Freiburg

Related Topics:
Freiburg_im_Breisgau

Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) with about 214,000 inhabitants. It is situated at . Freiburg has a sunny microclimate and popular opinion has it that Freiburg is the warmest, sunniest city in Germany. It straddles the Dreisam river, on the foothills of the Schlossberg. The city is surrounded by the Black Forest mountains Rosskopf and Bromberg in the east, and in the south and west by the Schönberg, Tuniberg and the Kaiserstuhl.

History

Freiburg was founded in the 12th century by Duke Konrad of Zähringen as a free market town, hence its name. It was strategically located on a junction of trade routes between the Mediterranean and the North Sea, and the Rhine and the Danube rivers. In the year 1368 Freiburg bought its liberty from a local count, and turned itself over to the protection of the Habsburgs, who allowed it to retain a large amount of freedom.

Around 1200 the city began construction of its Minster (Münster or Muenster in German) on the site of an older parish church. The end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance was a time of both advances and tragedy for Freiburg.

In 1520, the city undertook a set of legal reforms, widely known as the most progressive of the times. They attempted to create a balance between the old city traditions and old Roman Law. The reforms receive extensive acceptance, especially the sections dealing with civil process law, punishment and the city's constitution.

In 1520, Freiburg decided against joining the Reformation and became an important center for Catholicism on the Upper Rhine. In 1536, a strong and persistent belief in witchcraft lead to the city's first witchhunt. The need to find a reason for tragedies such as the Black Plague, which claimed 2000 area residents in 1564, led to an escalation in witch hunting until it reached its peak in 1599. A plaque on the old city wall marks the spot where burnings were carried out.

The 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were turbulent times for Freiburg. Through battles in the Thirty Years' War and other conflicts, the city belonged at various times to the Austrians, the French, the Swedish, the Spanish and various members of the German Confederacy. In the period between 1648 and 1805 it was the administrative headquarters of Further Austria, the Habsburg territories in the South-West of Germany, when the city was not under French occupation. In 1805, the city, together with the Breisgau and Ortenau areas, became part of Baden.

In 1827, when the archdiocese Freiburg was founded, Freiburg became the seat of a Roman-Catholic Archbishop.

In 1889, the entire city had to be evacuated when the odorous compound thioacetone was produced in a laboratory.

The city was heavily bombed during World War II. In 1940 German planes mistakenly dropped approximately 60 bombs on Freiburg near the train station. An Allied bombing of the city in November 1944 destroyed a large portion of the city. Most of city centre was leveled, with the notable exception of the Münster. After the war, the city was rebuilt on its medieval plan. It became for a short time the site of government for the German state Badenia, which was merged into Baden-Württemberg soon after. It was occupied by the French Army in 1945. They maintained a presence in the city until 1991, when the last tank division left the city.

On the site of the former French army base, a new neighborhood of 5,000 people, Vauban, was begun in the late 1990s as a "sustainable model district". Solar power is used to power many of the households in this small community.

Culture

Because of its scenic beauty, relatively warm and sunny climate and easy access to the Black Forest, Freiburg is a hub for regional tourism. The longest cable car in Germany (3.6 km, or about 2.25 miles) runs from just outside the city to a nearby mountain called Schauinsland. The city has an unusual system of gutters (called Bächle) that run throughout its centre. These Bächle, once used to provide water to fight fires and refresh livestock, are constantly flowing with water diverted from the Dreisam. Despite local lore to the contrary, they were never used for sewage. Local tradition has it that if you step in a Bächle, you will marry a Freiburger.

The Augustinerplatz is one of the central squares in the old city. Formerly the location of an Augustine monastery which became the Augustinermuseum in 1921, it is now a beloved gathering place for Freiburg's residents. It has quite a few restaurants and bars, including a local brewery with a nice Biergarten.

At the center of the old city is the its largest square, the Münsterplatz, home of a farmers' market every day except Sundays. This is the site of Freiburg's Münster, a gothic Minster Cathedral constructed of red sandstone, built between 1200 and 1530. The Freiburg Münster is noted for its flamboyant spire.

The Historisches Kaufhaus, or historical marketplace, is a Renaissance building constructed between 1520 and 1530 which was once the center of the financial life of the region. Its façade is decorated with the coat of arms of the Habsburgs.

The Altes Rathaus, or old city hall, was completed in 1559 and has a painted façade.

The Platz der alten Synagoge "Place of the Old Synagogue" is one of the more important squares on the outskirts of the historic old city. The square was the location of a Synagogue until it was destroyed on the Night of Broken Glass in 1938.

