The Whale House

Freiburg im Breisgau (German: [ˈfʁaɪbʊʁk ʔɪm ˈbʁaɪsɡaʊ] ; German: Freiburg im Breisgau), usually called simply Freiburg, is an independent city in the state of Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany. With a population of about 231,848 (as of 2021), it is the fourth-largest city in that state after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of about 355,000 (2021) while the greater Freiburg metropolitan area ("Einzugsgebiet") has about 660,000 (2018).Freiburg straddles the Dreisam river at the foot of a Schlossberg and acts as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest. An old university town and archiepiscopal seat, it was incorporated in the early 12th century and soon became a commercial, intellectual and ecclesiastical center for the Upper Rhine region. It is known for its Medieval minster and Renaissance university as well as for its high standard of living and advanced environmental practices. The city is situated in the heart of the major Baden wine-growing region and, together with Offenburg, serves as a tourist entry-point to the scenic Black Forest. According to meteorological statistics, Freiburg is one of the warmest cities in Germany, and it held the all-time German temperature record of 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) from 2003 to 2015.

The Town Hall (German: Rathaus) of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, is spread over a total of 16 locations. The three most important buildings are the Old Town Hall (German: Altes Rathaus) and the New Town Hall (German: Neues Rathaus) in the city center as well as the Technical Town Hall (German: Technisches Rathaus) in the Stühlinger district. The oldest town hall in Freiburg is part of the building complex of the Old Town Hall. It is located in the inner courtyard and is now called Gerichtslaube ("court house") and is directly connected to the Old Town Hall. A passage from the New Town Hall to the Old Town Hall spans the Turmstraße between the two buildings. The three town halls form a complex, in which the three individual buildings are registered as monuments in the list of monuments of the country.

The Bertoldsbrunnen ("Bertold's Fountain") is a monument in the historic city of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is situated at the crossing of the Salz- and Bertoldsstraße with the Kaiser-Joseph-Straße. The fountain is one of the central locations of the city. A tram station with the same name is situated at the Bertoldsbrunnen where four of the five tramways of the Freiburger Verkehrs AG stop.

The Freiburg im Breisgau tramway network (also known as Stadtbahn or formerly as Hoobl (Alemannic for Hobel)) is a network of tramways that forms part of the public transport system in Freiburg im Breisgau, a city in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Established in 1901, the network has been operated since its foundation by the company now known as Freiburger Verkehrs (VAG Freiburg or VAG), and powered by electricity. The tramway network currently has five lines. The expansion of the tram network since 1980 has served as an example of the "renaissance of the trams" in Germany. As of 2023, 73 trams were available for regular use: 2 of these were high-floored, 36 partial and 35 low-floored. Almost the entirety of the network is located within Freiburg's urban area; only a few metres of the balloon loop at Gundelfinger Straße are located outside the boundary of Gundelfingen to the north of Freiburg. In total, the trams serve 20 out of the 28 districts in Freiburg.

The Old City of Freiburg is part of the city and business centres of Freiburg im Breisgau and is the core of the original city. It is divided into the two districts 111 Altstadt-Mitte and 112 Altstadt-Ring. The Altstadt-Mitte district was the city's build-up area at the time of its foundation and therefore formed the old city. The district Altstadt-Ring is connected westwards to the railway line and south to the Dreisam. At the end of 2020, about 7,500 people were reported as inhabitants of this district. The district of Altstadt-Mitte was designed according to the pattern of all cities founded by the Zähringers. A street cross divides the city into four quarters, the church and the city hall are not located in the same district. The city centre is the Bertoldsbrunnen, where the Kaiser-Joseph-Straße and Salz- and Bertoldstraße intersect. The city administration is located in the Old and New city hall. In the late 1990s, however, the head of the administrative region of Freiburg moved its headquarters from the Old City into a new building in the district of Betzenhausen, but the seat of the government president remained in the Basler Hof in the Old City. Neighbouring districts include Stühlinger to the west, Neuburg to the north, Oberau to the east and beyond the Dreisam the Wiehre to the south.

