Avant propos

The following WebPages present Freiburg's history in a rather casual way. You will find dates and historical facts but more emphasis is placed on promoting interesting stories and pointing out traces from the city's past. Although quite a number of these remnants were destroyed during the many sieges and wars the city had suffered in the course of history many of them are still visible and tangible within Freiburg's boundaries. While touring Freiburg and its surroundings you are invited to open your eyes and enjoy a living history book. The location of monuments and other points of interest is always given such that you will easily find the place.

Having worked for nearly 35 years in the international environment of the European Laboratory of High Energy Physics in Geneva my English is essentially CERN-English. Although I published quite a lot in the language of Shakespeare the following presentation may lack the easiness that a text on Freiburg's History deserves. Please feel not annoyed by my Germanisms but rather enjoy them. On the other hand, tell me about any blunders. All negative and positive criticism or suggestions for improvement of the following pages are welcome. For any contact click on: mhoefert@t-online.de

Manfred Höfert

You may have already heard: Duke Konrad of Zähringen founded Freiburg in the year 1120. This sounds as if Freiburg is rather old but compared to other known places in Germany it is a rather young city. The Romans founded the first city on German territory already in 16 b. C. called Augusta Treverorum (Trier) on the Mosel River. Cologne having been a castrum romanum on the river Rhine for nearly a hundred years received the status of an oppidum only! in 50 a. C.  The place was then named Colonia Agrippinensis after Emperor Nero's mother Agrippina.

These early Roman cities are all located on the left bank of the Rhine but you find remnants of late Roman culture South of Freiburg like the villa in Heitersheim and the spa in Badenweiler (Aquae Villae). Both places are in easy reach by car.

A wide-spanned hall protects the Roman spa in Badenweiler

The oldest written evidence of human activity in the region around Freiburg dates back to the year 1008. In an document the German emperor Henry II bestows the hunting rights in the neighbouring woods upon the bishop of Basel drawing a borderline from the village of Uffhausen, passing through the Wiehre, the villages of Herdern and Zähringen to Gundelfingen. Thus according to the books the Wiehre, Herdern and Zähringen - now suburbs of Freiburg - are much older than the city itself.

Read about the rather dramatic beginnings of the city on the next page.