Freiburg - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam

Dreisam

Dreisam is a river in Germany near Freiburg. It empties into the Elz. The waters of the Dreisam feed the famous Freiburg bächle....

river, at the foot of the Schlossberg

Schlossberg (Freiburg)

The Schlossberg is a tree covered hill of 456m located in the area of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is directly to the east of Freiburg’s Old Town and belongs to the Black Forest...

. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau

Breisgau

Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...

region on the western edge of the Black Forest

Black Forest

The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....

in the Upper Rhine Plain

Upper Rhine Plain

The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...

. One of the famous old German university towns, and archiepiscopal seat, Freiburg was incorporated in the early 12th century and developed into a major commercial, intellectual, and ecclesiastical centre of the upper Rhine region. The city is known for its ancient university

University of Freiburg

The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

and its medieval minster, as well as for its high standard of living and advanced environmental practices. The city is situated in the heart of a major wine-growing region

Baden (wine region)

Baden is a region for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the historical region of Baden in southwestern Germany, which today forms part of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg...

and serves as the primary tourist entry point to the scenic beauty of the Black Forest

Black Forest

. According to meteorological statistics, the city is the sunniest and warmest in Germany.

History

Freiburg was founded by Konrad and Duke Bertold III of Zähringen

Zähringen

Zähringen is the name of an old German family that founded a large number of cities in what are today Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg. While the junior line that first assumed the title Duke of Zähringen, a cadet branch of the House of Baden, became extinct in 1218, the senior line persists and...

in 1120 as a free market town; hence its name, which translates to "free (or independent) town". Frei means "free", and Burg, like the modern English word "borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

", was used in those days for an incorporated city or town, usually one with some degree of autonomy. The German word Burg also means "a fortified town", as in Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

. Thus, it is likely that the name of this place means a "fortified town of free citizens".

This town was strategically located at a junction of trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

and the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

areas, and the Rhine and Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

rivers. In 1200, Freiburg's population numbered around 6,000 people. At about that time, under the rule of Bertold V

Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen

Berchtold V of Zähringen was Duke of Zähringen until his death, succeeding his father Berchtold IV in 1186.- History and legacy :...

, the last duke of Zähringen, the city began construction of its Freiburg Münster

Freiburg Münster

Freiburg Minster is the cathedral of Freiburg, southwest Germany. The last duke of Zähringen had started the building around 1200 in romanesque style, the construction continued in 1230 in Gothic style. The minster was partly built on the foundations of an original church that had been there from...

cathedral on the site of an older parish church. Begun in the Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

style, it was continued and completed 1513 for the most part as a Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

cathedral. In 1218, when Bertold V died, the counts of Urach assumed the title of Freiburg's count. The city council did not trust the new nobles and wrote down their established rights in a document. At the end of the 13th century there was a feud between the citizens of Freiburg and their lord, Count Egino II of Freiburg. Egino raised taxes and sought to limit the citizens' freedom, after which the Freiburgers used catapults to destroy the count's castle atop Schloßberg

Schlossberg (Freiburg)

The Schlossberg is a tree covered hill of 456m located in the area of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is directly to the east of Freiburg’s Old Town and belongs to the Black Forest...

, a hill that overlooks the city center. The furious count called on his brother-in-law the Bishop of Strasbourg, Konradius von Lichtenberg, for help. The bishop answered by marching with his army to Freiburg.
According to an old Freiburg legend, a butcher named Hauri stabbed the Bishop of Strasbourg to death on July 29, 1299. It was a Pyrrhic victory

Pyrrhic victory

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...

, since henceforth the citizens of Freiburg had to pay an annual expiation of 300 marks in silver to the count of Freiburg until 1368. In 1366 the counts of Freiburg made another failed attempt to occupy the city during a night raid. Eventually the citizens were fed up with their lords, and in 1368 Freiburg purchased its independence from them. The city turned itself over to the protection of the Habsburgs, who allowed the city to retain a large measure of freedom. Most of the nobles of the city died in the battle of Sempach

Battle of Sempach

An armistice was agreed upon on 12 October, followed by a peace agreement valid for one year, beginning on 14 January 1387.The battle was a severe blow to Austrian interests in the region, and allowed for the further growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy....

