Freiburg im Breisgau Things to Do

These are the biggest sights here: Rathaus - the historic Town Hall - where the newly married couples can be seen. It's an old wedding tradition to register the marriage here.
Rathausplatz - Town Hall Square - is in front of the Town Hall.
You can see a stream flowing through the square to the river.
It flows through downtown Freiburg.

We were first of all attracted by Muensterplatz.
The building of Muenster, an old cathedral, is about 500 years old.
We admired its unique glass windows, the magnificent front door, sculptures, the high altar and, of course, its height - 116 meters.
I just couldn't take pictures of the entire cathedral with my feeble camera.
This is what I got.
You can climb the tower of the cathedral and gain a splendid view of the city and the neighboring hills of the Black Forest.
Muenster tower is open on Sundays.

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Inviting paths go along the Dreisam River for those who like to walk. The paths themselves are stroller-friendly, though you might have to negotiate stairs or rough paths to get down to them. We enjoyed a few strolls, including a rather long walk out of town in the direction of Umkirch. While Mommy and Daddy were doing just fine, we were a bit concerned Minifrosch might be getting a bit too much sun, so we didn't go all the way to the next town.

The buskers I saw in the Marketplatz in Freiburg im Breisgau were an absolute delight. These were definitely not your everyday run of the mill buskers. These were extremely talented young classically trained musicians, who were a joy to stand and listen to. I took this photo when these two girls were playing by themselves as a duo. After walking around the markets and visiting the Muenster, I came back and the group had added another three musicians. They all played strings of different kinds and were just wonderful. By this time, I had my hands full munching on my Bratwurst Roll so I didn't take another pic. Wish I had now.

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The university was founded in 1457, and today has more than 22,000 students, including over 3,000 from foreign countries. The liberal arts faculties are still in the city center.

The building in the photo, known as KG I, has a strange motto engraved across the top of the façade: Dem ewigen Deutschtum, "To the eternal Germanness". This slogan, which sounds as ridiculous in German as it does in English translation, was added during the Nazi period when the façade was renovated after a fire.

Second photo: The same building has another motto around on the other side, facing the library: Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen, "The truth will set you free" -- a biblical quotation (John 8:32), which was put there when the building was first built in the early 20th century.

Third photo: More university buildings.

Fourth photo: An outdoor café near the university.

Fifth photo: The Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, in another part of the city.

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The Freiburg University of Music was founded in 1946. The current building, on the east side of the city, has been in use since 1984.

This is a good place to go for free or very low-priced concerts of classical music. Admission to most of the concerts costs all of six euros, and just half of that for students.

Second and third photos: Statues in front of the Music University.

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The interior of Maria Hilfekirche is really stunning. It is teeming with lavish statuary and fittings in the Baroque style. As I said before, I can find no history of this wonderful church, so I can only bring you some of my favourite pictures and recommend that you go and see it for yourself. I was fortunate enough to be the only person there at the time and this made it extra special for me.

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I came across this little park on my way from the Train/Tram station into the City.
It is dedicated to the Grape Vine and has every type of Wine Grapes that go into making their fine wines. There is also a recreational area and plenty of places to sit.
It was always a stopping off place on our way into Freiburg, time for our son to have a play and us to take a rest.