St George is the Patron Saint of Freiburg.

Politics

Freiburg is known as an "eco-city". In recent years it has attracted solar industries and research; the Greens have a stronghold here (the strongest in any major German city; up to 25% of the votes city-wide, in some neighbourhoods they reached 40% or more; figures from the 2002 national elections). The newly built neighbourhoods of Vauban and Rieselfeld were developed and built accordingly to the idea of sustainability. The citizens of Freiburg are known in Germany for their love of cycling and recycling.

The Mayor Dr. Dieter Salomon (elected in 2002) is the only member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen who holds this office in a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

In June 1992, the Freiburg city council adopted a resolution to the effect that it would only permit construction of "low energy buildings" on municipal land. All new housing must comply with the low energy guidelines. Low energy housing uses solar power passively as well as actively. In addition to solar panels and collectors on the roof, providing electricity and hot water, many passive features use the sun’s energy to regulate the temperature of the rooms.

See also: List of mayors of Freiburg

Sister cities

Freiburg has several sister-cities throughout the world:

Besançon, France since 1959
Innsbruck, Austria since 1963
Padua, Italy since 1967
Guildford, United Kingdom since 1979
Madison, Wisconsin, United States since 1987
Matsuyama, Japan since 1988
Lviv, Ukraine since 1989
Granada, Spain since 1991
Isfahan, Iran since 2000

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's, controversial comments, which included calling the Holocaust a myth, have sparked discussions concerning Freiburg's partnership with Isfahan. Immediately following the comments Freiburg's mayor Salomon postponed a trip to Isfahan, but most people involved, especially those in the Alliance '90/The Greens party, were opposed to cancelling the partnership. (^*)

Transportation

Freiburg has an extensive pedestrian zone in the city centre where no automobiles are allowed. Freiburg also has an excellent public transit system, anchored by a continually expanding web of tram/streetcar routes known as the Strassenbahn.

Freiburg is on the main Frankfurt am Main - Basel train line with frequent and fast long-distance train services to major German and other European cities. Other train lines run east into the Black Forest and west to Breisach.

The city is also served by the A5 Frankfurt am Main - Basel motorway.

Freiburg is served by Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg International Airport, actually located in France. This is now a base for the low-cost carrier, EasyJet. The airport Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (Baden Airpark) is situated approximately 120 km north of Freiburg and is served by, inter alia, the low-cost carrier Ryanair.

Famous Freiburgers

Berthold Schwarz, fabled alchemist and inventor of gunpowder
Martin Waldseemüller the inventor of the name America
Edmund Husserl, philosopher
Martin Heidegger, philosopher
Hermann Staudinger, Nobel Prize in chemistry "for his discoveries in the field of macromolecular chemistry"
Jürgen Schrempp Former head of DaimlerChrysler
Dany Heatley Superstar player for the Ottawa Senators hockey team
Boris Kodjoe Model and actor
Hans Günther, Nazi eugencist
Bernhard Witkop, organic chemist
Edith Stein. Saint of the Roman Catholic Church, martyred by the Nazis, member of the Freiburg faculty; her residence is marked by a plaque.
Joachim Löw Coach of the German Football Team

Sports

Freiburg is home to Second Bundesliga football team SC Freiburg, coached by Volker Finke and playing in the Badenova-Stadion (formerly Dreisamstadion).

Gallery

Image:Muenster gegenlicht 1.jpg|The Freiburger Münster Image:Freiburg vom Schlossberg.jpg|Freiburg seen from the Schlossberg Image:Freiburg Landschaft vom schlossberg aus.jpg|Landscape seen from the Schlossberg Image:Freiburg Martinstor.jpg|The Martinstor Image:Freiburg Schwabentor.jpg|The Schwabentor Image:Freiburg Muensterplatz Kaufhaus.jpg|The Historic Marketplace (Historisches Kaufhaus) at the Münsterplatz Image:Mcdonalds martinstor freiburg.jpg|McDonald's at the Martinstor Image:Freiburg Schlossberg Aussichtsturm.jpg|Look-Out at the Schlossberg Image:Freiburg Rathaus.jpg|Freiburg's town-hall Image:Freiburg_Hauptbahnhof.JPG|Freiburg's Main Station Image:Konzerthaus_Freiburg.JPG|The Konzerthaus (concert hall) Image:Freiburger_Stadttheater.JPG|Stadttheater

External links

Cities in Baden-Württemberg

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