(1386). The patrician

Patricianship

Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a class of patrician families whose members were the only people allowed to exercise many political functions...

family Schnewlin took control of the city until the guildsmen revolted. The guilds became more powerful than the patricians by 1389.

The silver mines in Mount Schauinsland provided an important source of capital for Freiburg. This silver made Freiburg one of the richest cities in Europe, and in 1327 Freiburg minted its own coin, the Rappenpfennig. In 1377 the cities of Freiburg, Basel

Basel

Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, Colmar

Colmar

Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....

, and Breisach

Breisach

Breisach is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway between Freiburg and Colmar — 20 kilometres away from each — and about 60 kilometres north of Basel near the...

entered into an alliance known as the Genossenschaft des Rappenpfennigs (Rappenpfennig Collective). This alliance facilitated commerce between the cities and lasted until the end of the 16th century. There were 8,000-9,000 people living in Freiburg between the 13th and 14th centuries, and 30 churches and monasteries. At the end of the 14th century the veins of silver were dwindling, and by 1460 only around 6,000 people still lived within Freiburg's city walls

Defensive wall

A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...

. A university city, Freiburg evolved from its focus on mining to become a cultural center for the arts and sciences. It was also a commercial center.
The end of the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

and the dawn of the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

was a time of both advances and tragedy for Freiburg.

In 1457, Albrecht VI

Albert VI, Archduke of Austria

Albert VI , also known as the Prodigal, from the House of Habsburg was, with his elder brother Emperor Frederick III, an Archduke of Inner Austria from 1424 and of Austria from 1457 until his death...

, Regent of Further Austria

Further Austria

Further Austria or Anterior Austria was the collective name for the old possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, including territories in the Alsace region west of the Rhine and in Vorarlberg, after the focus of the Habsburgs had moved to the...

, established Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, one of Germany's oldest universities. In 1498, Emperor Maximilian I

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...

held a Reichstag in Freiburg. In 1520, the city ratified a set of legal reforms, widely considered the most progressive of the time. The aim was to find a balance between city traditions and old Roman Law

Roman law

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...

. The reforms were well received, especially the sections dealing with civil process law, punishment and the city's constitution.

In 1520, Freiburg decided not to take part in the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

and became an important center for Catholicism on the Upper Rhine

Upper Rhine

The Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....

. In 1536, a strong and persistent belief in witchcraft

Witchcraft

Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...

led to the city's first witch-hunt

Witch-hunt

A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...

. The need to find a scapegoat for calamities such as the Black Plague, which claimed 2,000 area residents (25% of the city population) in 1564, led to an escalation in witch-hunting that reached its peak in 1599. A plaque on the old city wall marks the spot where burnings were carried out.

The 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries were turbulent times for Freiburg. Through battles in the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

(at the beginning of this war there were 10,000-14,000 citizens in Freiburg; by its end only 2,000) and other conflicts, the city belonged at various times to the Austrians

Austrians

Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....

, the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, the Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and various members of the German Confederacy. Between 1648 and 1805, it was the administrative headquarters of Further Austria

Further Austria

, the Habsburg territories in the southwest of Germany, when the city was not under French occupation. In 1805, the city, together with the Breisgau

Breisgau

and Ortenau

Ortenau

The Ortenau is a historical territory in Baden-Württemberg, located on the right bank of the River Rhine. It covers approximately the same area as the Ortenaukreis, a present-day district....

areas, became part of Baden

Grand Duchy of Baden

The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...

.

In 1827, when the Archdiocese of Freiburg

Archdiocese of Freiburg

The Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Baden-Württemberg comprising the former states of Baden and Hohenzollern...

was founded, Freiburg became the seat of a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

archbishop.

On October 22, 1940, the Nazi Gauleiter

Gauleiter

A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...

of Baden ordered the deportation of all Baden's Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, and 350 Jewish citizens of Freiburg were deported to the southern French internment camp of Camp Gurs

Camp Gurs

Camp Gurs was an internment and refugee camp constructed by the French government in 1939. The camp was originally set up in southwestern France after the fall of Catalonia at the end of the Spanish Civil War to control those who fled Spain out of fear of retaliation from Francisco Franco's regime...

in the Basses-Pyrénées. They remained there under poor conditions until the majority of the survivors were sent to their deaths at Auschwitz on July 18, 1942. The cemetery for German Jews who died at Camp Gurs is maintained by the town of Freiburg and other cities of Baden. A memorial stands outside the modern synagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

in the town center. The pavements of Freiburg carry memorials to individual victims in form of brass plates outside former residences, including that of Edith Stein

Edith Stein

Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross, sometimes also known as Saint Edith Stein , was a German Roman Catholic philosopher and nun, regarded as a martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic Church...