The Minster Square in the centre district of Freiburg, Germany, is a paved area surrounding the Freiburger Minster. The city library, the Historical Merchants' Hall, the Wentzinger House and the Korn House are on this square. The Freiburger streams run along the sides of the square. Nearly all of the surrounding buildings were destroyed in the bombing of Freiburg on November 27, 1944. Only the buildings on the southeast side of the square, the historic mall, the Wentzinger House and the Old Guard, as well as the Minster itself, were spared from destruction. The Minster churchyard was originally surrounded by an approximately 1.60-metre-high (5.2 ft) wall, which was only taken down in 1785. It served mainly as a city cemetery on the north side in the Middle Ages. Here, the outlines of the former cemetery chapel of St. Andreas are embedded into the cobblestones. The chapel, which included an ossuary in the basement, was pulled down in 1752. In the year 1514, at the instance of Emperor Maximilian I, the cemetery was relocated to the suburban town of Neuburg because for sanitary reasons. Ever since then, the square has been used as a market place, which until then was on Kaiser-Joseph Street. The market takes place on all working days - with one exception: on August 15, the day of the Assumption of Mary, who is the patron saint of the Minster, the square remains clear. On approximately 10,000 square metres, 80 to 180 market stalls offer groceries, craftwork and souvenirs. The northern side, the so-called farmer's market, is exclusively reserved for local farms and their products. On special occasions, for example the Freiburger wine festival, several stalls have to be shifted into the surrounding alleyways and partially also onto Kaiser-Joseph Street. For many visitors of the city, the minster market of Freiburg is an outstanding attraction. Until the pedestrian zone was established in the 1970s, the square was used as a car park in the afternoon. In front of the main entrance there are three plague columns, which are located beneath the tower of the Minster. They were crowned by St. Mary as well as by the two patron Saints, Lambert of Lüttich and Alexander. St. Alexander is a catacomb saint who replaced St. George in portrayals as a patron saint in the 17th century. On the minster square, St. George can be found on the 'Georgsbrunnen', which is a fountain named after him. St. Lambert can be seen on in the 'Fischbrunnen'.

The Kaiser-Joseph-Straße (often shortened to Kajo) in Freiburg im Breisgau is a shopping street of about 900 meters, which runs through the center of Freiburg's historic downtown from north to south. It is one of the most expensive locations in Germany.

Wallgraben-Theater is a theatre in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The Uniseum is the university museum of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. The name is a portmanteau of Universität and Museum (university and museum). As a neologism, it is trademarked. Opened in 2004, the museum documents the history of Freiburg’s university from its foundation in 1457 up to the German student movement of the 1960s. The artefacts are organised on a thematic basis. Moreover, each of the university’s more influential disciplines - medicine, natural sciences and humanities - has its own designated section. Furthermore, there is a Cabinet of curiosities modelled after the ones from the Renaissance period, as well as a collection of moulages. The Uniseum is located in the building of the Alte Universität (Old University), which has served as a university building since 1557. The vaulted cellars of the building offer a glimpse into the history of the building and its architectural antecedents.

The Salzstraße (Salt Road) in Freiburg im Breisgau is a significant part of the Freiburg city centre pedestrian area. It runs from Bertoldsbrunnen to Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, then eastward to Oberlinden square, where a fountain of the same name is located. It is probably the location of Freiburg's oldest houses. A stream, the Freiburg Bächle, runs along the street's northern side between the tramway tracks and the pavement.

The Historical Merchants' Hall (German: Historisches Kaufhaus) is one of the most outstanding buildings in Freiburg im Breisgau. It is situated on the south side of the Minster Square (market square around the Freiburg Minster). It stands out clearly due to its dominant red facade.

Freiburg Minster (German: Freiburger Münster or Münster Unserer Lieben Frau) is the cathedral of Freiburg im Breisgau, 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 the beginning of Freiburg, in 1120. In the Middle Ages, Freiburg lay in the Diocese of Konstanz. In 1827, Freiburg Minster became the seat of the newly established Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg, and thus a cathedral.