The Bertoldsbrunnen is the fountain at the busiest crossroads in Freiburg's old town, where Kaiser-Joseph-Straße meets Salzstraße and Bertoldstraße and most of the city's tram lines stop. It honours the Dukes of Zähringen, who founded the city, and its bronze rider is a 1965 replacement for an older monument destroyed in a bombing raid in 1944.
Bertoldsbrunnen at a glance
- Where: in the middle of the crossing of Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, Salzstraße and Bertoldstraße, next to the tram stop of the same name.
- Built: the first fountain in 1807; the present one was unveiled on 27 November 1965, exactly 21 years after the air raid that destroyed its predecessor.
- By: the current fountain is by the sculptor Nikolaus Röslmeir; the 1807 original was designed by Ferdinand Weiß, with the statue by Franz Xaver Hauser.
- What it is today: Freiburg's best-known meeting point, affectionately called "Berti", in a pedestrian zone crossed by trams.
- Time needed: 5–10 minutes, unless you are waiting for someone here, as half of Freiburg does.
From a duke's oath to an abstract knight
Until 1806 a fish fountain stood at this crossing. It was moved up the street to make room for a new monument, built in 1807 to mark the day in May 1806 when Freiburg swore allegiance to its new ruler, Karl Friedrich of Baden. The monument celebrated him as an heir of the Zähringen dukes, together with Berthold III, who gave the town its charter, and Konrad, who began the Minster. Latin inscriptions on the four sides of the pedestal spelled this out, and on top stood Berthold as an armoured knight with shield and spear.
On 27 November 1944, British bombers destroyed the fountain along with much of the old town. The man in charge of rebuilding, Joseph Schlippe, refused an offer to copy the old statue, and the commission went to Nikolaus Röslmeir, whose abstract design was funded by citizens' donations. Many Freiburgers did not like the stylised rider at first. When Kaiser-Joseph-Straße became a pedestrian zone in the 1970s, the fountain was moved to the very centre of the crossing, where it stands today.
What to look for
- The bronze rider on top, a stylised medieval duke on horseback modelled on a medieval emblem rather than a realistic portrait.
- The tall limestone pedestal, its outline inspired by Gothic pointed arches as a nod to the Minster nearby.
- The inscription dedicating the fountain to the Dukes of Zähringen, "founders and lords of Freiburg im Breisgau".
- The shallow basin set into the ground, with LED lights added in 2014 that light up Bertold after dark.
- The trams passing on all sides: few city fountains stand this close to the rails.
Meeting at Berti
"Meet at the Bertold" is probably the most common arrangement in Freiburg, which is exactly why it can go wrong: so many people wait here that the tourist office suggests agreeing on a corner, for example by the Löwen-Apotheke. Nearby you will also see the Bächle, the narrow water channels that run along the old town streets. A popular local legend says that anyone who steps into a Bächle by accident will marry someone from Freiburg.
Tips for your visit
- Come in the evening to see the rider lit from below; during the day the crossing is very busy.
- Watch for trams in every direction: the crossing is a pedestrian zone, but the trams have right of way.
- Follow Salzstraße east from the fountain along its Bächle to reach the Schwabentor.
- Use the fountain as your starting point: the Minster, the Old Town Hall and the Martinstor are all a few minutes away on foot.
Nearby
- Freiburg Minster: the Gothic cathedral with its openwork spire, a few minutes' walk away.
- Old Town Hall: the red Renaissance building on Rathausplatz, a short walk away.
- Martinstor: one of the two surviving medieval city gates, just south along Kaiser-Joseph-Straße.
- Schwabentor: the other medieval gate, at the eastern end of Salzstraße, named after the old road towards Swabia.
See Freiburg with World City Trail
Our Freiburg scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 24 minutes of walking. The Bertoldsbrunnen is not one of the stops, but the route includes Freiburg Minster, the Old Town Hall and the Schwabentor.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Freiburg.
Play the Freiburg scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Freiburg →
Play the outdoor escape game in Freiburg →
Facts checked in October 2026.