Freiburg

Travel times from Augsburg:
Train – 4 hours, 30 mins.
Car – 3 hours

Today Freiburg is a cheerful “little big city” with southern flair and a charming mix of tradition and progress. It’s a German city with an almost Mediterranean climate and certainly the attending ambiance and joie de vivre. France, after all, is just 25 kilometers (15 miles) away. The Austrians also left their cultural fingerprint here thanks to the city’s 400 years as part of the Habsburg Empire.

The site of this cosmopolitan university town is unmatched: right at the foot of the Black Forest and in the middle of the “three-country corner” where Germany, France and Switzerland meet. With the Vosges and the Alps nearby, a climate reminiscent of Lugano and a renowned thermal mineral bath and spa resort, its location is a natural attraction.

In Freiburg, you encounter historic sights at every corner. The Cathedral Square is surrounded by impressive buildings, the tallest of which is the steep-roofed historical Kaufhaus (Old Merchants’ House) with its colorfully adorned bartizans. Sights worth visiting include the Old and New Town Halls, the Haus zum Walfisch (House of the Whale) with its superb late Gothic portal, the Basler Hof (Basel Court) and the two medieval city gates (Martinstor and Schwabentor) still standing today.

Picturesquely encircling the magnificent Gothic Cathedral begun in 1200, the medieval Old Quarter features architectural treasures including a colorful marketplace, twisting, narrow lanes and miniature streams flowing through the streets and alleyways. The cathedral’s 381-foot tower ranks among the masterworks of Gothic architecture, distinguishing Freiburg’s incomparable silhouette.

If you attempt to climb the Cathedral tower, you’ll be rewarded at the pinnacle of your climb with a breathtaking view. And even at such lofty heights, the enchanting ambiance of this old university town is palpable. The old city center’s numerous historical monuments, museums, theaters, cozy restaurants and quaint bars all make this city so popular among students and visitors alike.

You 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. The water flows down to the Rhine, providing a way for tired backpackers to cool their feet and a race course for kids with rubber ducks. These babbling little streams offer a charming and often whimsical air to the Old Town.

The city was an historically important center of commerce, and the historic Merchant's Hall (1520-30) is a symbol of the significance of trade in medieval Freiburg. The municipal market, customs and financial administration building is identified as a center of trade by its arcades hall, and its façade is decorated with coats of arms and statues indicating the city's links with the House of Habsburg.

A popular day trip within the city limits is the Schauinsland, Freiburg’s 4,213-foot “hometown” mountain. The scenery viewed from the cable car running to the summit spans far out over the Rhine plain, past vineyard hills toward the gray-silhouetted backdrop of the French Vosges mountain range. From the summit, the view extends deep into the Black Forest and south to the Alps. Tiny villages, with their red roofs and narrow steeples, and ivy-draped castle ruins perfect this idealistically quaint setting.