gates. 

The tram runs right under the tower! Also, that is a very artistic manhole cover!

Leaving the old part of the town, I crossed a bridge here to ascend for a bit on the mountain to the east of the city, the Schlossberg.

Walking up the Schlossberg mountain on the east side of the old town, I get a view over the rooftops and the top of the Martinstor (Martin's Tower) which is the second and older of the two remaining city gate towers. 

Further in the distance toward the west part of the city are the twin towers of the "Herz-Jesu Kirche" (Church of the Sacred Heart), consecrated in 1897, heavily damaged in WWII as well. Rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1954

Another church building which I could see in the distance is the Johanneskirche (St.John the Baptist church), also built in the later part of the 19th Century. 

And now a really good look at the Freiburg Minster from above. The tower is 116 meters high.

On to the "Insel", nicknamed "Little Venice"

Now back down at the Schwabentor (Swabian Gate), I head into the "Upper Old Town" nicknamed "Little Venice", as the quaint buildings line a canal. The inscription on the green house here reads "Haus zum Bolz -- 1460 to 1798"

In the canal is a crocodile!

The stone crocodile swims in the Gewerbebach since 2002!

Flowers in window boxes look so pretty.

If the water was flowing in this fountain, it would look like the boy is emptying water out of his boot....

And now the last section before heading back to the train station: Martin's Gate, Berthold's Fountain, the University Church and the Freiburg Theater. 

Martinstor (Martin's Gate) is the older of the two remaining city gates. The construction of this tower can be dated back to 1202. 

The trams pass right under the Martinstor as well.

Details of the Martinstor. It was used as a prison for some time. The tower was restored at the start of the 20th Century, and raised to about triple the original height. On the tower is a panel with text in remembrance of three women who were beheaded and burned here as witches in 1599. "The suffering of these and all the other innocent women who died during these deluded times is a reminder that we need to be tolerant with each other" 

This lovely tram has a painting of the buildings of Freiburg along its sides! Also, there is a McDonald's here. 

VIDEO:

The pretty tram passes under Martin's Gate!

Oh, and just so I don't forget my homeland. 

This is the junction with the Berthold Fountain, erected in 1807. This is one of the central points of the city. From here you head back to the train station. 

The old University church was built by the Jesuits from 1683, completed after the year 1700, and gifted to the city's university in 1774. This building's interior was also completely destroyed when the British bombed the city in 1944, but rebuilt from 1950 to 1954. 

The Freiburg Theater

Juxtaposition of old and new: The Freiburg Theater next to the University Library. 

Looking down at the Freiburg train station as I get ready to head back home (It's 13:15, and at this point and I was planning to take the 13:19 train back to Basel, but it was running very late, and there were a lot of people waiting, so I went to have some lunch, a very reasonably priced Chinese Take-out, and took a later train. 

Another look at the Old Town of Freiburg where I walked for a couple of hours and discovered most of the historical monuments. 

A large region of the state of Baden in Germany (mostly Black Forest) which I was free to travel with my special Konus train ticket. Even the train trip back to Basel was included, so I could have saved the 16 Euros it cost me when I purchased that ticket ahead of time. 

Walking plan of the city of Freiburg