.

Freiburg was heavily bombed during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. First, in May 1940, aircraft of the Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

mistakenly dropped approximately 60 bombs on Freiburg near the train station, killing fifty-seven people. Later on, a raid by more than 300 bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

s of the RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...

on 27 November 1944 destroyed a large portion of the city center, with the notable exception of the Münster, which was only lightly damaged. After the war, the city was rebuilt on its medieval plan.

It was occupied by the French Army

French Army

The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

in 1945, and Freiburg was soon allotted to the French Zone of Occupation

Allied Occupation Zones in Germany

The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...

. In December 1945 Freiburg became the site of government for the German state Badenia

South Baden

South Baden , formed in December 1945 from the southern half of the former Republic of Baden, was a subdivision of the French occupation zone of post-WWII Germany. The state was later renamed to Baden and became a founding state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949...

, which was merged into Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

in 1952. The French Army

French Army

maintained a presence in Freiburg until 1991, when the last French Army division left the city, and left Germany.

On the site of the former French Army base, a new neighborhood for 5,000 people, Vauban, was begun in the late 1990s as a "sustainable model district". Solar power is used to power many of the households in this small community.

Culture

Because of its scenic beauty, relatively warm and sunny climate, and easy access to the Black Forest, Freiburg is a hub for regional tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

. The longest cable car

Aerial tramway

An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...

run in Germany, which is 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long, runs from Günterstal up to a nearby mountain called Schauinsland
Schauinsland
The Schauinsland , is a mountain in the Black Forest with an elevation of 1,284 m above sea level....

. The city has an unusual system of gutters (called Bächle
Freiburg bächle
The Freiburg Bächle are small water-filled runnels or formalized rills in the Black Forest city of Freiburg. They are supplied with water by the Dreisam and can be seen along most streets and alleyways in the old city, being one of the city's most famous landmarks...

) that run throughout its centre. These Bächle, once used to provide water to fight fires and feed livestock, are constantly flowing with water diverted from the Dreisam

Dreisam

Dreisam is a river in Germany near Freiburg. It empties into the Elz. The waters of the Dreisam feed the famous Freiburg bächle....

. They were never used for sewage, and such use could lead to harsh penalties, even in the Middle Ages. During the summer, the running water provides natural cooling of the air, and offers a pleasant gurgling sound. It is said that if you fall or step accidentally into a Bächle, you will marry a Freiburger, or 'Bobbele'.

The Augustinerplatz is one of the central squares in the old city. Formerly the location of an Augustine

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...

monastery which became the Augustiner Museum

Augustiner Museum

The Augustiner Museum is a museum in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. It is currently undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion, the first phase of which ended in 2010.The museum is located in a former monastery which was rebuilt between 1914 and 1923...

in 1921, it is now a popular social space for Freiburg's younger residents. It has a number of restaurants and bars, including the local brewery 'Feierling', which has a Biergarten. On warm summer nights, hundreds of students gather here.

At the centre of the old city is the Münsterplatz or Cathedral Square, Freiburg's largest square. A farmers' market is held here every day except Sundays. This is the site of Freiburg's Münster

Freiburg Münster

, a gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

minster

Minster (cathedral)

Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most famously York Minster. The term minster is first found in royal foundation charters of the 7th century; and, although it corresponds to the Latin monasterium or monastery, it then designated any settlement of clergy living...

cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

constructed of red sandstone, built between 1200 and 1530 and noted for its towering spire.

The Historisches Kaufhaus, or Historical Merchants Hall, is a Late Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

building on the south side of Freiburg's Münsterplatz. Built between 1520 and 1530, it was once the center of the financial life of the region. Its façade is decorated with statues and the coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

of four Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

emperors.

