Freiburg im Breisgau

Freiburg im Breisgau: history & character

Freiburg im Breisgau, founded in 1120 by the Zähringen dukes as a free market town at the foot of the Black Forest, became one of the wealthiest mining and university cities of the Holy Roman Empire after the creation of Albert Ludwig University in 1457. A Habsburg seat in the Breisgau from 1368 to 1805 and then part of Baden from 1806, the city was almost entirely destroyed by Allied bombing on 27 November 1944 but its Altstadt was rebuilt identically. Today a city of around 236,000, the informal capital of the Black Forest and Germany's sunniest urban centre (1,740 hours of sun per year, source DWD), Freiburg is recognised as one of Europe's model eco-cities: trams, bikes everywhere, passive urbanism. For travellers with a dog, it is one of Germany's easiest cities: fully pedestrian Altstadt, default-tolerant Baden culture, the famous Bächle (small water channels in the cobbles where dogs drink in summer), and direct cable-car access to the Black Forest. Direct ICE trains to Basel in 45 min, Frankfurt 2h, Paris 3h15 via Karlsruhe.