Freising Things to Do

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In the center of town just off the Marienplatz or market square is a 15th century late-Gothic Catholic church. We were hoping to climb the tower as it was advertised as having a spectacular view. Unfortunately, the tower was closed, which maybe was a good thing since a storm was coming in and the view might not be as good as we had hoped. You can get good views of the area from either of the two hills in the town – the one with the cathedral or the one with the brewery. The tower is open from May through October (we were there in April) and is one euro to climb.

We entered the church and quickly looked around, trying not to be too touristy since there were people inside praying. The interior was clean, white and stark with a high vaulted arch ceiling. I did like the statue of St. George slaying the dragon on the back wall. Other than that, there really wasn’t too much interesting in this church; perhaps simplistic to contrast the overly decorated cathedral on the hill?

Freising, along the Isar to Garching (Beergarden)
easy tour, 44km, no incline

Freising, at the train station: cross the tracks and a big parking lot and you will see the river dam. Start driving towards Munich. The path at first goes along on top of the dam in the sun, but soon you will be able to enter the woods (Auen) and get closer to the river. Follow the yellow signs, they point out destination and distance. One of it reads "Aumeister" which is a beergarden in munich. It´s not your destination, but the right direction, so follow it.

Follow the river, enjoy the cool shadows of the woods or rest on the sunny river banks.

Near Munich Airport: If you want to cut the tour short to only 20km look out for a wooden bridge (right before a big highway bridge). Cross the river there and turn back to Freising.

If you go on:
Near Hallbergmoos: another smaller road bridge crosses the river

Near Garching: after about 20km (before you reach another road bridge) look out for some signs pointing to Garching (or maybe even "Muehlenpark" which is the name of the beergarden in Garching). You have to turn right, leave the meadows and cross some fields before reaching this place. Look for an old mill-wheel turning in a small creek.

After enjoying fine bavarian beer and some rest, you might either:

- turn back to Freising (cross the river at the nearest bridge, or not, if you like);

If your accomodation is in Munich:
- go further on upstream the river Isar until you reach Munich (Englischer Garten); it´s actually shorter than to return to Freising;

- find the train station (Garching-Hochbrück); about 2,5km to the west, across the highway; take the U6 to munich; but be aware: you need an extra ticket to take your bike on the train and you are not allowed to take the bike on the train on work days between 6-9am and 4-6pm

This is an absolute must if you visit Freising.

"Dom" is the word for the most important church in a catholic diocese, which most of the time is where the bishop resides. In other words a cathedral. The Freisinger Diocese was founded in 739 AD and even then there was already a church up this hill, the locals today call "Domberg".

Even if the marvelous baroque interior is not accessible at the moment (may 2006) because of restoration, the sites strong but quiet athmosphere still gives a very good impression of the importance of christianity in Bavaria.

The library adjacent (and connected) to the church in Freising is very unique. The color of the books, in a white color, yet looking very old, as well as how the mountains of books are stacked, reminded me of the library scene in Disney's movie "Beauty and the Beast". Some of the books, I think, will fall apart if you try to open them since they are incredibly old. All the books are written in Latin, not German.