The Altes Rathaus, or old city hall, was completed in 1559 and has a painted façade. The Platz der alten Synagoge "Old Synagogue Square" is one of the more important squares on the outskirts of the historic old city. The square was the location of a synagogue until it was destroyed on in 1938. Zum Roten Bären

Zum Roten Bären

Zum roten Bären is the oldest hotel in Germany. The foundations of the hotel predate the founding of the town of Freiburg by the dukes of the House of Zähringen in 1120....

, the oldest hotel in Germany, is located along Oberlinden near the Schwabian Gate.

To the east of the city centre, the Schlossberg

Schlossberg (Freiburg)

The Schlossberg is a tree covered hill of 456m located in the area of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is directly to the east of Freiburg’s Old Town and belongs to the Black Forest...

hill provides extensive views over the city and surrounding region. The castle (Schloss) from which the hill takes its name was demolished in the 1740s, and only ruins remain. However Schlossberg retained its importance to the city, and 150 years ago the city fathers opened up walks and views to make the mountain available to the public. Today, the Schlossbergbahn

Schlossbergbahn (Freiburg)

The Schlossbergbahn, or Castle Hill Railway, is a funicular railway in the town of Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It links the city centre with the Schlossberg hill....

funicular railway

Funicular

A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...

connects the city centre to the hill.

The patron saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

of Freiburg is Saint George

Saint George

Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...

.

Badische Zeitung

Badische Zeitung

Badische Zeitung is a German newspaper based in Freiburg, covering the Black Forest region. It has a circulation of 151,000 and about 440,000 readers....

is the main local daily paper, covering the Black Forest region.

Geography

Freiburg is bordered by the Black Forest mountains Rosskopf

Roßkopf (Breisgau)

Roßkopf is a mountain of Baden-Württemberg, Germany....

and Bromberg to the east, Schönberg and Tuniberg to the south, with the Kaiserstuhl

Kaiserstuhl

The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...

hill region to the west.

Climate

Government

Freiburg is known as an "eco-city". In recent years it has attracted the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz

Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz

The Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz is the German Federal Authority for Radiation Protection. The BfS was established in November 1989, the headquarter is located in Salzgitter, with branch offices in Berlin, Bonn, Freiburg, Gorleben, Oberschleißheim and Rendsburg. It has 708 employees and an annual...

, solar industries

Solar power

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...

and research; the Greens have a stronghold here (the strongest in any major German city; up to 25% of the overall city vote, in some neighbourhoods reaching 40% or more in the 2002 national elections). The newly built neighbourhoods of Vauban

Vauban, Freiburg

Vauban is a new neighborhood of 5,000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base, and is named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French...

and Rieselfeld

Rieselfeld

Rieselfeld is a district of the German city of Freiburg. Rieselfeld is one of the two recent new localities and was founded in 1992. Development started in 1993, is still going on and is planned to end in 2010.-History:...

were developed and built according to the idea of sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

. The citizens of Freiburg are known in Germany for their love of cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

and recycling

Recycling

Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...

.

The Oberbürgermeister, Dr. Dieter Salomon

Dieter Salomon

Dr. Dieter Salomon is a German politician and mayor of Freiburg im Breisgau. He is a member of the Alliance '90/The Greens.-Biography:...

, (elected in ), was the first member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen to hold such an office in a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. However, his deputy, Otto Neideck, is a member of the conservative party, the CDU.

In June 1992, the Freiburg city council adopted a resolution that it would permit construction only of "low-energy buildings

Low-energy house

A low-energy house is any type of house that from design, technologies and building products uses less energy, from any source, than a traditional or average contemporary house...

" on municipal land, and all new buildings must comply with certain "low energy" specifications. Low-energy housing uses solar power passively as well as actively. In addition to solar panels and collectors on the roof, providing electricity and hot water, many passive features use the sun’s energy to regulate the temperature of the rooms.
Freiburg is host to a number of international organisations, in particular ICLEI

ICLEI

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, founded in 1990 as the 'International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives', is an international association of local governments and national and regional local government organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development...

- Local Governments for Sustainability, ISES - International Solar Energy Society, and the City Mayors Foundation.

