The town of Freiburg is located in south-western Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, 150 km (93 mi) south-west of Karlsruhe, 110 km (68 mi) west of Strasbourg, France, and 130 km (81 mi) east of the Alpine passes of the Alps.
Freiburg lies in the extreme south of Baden-Württemberg and is bordered on the west by France. It lies 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level, within the southern part of the northern Black Forest at the foothills of the Alps, near the confluence of the rivers Singold and Dreisam, in the historical region of Sundgau, locally referred to as Breisgau. Freiburg is in the traditional wine-growing region of Germany and hosts one of the country's largest wine festivals, the Freiburger Weihnachtsmarkt, which takes place from the last weekend in November until the first weekend in December.
Within the city, Freiburg is divided into 23 districts (called "quartiers", sing. quartier):
- Stadtmitte (Central City, 14 km² / 5.4 sq mi)
- Weststadt (West City, 10.26 km² / 3.96 sq mi)
- Oststadt (East City, 9.47 km² / 3.66 sq mi)
- Kanonenrain (2.88 km² / 1.11 sq mi)
- Zoo (3.89 km² / 1.50 sq mi)
- Neubadestadt (New Bad City, 11.13 km² / 4.30 sq mi)
- Schoeneck-Wiesental (Beautiful Valley, 13.05 km² / 5.04 sq mi)
- Vier Kocher
- Hugstetterwald
- Kärrger Wiese
- Zähringer Weite
- Gartenstadt
- Tuniberg
- Rotenbühl
- Beinhauser
- Neubrück
- Oberkirch
- Siedlung Mehlwald
- Ötigheim
- Friesenheim
- Stockach
In addition, Freiburg has a university campus at Egg
Main article: History of Freiburg
During the years 20,000 BC to 13,000 BC the Rhine Valley was glaciated.
The Hesperid casket (8th or 7th century BC)
The Zähringer conquest
The earliest record of settlement in Freiburg dates to 11 BC, but the present-day city was founded in AD 11 by a Celtic chieftain called Vok I, for whom a sanctuary called Vagres became the centre of the new city. At the beginning of the 3rd century, he bequeathed the city to his daughter Vera and her husband Tribunus who, together with their children, were to be the new leaders of the Celtic tribe. At the end of the 4th century the Roman soldiers stationed in the area made a small settlement between two Celtic villages which would become Freiburg.
From the late 6th century onwards, the region was settled by migrating Germanic tribes such as the Alemani, the Baiovari and the Allemanni, who coalesced in the 7th century into the kingdom of Alamannia.
In AD 723 the place was acquired by a Frankish leader named Udo of Tuscany, who erected an episcopal see in the city, though the episcopate was not officially confirmed by Pope Zacharias until 749. A document from 768 also records the foundation of a monastery in the region.
In 1049, the great-grandson of Charlemagne was given control of the region, resulting in considerable prosperity and growth. For a while the city became an important place, also referred to as 'Freiburg im Breisgau'. When Conrad II of Swabia died on 4 June 1039, he was succeeded as King of the Germans by his son Henry IV of Germany and as Duke of Swabia by his brother Frederick I of Swabia. Both Henry and Frederick also received the palatinate of Burgundy as their personal possession. Henry's eldest son Conrad II of Germany succeeded him as King of the Germans, while Frederick became Duke of Swabia. Frederick then sold his share to his younger brother Henry, resulting in a conflict for control over the palatinate. This conflict was ended by the 1122 Treaty of Burgos, where Henry renounced his rights, leaving the region to his brother Henry. In 1125 Henry V of Germany was crowned in Freiburg's cathedral, bringing the city to the attention of later rulers.
In the 13th century Freiburg was granted city status, and it was here that it was given its German name of Freiburg im Breisgau, while the French inhabitants of the area (French: Freebourg im Breisgau) still used the name of 'Freiburg' to describe the city. In 1211 Otto I, the second duke of the House of Zähringen, decided to make Freiburg the centre of his domains, which would later develop into the Free County of Burgau. After him, most of the dukes from the Zähringen line were succeeded in their rule by members of the Staufer line. Otto II's wife Agnes von Thurgau inherited the region, resulting in a conflict with her husband's brother Conrad I, who was elected as King of the Romans in 1228. This led to a period of civil war within the region and a confiscation of the territory by Emperor Frederick II. When Conrad II was elected to the throne, he compensated his brother and returned Freiburg to the House of Zähringen, and Frederick II, who was now King of the Romans, granted the city market rights. In the 13th century the citizens of the city were allowed to act as judges in cases of people from outside the city, resulting in further growth of the city. This resulted in the later admission of new members to the citizenship. After a period of conflict between Freiburg and the neighbouring House of Hohenberg, the region was transferred to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, and in 1406 the city was acquired by Emperor Sigismund.
In 1648 the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War and introduced relative peace. In 1655 an "Eternal Peace" was declared between Freiburg and Basel which formally ended the town's more than 300-year conflict with the town of Basel in 1763.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the duchy of Freiburg became very rich, after vast deposits of high-grade silver ore were discovered in 1703 by George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. From 1732 onwards the company Münzgraben & Koch led a mercury mine at Herrenberg. One of the local bishops became Cardinal Fesch, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte.
From 1764 to 1801 Freiburg was ruled by a Reichsabtei, which meant that it had a certain amount of autonomy. In 1803 it was annexed by the House of Baden, which was now the dominant ruling house in southwestern Germany. This was a bad thing, as Baden taxed heavily and was continually financially and politically trying to drain away the finances of this great wealth. Freiburg was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1211 until 1806, when the Empire was dissolved, although the city remained part of the Grand Duchy of Baden until 1945. The 19th century was a period of growth for Freiburg: in 1803 Napoleon renamed the city "Freiburg im Breisgau" and appointed it the capital of his new French department of the Drôme (district). This ended in 1814 when Napoleon was exiled. Napoleon built many civil buildings such as the hospital church (Hospitalskirche), the Munster (city-hall) and the primary school, together with the rue du Maréchal (Marshal Street). The street named after the German Emperor Wilhelm II is the part of the Nordallee street connecting the Altstadt (Old Town) with the Neubrück (New Bridge) area.