Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [382]
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Orientation
The Altstadt’s focal point, two blocks southwest of the Münster, is the intersection of Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse, the centre’s main north–south artery. About 600m west is the Hauptbahnhof and bus station, which define the western edge of the Altstadt. The Dreisam River runs along the Altstadt’s southern edge.
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Information
Herder ( 282 820; Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse 180; 9.30am-7pm Mon-Sat) Stocks foreign-language books and maps.
Planet Internet Café (Kartäuserstrasse 6; per hr €1.80; 9am-midnight Mon-Sat, 11am-midnight Sun) Internet, discount calls, cakes and Turkish tea.
Police station (Rotteckring)
Post office (Eisenbahnstrasse 58-62)
Tee-Online (Grünwälderstrasse 19; per hr €3.50; 10am-10pm Mon-Sat, noon-8pm Sun) Hip cafe with speedy internet, wi-fi and free tea.
Tourist office ( 388 1880; www.freiburg.de; Rathausplatz 2-4; 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5pm Sat, 10am-noon Sun Jun-Sep, 8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-2.30pm Sat, 10am-noon Sun Oct-May) Well stocked with 1:50,000-scale cycling maps (€6.95) and the useful booklet Freiburg – Official Guide (€4).
Wash & Tours (Salzstrasse 22; per hr €3, laundry per machine €4.50; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat) A self-service laundry and internet cafe.
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Sights
MÜNSTER
Freiburg’s Gothic Münster is the monster of all minsters, a red-sandstone giant that dwarfs the bustling Münsterplatz, with a riot of punctured spires that flush scarlet at dusk. Crane your neck to notice the leering gargoyles, including a mischievous one on the southern flank that once spouted water from its backside.
The main portal is adorned with sculptures depicting Old and New Testament scenes – note allegorical figures such as Voluptuousness (the one with snakes on her back) and Satan himself. Nearby are medieval wall markings once used to ensure that merchandise (eg loaves of bread) were of the requisite size.
Square at the base, the sturdy tower becomes an octagon higher up and is crowned by a filigreed 116m-high spire. Ascend 209 steps to the tower (adult/student €1.50/1; 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun) for views that reach as far as the Vosges Mountains in France on a clear day.
Inside the Münster, the kaleidoscopic stained-glass windows are dazzling. Many were financed by guilds – in the bottom panels look for a pretzel, scissors and other symbols of medieval trades. The high altar features a masterful triptych of the coronation of the Virgin Mary by Hans Baldung.
SOUTH OF THE MÜNSTER
Facing the Münster’s south side and embellished with polychrome tiled turrets is the arcaded brick-red Historisches Kaufhaus, a 16th-century merchants’ hall. The coats of arms on the oriels and the four figures above the balcony symbolise Freiburg’s allegiance to the House of Habsburg.
The sculptor Christian Wentzinger’s baroque town house, east of the Kaufhaus, now shelters the Museum für Stadtgeschichte (City History Museum; 201 2515; Münsterplatz 30; adult/concession €2/1; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun), spelling out in artefacts Freiburg’s eventful past. Inside a wrought-iron staircase guides the eye to an elaborate ceiling fresco.
Tiptoe south to Augustinerplatz where the Augustinermuseum, housed in a former monastery, is set to reopen in 2010. The collection comprises paintings by Matthias Grünewald and Cranach and a prized collection of medieval stained glass.
Across the Gewerbekanal, the Museum für Neue Kunst (Museum of Modern Art; 201 2583; Marienstrasse 10; adult/concession €2/1; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun) highlights 20th-century expressionist and abstract art, including emotive works by Oskar Kokoschka and Otto Dix.
A canal babbles west through the charming former fishing quarter of Fischerau to Martinstor (Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse), one of Freiburg’s two surviving town gates, and, slightly north, Bertoldsbrunnen fountain, which marks where the city’s thoroughfares have crossed since its foundation in 1091.
Veering east of the Museum für Neue Kunst brings