The composition of Freiburg city council is as follows:

Party		Seats
	Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...	12
	Christian Democratic Union Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...	10
	Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...	9
	Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...	4
	Left List / Solidarity City	4
	Free Voters Free Voters Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the...	3
	Culture List	2
	Green Alternative Freiburg	2
	Young Freiburg	2
	Independent Women	1
TOTAL		48

Education

Freiburg is a center of academia and research with numerous intellectual figures and Nobel laureates having lived, worked, and taught there.

The city houses one of the oldest and most renowned German universities, the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, as well as its medical center

University Medical Center Freiburg

The University Medical Center Freiburg in Freiburg, Germany is the teaching hospital and part of the medical research unit of the University of Freiburg and home to its Faculty of Medicine. The medical center is one of the largest and most reputable in Europe, due to its extensive clinical...

. Home to some of the greatest minds of the West

Western culture

Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...

, including such eminent figures as Johann Eck

Johann Eck

Dr. Johann Maier von Eck was a German Scholastic theologian and defender of Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation. It was Eck who argued that the beliefs of Martin Luther and Jan Hus were similar.-Life:...

, Max Weber

Max Weber

Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...

, Edmund Husserl

Edmund Husserl

Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...

, Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...

, and Friedrich Hayek

Friedrich Hayek

Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...

, it is one of Europe's top research and teaching institutions.

Freiburg also plays host to various other educational and research institutes, such as the Freiburg University of Education, the Protestant University for Applied Sciences Freiburg

Protestant University for Applied Sciences Freiburg

The Protestant University of Applied Sciences Freiburg is a university of social work, diakonia and religious education. It is a confessional, state-approved university located in Freiburg. The responsible body is the Protestant regional church of Baden...

, Freiburg Music Academy

Hochschule für Musik Freiburg

The Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music.-History:The Hochschule was initially founded as a municipal institution in 1946 under the direction of Gustav...

, the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, the International University of Cooperative Education IUCE, three Max Planck institutes

Max Planck Society

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....

, and five Fraunhofer institutes

Fraunhofer Society

The Fraunhofer Society is a German research organization with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science . It employs around 18,000, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.65 billion...

.

The city is home to the IES Abroad

Institute for the International Education of Students

The Institute for the International Education of Students, or IES Abroad, is a non-profit study abroad organization that administers study abroad programs for U.S. college-aged students. Founded in 1950 as the Institute for European Studies, the organization has since been renamed to reflect...

European Union program, which allows students to study the development and activities of the EU.

Transport

Freiburg has an extensive pedestrian zone in the city center where no automobiles are allowed. Freiburg also has an excellent public transport system, operated by the city-owned VAG Freiburg

Freiburger Verkehrs AG

Freiburger Verkehrs AG, also known as VAG Freiburg or just VAG, is the municipal transport company of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany...

. This is anchored by a continually expanding web of tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

routes, together with feeder bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es.

Freiburg is on the main Frankfurt am Main - Basel railway line, with frequent and fast long-distance passenger services from the Freiburg Hauptbahnhof

Freiburg Hauptbahnhof

The Freiburg Hauptbahnhof is the main train station in the German city of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is a Category 2 station serving southern Baden-Württemberg. It was modernized in 1999, replacing a temporary station built in 1949 after the original 1845 station was destroyed in World War II....

to major German and other European cities. Other railway lines run east into the Black Forest and west to Breisach

Breisach

. The line to Breisach is the remaining stub of the Freiburg–Colmar international railway, severed in 1945 when the railway bridge over the Rhine at Breisach was destroyed and not replaced.

The city is also served by the A5

Bundesautobahn 5

is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...

Frankfurt am Main - Basel

Basel

motorway.

Freiburg is served by EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is an international airport northwest of Basel , southeast of Mulhouse , and south of Freiburg . It is located in France, on the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis near the Swiss and German borders...

, in France, close to the borders of both Germany and Switzerland. Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airport (Baden Airpark

Baden Airpark

Baden Airpark , or officially Flughafen Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, is an international airport located in Rheinmünster in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, south of Karlsruhe, west of Baden-Baden and north of Strasbourg, France....

) is approximately 100 km north of Freiburg and is also served by several airlines.

Sports

Freiburg is home to football team SC Freiburg

SC Freiburg

Sport-Club Freiburg, commonly known as SC Freiburg, is a German association football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. SC Freiburg has played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, since their promotion in 2009...

