Freiburg im Breisgau lies on the edge of the Black Forest, close to France and Switzerland, and has been a university city since the 15th century. Little streams run along its streets, its Gothic minster has watched over the market for 700 years, and it is known as one of the sunniest cities in Germany. Here are the facts and stories that make the city special.
10 fun facts about Freiburg
- A city with a birthday: the dukes of Zähringen founded Freiburg as a market town in 1120. The name means, roughly, 'free town'.
- Water in the streets: the Bächle, narrow channels fed by the river Dreisam, run beside the pavements of the old town. They were first recorded in 1220 and once supplied water for animals and for fighting fires.
- Step in and marry a local: legend says that if you accidentally step into a Bächle, you will marry someone from Freiburg.
- A tower finished in the Middle Ages: the Minster's west tower is 116 metres high and was completed around 1330, which makes it one of very few great Gothic church towers in Germany finished in medieval times. The historian Jacob Burckhardt called it the most beautiful spire on earth.
- Bread checks on the church wall: next to the Minster's portal, the outlines of loaves were carved into the stone so that shoppers at the market could check that bakers sold the right size.
- A gargoyle with a bare bottom: among the Minster's 91 gargoyles, one on the south side of the nave sticks its naked backside out over the square.
- It survived the bombs: on 27 November 1944, a British air raid code-named Operation Tigerfish destroyed much of the old town and gutted the Old Town Hall. The Minster came through it standing.
- Austrian for over four centuries: Freiburg belonged to the Habsburgs from 1368 until 1805, when Napoleon's reorganisation of Germany handed it to Baden.
- A university since 1457: the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität is one of the oldest in Germany, and its students give the city much of its relaxed, young feel.
- Pictures in the pavement: in front of many shops in the old town, mosaics of Rhine pebbles show what is or was sold inside, such as a pretzel outside a bakery.
The monk who invented gunpowder
On the Rathausplatz, in front of the Franciscan church of St Martin, stands a statue of a monk. He is Berthold Schwarz, 'Black Berthold', who according to legend invented gunpowder here in the 14th century. The story goes that the monk, who dabbled in alchemy, was grinding saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal in a mortar when a spark set the mixture off and the blast hurled the stone lid into the air. He saw at once that the force could fire projectiles, and so, the legend says, guns came to Europe. Historians doubt that he ever existed, and gunpowder was known in China long before, but Freiburg has kept its monk on his pedestal.
The Münsterplatz, explained
The square around the Minster is Freiburg's living room. Six days a week, the Münstermarkt fills it with stalls of vegetables, flowers, cheese and Black Forest ham, and with grills selling the Lange Rote sausage. On the south side stands the red Historic Merchants' Hall, built in the 1520s, with statues of Habsburg rulers on its façade, a reminder of the centuries when Freiburg was Austrian. From the square you can also see the bread measures on the Minster wall, still in the same place where medieval shoppers used them.
What to eat in Freiburg
- Lange Rote: a long, thin grilled sausage served in a bread roll with fried onions, the classic snack from the Münstermarkt.
- Schäufele: cured and smoked pork shoulder, a Baden speciality usually served with potato salad.
- Black Forest cake: chocolate sponge, cherries, cream and a good splash of kirsch, the cherry brandy of the region.
- Flammkuchen: a thin flatbread with crème fraîche, onions and bacon, shared with neighbouring Alsace.
- Baden wine: Pinot Noir, called Spätburgunder here, from the Kaiserstuhl hills, or the light white Gutedel from the Markgräflerland south of the city.
Good to know before you go
- The Münstermarkt runs from Monday to Saturday, mainly in the morning. Go early for the best choice.
- For the classic view over the roofs to the Minster, walk up the Schlossberg, the hill at the edge of the old town, or take the small funicular part of the way.
- The Schauinsland cable car, opened in 1930, climbs Schauinsland, a Black Forest mountain of 1,284 metres, a short tram and bus ride from the centre.
- Freiburg is a good base for day trips: Basel is close by train, and the wine villages of Alsace are just across the Rhine.
Explore Freiburg with World City Trail
Our Freiburg scavenger hunt turns these sights into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 24 minutes of walking, and leads you past the Schwabentor, Freiburg Minster and the Old Town Hall, among other sights.
At each stop you solve a puzzle and hear a short story, at your own pace. You can start whenever you like.
Play the Freiburg scavenger hunt →
Facts checked in October 2026.