Visitors to Freiburg will quickly note a unique city feature, the so-called Bächle—or little streams—built nearly 600 years ago as a water supply and to fight fires. Upstream of the city, the Dreisam River was split into multiple channels and follows a meshwork through the Old Town. The water flows downstream and collects on the other side of town, eventually flowing into the Rhine. A team of cleaners scrubs the stones and removes obstructions to ensure a steady flow of clean water.

 

 

Today, the Bächle provide a way for tired backpackers to cool their feet, a race course for kids with rubber ducks—and a challenge for inattentive visitors. Local tradition has it that any visitor who stumbles into the water must marry a Freiburger.

 

 

The running water gives a sense of life, movement, vitality and change. It also reflects an often-present sense of whimsy, like the alligator head popping out of the water at the corner of Marienstrasse and Gerberau. At the Augustinerplatz, the channels follow a series of gentle curves across slight drops, serving to slow the flow and add visual and aural interest.

 

 

The Bächle waters can also reflect a sense of renewal, as in the stream emerging from the Star of David statue at the new synagogue. There, the citizens of Freiburg erected a plaque acknowledging their “shame and sorrow” for the Jewish community that was torn from Freiburg during Nazi times.