, which plays at the Badenova-Stadion

Dreisamstadion

Dreisamstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Sport-Club Freiburg. The stadium holds 24,000 spectators and was built in 1953...

. In the 2010–2011 season, the team will compete in the Fußball-Bundesliga

Fußball-Bundesliga

The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

. Freiburger FC

Freiburger FC

Freiburger FC is a German association football club based in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg. Freiburger FC was a founding Clubs of the DFB in 1900.-History:...

is a football club that had early success in the 20th century, but now competes in lower divisions.

Freiburg also has the EHC Freiburg

Wölfe Freiburg

Wolfe Freiburg is an ice hockey team in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. They play in the 2nd Bundesliga, the second level of ice hockey in Germany.-History:...

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

team, which plays at the Franz-Siegel Halle, and the RC Freiburg Rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

team, which competes in the Regionalliga Baden Wurttemberg.

International relations

Freiburg has several sister cities

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

throughout the world: Besançon

Besançon

Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...

, France

France

; since 1959. Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

; since 1963. Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

; since 1967. Guildford

Guildford

Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

; since 1979. Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, United States; since 1987. Matsuyama, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

; since 1988. Lviv

Lviv

Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

; since 1989. Granada

Granada

Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...

, Spain

Spain

; since 1991. Isfahan

Isfahan (city)

Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

; since 2000. Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

;

Iran

Iran

ian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial comments, which included questioning the dimension of the Holocaust, have sparked discussions concerning Freiburg's partnership with Isfahan. Immediately following the comments, Freiburg's mayor Salomon postponed a trip to Isfahan, but most people involved, especially those in the Alliance '90/The Greens

Alliance '90/The Greens

Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...

party, were opposed to cancelling the partnership.

Points of interest

Arboretum Freiburg-Günterstal
Arboretum Freiburg-Günterstal
The Arboretum Freiburg-Günterstal is an arboretum maintained by the University of Freiburg. It is located in Günterstal in the Städtischen Forstamt Freiburg at Günterstalstraße 71, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and open daily without charge.The arboretum dates back to 1896, or earlier,...

, in the suburb of Günterstal
Freiburg Botanic Garden
Freiburg Botanic Garden
Freiburg Botanic Garden is a botanical garden in the Herdern district at Schänzlestraße 1, Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and is associated with the University of Freiburg. The current director of the garden is Professor Dr...
University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
Haus Zum Walfisch (House of the Whale), which, in Dario Argento
Dario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....

's 1977 horror film Suspiria
Suspiria
Suspiria is a 1977 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi. The film follows an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany, only to discover that it is controlled by a coven of witches. The film's score was...

, served as the Dance Academy, the film's central location.
Augustiner Museum
Augustiner Museum
The Augustiner Museum is a museum in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. It is currently undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion, the first phase of which ended in 2010.The museum is located in a former monastery which was rebuilt between 1914 and 1923...

Notable residents

Wolfram Aichele
Wolfram Aichele
Wolfram Aïchele - known as Wolfram - is an internationally acclaimed artist from Baden-Wurttemberg in Southern Germany....

, artist
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...

, political theorist
Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...

, literary critic and philosopher
Alfred Döblin
Alfred Döblin
Alfred Döblin was a German expressionist novelist, best known for the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz .- 1878–1918:...

, physician and novelist
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....

of Rotterdam, Renaissance humanist and theologian
Walter Eucken
Walter Eucken
Walter Eucken was a German economist and father of ordoliberalism. His name is closely linked with the development of the "social market economy".-Life:...

, economist
Hans F. K. Günther, Nazi eugenicist
Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler is an Australian road racing cyclist with German heritage. Haussler races for UCI ProTeam .-Early life:...

, profesional cyclist Cervelo TestTeam
Cervélo TestTeam
Cervélo TestTeam is a former professional cycling team, whose license was held in Switzerland by the cycling management company Cycling United Racing. The team's title sponsor was Cervélo, a Canadian manufacturer of bicycle frames that previously exclusively supplied...
Dany Heatley
Dany Heatley
Daniel James Heatley is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger, and alternate captain for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League . Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top NHL rookie in 2002...

, player for the Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

team
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...

, philosopher
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...

