Münsterplatz is the large cobbled square around Freiburg Minster, in the middle of Freiburg's old town. Until 1514 it was the town cemetery; since then it has been the market square, and on every working day the Münstermarkt still fills it with stalls of fruit, vegetables, flowers and sausages.
Münsterplatz at a glance
- Where: around Freiburg Minster in the old town of Freiburg im Breisgau, a few minutes' walk from Rathausplatz and Kaiser-Joseph-Straße.
- Created: a churchyard until 1514, when the burials were moved out of town; a market square ever since.
- What it is today: a pedestrian square with the Münstermarkt, between about 80 and 180 stalls depending on the day and season, and a ring of historic buildings round the minster.
- Time needed: 30–45 minutes for the square and the market; more if you go inside the minster.
From churchyard to market square
For its first centuries the open ground around the minster was the churchyard, closed off by a wall about 1.6 metres high. In 1514, at the request of Emperor Maximilian I, the cemetery was moved to the suburb of Neuburg for reasons of hygiene, and the market, until then held in today's Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, moved onto the square. The little chapel of St Andrew that stood here was pulled down in 1752, and the churchyard wall came down in 1785.
The square still shows Freiburg's centuries under the Habsburgs. The red Historisches Kaufhaus, the merchants' hall, took its present form between 1520 and 1532; the Alte Wache was built in 1733 as the main guardhouse for the Austrian garrison; and the sculptor and painter Johann Christian Wentzinger built his Baroque town house here in 1761. On 27 November 1944 an air raid destroyed almost every building round the square. Only the minster and the houses on the south-east side, including these three, survived; the rest was rebuilt after the war. Until the pedestrian zone was created in the 1970s, the square was used as a car park in the afternoons.
What to look for
- The Historisches Kaufhaus: the red building with arcades and bay windows on the south side. Its four statues show the Habsburg rulers Maximilian I, Philip I, Charles V and Ferdinand I; the figures outside are copies of originals carved by Hans Sixt von Staufen.
- The lost chapel: the outline of St Andrew's chapel, demolished in 1752, is marked in the cobblestones of the square.
- The three columns in front of the minster's main portal, crowned by the Virgin Mary, St Lambert and St Alexander.
- The fountains: the Georgsbrunnen with St George and the Fischbrunnen with a figure of St Lambert.
- The Wentzingerhaus: the Baroque house 'Zum Schönen Eck' beside the Kaufhaus, now the Museum of Municipal History, with Wentzinger's own ceiling fresco above the staircase.
The market and its sausage
The Münstermarkt is one of the busiest market squares in south-west Germany and still very much a local market. The north side of the square is reserved for farmers from the region, who sell their own produce. Among the stands you will also find Freiburg's best-known snack, the 'Lange Rote': a long, thin red sausage served in a bread roll, usually with fried onions. The market does not open on Sundays or on 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption, because the minster is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Tips for your visit
- Come in the morning, when the market is in full swing; by the afternoon the stalls are packing up and the square is quieter.
- Walk across the whole square: the farmers' stalls are on the north side, the snack stands and flowers spread around the minster.
- For a view down onto the square and its stalls, climb the minster tower or walk up the Schlossberg hill above the old town.
Nearby
- Freiburg Minster: the red sandstone cathedral in the middle of the square, with its openwork stone spire finished around 1330.
- Augustinermuseum: the city's art museum in a former monastery a few minutes south, with many original sculptures from the minster.
- Old Town Hall: the red-painted town hall on Rathausplatz, a short walk west of the square.
- Schwabentor: one of Freiburg's two surviving medieval city gates, at the eastern edge of the old town.
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. It includes Freiburg Minster in the middle of the square, as well as the Schwabentor and the Old Town Hall.
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.