Fribourg Walking Tour - Part Two by Tolik
Walk around the cathedral (there is a fountain behind it) and follow the Grand?Rue towards the Pont de Zaehringen. To the right from the bridge, there is another terrace with fantastic view over the Sarine river, the ramparts and the bridges. It?s a great place for picnic (you should buy a sandwich or a pastry at Le Coop or Le Migros on your way here). Returning from the terrace, follow the steep Rue de la Lenda down to the lower quarter of the Lower Town, known as Auge. This district, absorbed into the city as early as the 1160s, is the oldest in Fribourg outside the Zähringens? original fortress. It?s full of atmosphere, with its cobbled streets and old Gothic houses and inns; the sense of community surviving in such ancient surroundings is what really marks Fribourg out as being special. On your left at Rue des Augustins, is the Église des Augustins, part of a monastery founded in the mid-thirteenth century, with impressive later Baroque decoration.
Following along the Rue de la Samaritane, you pass the Samaritaine Fountain, and arrive at the Place du Petit-St-Jean. The square is the local hub, ringed by cafés overlooked from the fountain by St Anne, the patron saint of the tanners who used to live here.
Northeast from the Place du Petit-St-Jean is the picturesque covered wooden bridge - Pont de Berne, leading to the ancient Rue des Forgerons (Street of the Blacksmiths) on the east bank of the river. The little bridgehead square, one of Fribourg?s prettiest, holds the celebrated Loyalty Fountain (1553). To the left is the Porte de Berne, a city gate dating from 1270 that has somehow clung on to its original doors. Behind the gate, turn right and follow up the ancient covered steps along the ramparts to the Tours des Chais ? view from the tower area is breathtaking.