, philosopher
Walter Kaufmann, philosopher
Boris Kodjoe
Boris Kodjoe
Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe , better known as Boris Kodjoe, is an Austrian-born German actor and former fashion model who works primarily in the United States...

, US based model and actor, current star of Undercovers
Benjamin Lebert
Benjamin Lebert
Benjamin Lebert is a German author. He was born in Freiburg. His first novel Crazy, was published when Lebert was only 16 years old...

, author and newspaper columnist
Joachim Löw, coach of the German national football team
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

.
Annika Murjahn, actress
Karl Rahner
Karl Rahner
Karl Rahner, SJ was a German Jesuit and theologian who, alongside Bernard Lonergan and Hans Urs von Balthasar, is considered one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century...

, Catholic theologian
Wolfgang Schäuble
Wolfgang Schäuble
Wolfgang Schäuble is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union , currently serving as the Federal Minister of Finance in the Second Cabinet Merkel....

, Minister of the Interior, 1989–1991, in Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...

and, 2005 - current, Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...

governments.
Bernhard Sigmund Schultze
Bernhard Sigmund Schultze
Bernhard Sigmund Schultze; sometimes spelled Bernhard Sigismund Schultze was a German obstetrician and gynecologist born in Freiburg im Breisgau...

, (1827–1919) obstetrician
Jürgen Schrempp, former head of DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler
Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...
Berthold Schwarz
Berthold Schwarz
Berthold Schwarz is a legendary or semi-legendary German alchemist of the late 14th century, credited with the invention of gunpowder in literature of the 15th and 16th centuries....

, fabled alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

who supposedly introduced gunpowder to Germany
Til Schweiger
Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin "Til" Schweiger is a German actor, director, and producer.He is one of Germany’s most successful filmmakers. Since 1968, when the FFA started counting, no other German actor has drawn more people to the cinemas. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.-Early...

, actor and director
Hermann Staudinger
Hermann Staudinger
- External links :* Staudinger's * Staudinger's Nobel Lecture *....

, Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

"for his discoveries in the field of macromolecular chemistry"
Edith Stein
Edith Stein
Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross, sometimes also known as Saint Edith Stein , was a German Roman Catholic philosopher and nun, regarded as a martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic Church...

, Saint of the Catholic Church, martyred by the Nazis, member of the Freiburg faculty; her residence is marked by a plaque.
Friedrich von Hayek, economist, philosopher, Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

laureate in economics
Christoph von Marschall
Christoph von Marschall
Christoph von Marschall is a German journalist working as the editor and as a United States correspondent in Washington D.C. for the daily Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. Before that, he was the director of the commentary section....

, journalist
Martin Waldseemüller
Martin Waldseemüller
Martin Waldseemüller was a German cartographer...

, cartographer
Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...

, lawyer, political economist, and sociologist
Engelbert Zaschka
Engelbert Zaschka
Engelbert Zaschka was a German chief engineer, chief designer and inventor. Zaschka became one of the first German helicopter pioneers. He is a striking representative of the Rotationsflugzeug...

, one of the first German helicopter pioneers
August Weismann
August Weismann
Friedrich Leopold August Weismann was a German evolutionary biologist. Ernst Mayr ranked him the second most notable evolutionary theorist of the 19th century, after Charles Darwin...

, biologist
Bernhard Witkop
Bernhard Witkop
Bernhard Witkop is a German-born American organic chemist.Bernhard Witkop, Ph.D., died November 22 at age 93 at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. The renowned organic chemist served at NIH for more than 40 years....

, organic chemist
Joana Zimmer
Joana Zimmer
Joana Zimmer is a German pop music singer, often compared to Celine Dion or Barry Manilow. Zimmer is also blind.-Albums:-Singles:-External links:* , official site...

, pop singer
Marcel Schirmer
Marcel Schirmer
Marcel Schirmer, born on December 22, 1966, is a German heavy metal musician. Commonly known as Schmier, he is the founding bassist and vocalist of the thrash metal band Destruction. He left Destruction in 1989 to form Headhunter and reunited with them in 1999. Schmier owned a pizzeria named...

, singer and bassist for the metal band Destruction
Destruction (band)
Destruction is a German thrash metal band. They are considered one of the "three kings" of the Teutonic thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator and Sodom...

External links

Related information

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