Freiburg Old Town Walking Tour in German with Bächle & Minster

Münsterplatz and the Freiburg Minster

The walk begins on Münsterplatz, the square around the Freiburg Minster, a Gothic church built between about 1200 and 1513 whose 116-metre tower ends in an openwork stone spire you can see the sky through. The building survived the bombing of November 1944 almost untouched while the houses around it burned, which is why the square mixes medieval stone with reconstructed facades. Our guide points out the gargoyles along the roofline, some of them grotesque, one famously rude, and explains how the medieval masons marked their work.

On weekday and Saturday mornings the square fills with the farmers' market, where Black Forest farmers sell cheese, fruit, flowers and the long Freiburg sausage in a bun. The tour looks at the Minster from outside; the interior and the tower climb are not included, so if you want to go in, the Freiburg Minster opening hours are generally morning to late afternoon with a break for services, and the tower has its own ticket.

Altes Kaufhaus, Alte Wache and the houses on the square

Facing the Minster stands the Historisches Kaufhaus, the deep-red merchants' hall from the 1520s with its arcades, oriel turrets and statues of Habsburg emperors on the facade. For centuries this was where goods entering Freiburg were weighed, taxed and traded, and it tells you that the city grew rich on markets long before it became a university town. Next to it is the Haus zum schönen Eck, a rococo house of 1761 built by a sculptor for himself, and across the square the Alte Wache, the old guardhouse of 1733 from which the city watch kept an eye on the market.

Our guide uses these buildings to tell the story of Freiburg from its founding in 1120 by the dukes of Zähringen, through its long Habsburg era, to the French and Baden periods that shaped the old town you see today. Around ten minutes are spent here before the walk turns into the lanes.

The Bächle, the Gässle and the Rheinkiesel mosaics

The Freiburg Bächle are what most people come to see: narrow water channels, often only a hand wide, that run through the streets of the old town. They were dug in the Middle Ages to bring water from the Dreisam river into the city for animals, washing and fire fighting, and the network is still many kilometres long. Local legend says that anyone who accidentally steps into a Bächle will marry someone from Freiburg, so watch your feet. Children float little wooden boats in them in summer.

The Gässle are the narrow lanes between the main streets, and along them you walk on Rheinkiesel mosaics: pavements of dark and light Rhine pebbles laid in patterns that show what the shop beside them sold, a pretzel for the baker, a diamond for the jeweller. Konviktstraße, lined with wisteria and old houses, is the prettiest of these lanes and a favourite photo spot.

Gerberau and the old craftsmen's quarter

South of the Minster the walk follows Gerberau, the tanners' street, into the Handwerkerviertel, the historic craftsmen's quarter. A wider Bächle runs here, once used by tanners, dyers and millers who needed water for their trades, and the street names still carry their occupations. The quarter is now one of the liveliest corners of Freiburg, with small shops, workshops and cafés in low old houses, and it feels very different from the grand square you have just left.

The route passes Augustinerplatz, the wide steps where students and locals sit in the evening, and the Augustiner Museum, housed in a former monastery and holding the original Minster sculptures and gargoyles along with Black Forest art. The museum is not included in the tour, but the guide explains what is inside so you can return later; it is one of the most rewarding things to do in Freiburg on a rainy day.

Kaiser-Joseph-Straße and the Martinstor

Kaiser-Joseph-Straße is the main shopping street of Freiburg, a straight line through the old town along which the trams run, and from it you get the classic view of the Martinstor. This is one of two surviving medieval city gates, first built in the 13th century and made much taller in 1901 so that it would look impressive beside the new buildings around it. The tower still carries a painting recalling the old watch and a plaque to three women executed in 1599 during the witch trials.

The guide explains how the medieval wall once enclosed the whole old town and where the second gate, the Schwabentor, stands. The street is also a convenient landmark for anyone wondering how to get to the old town: the main station is a few minutes' walk west, and the trams from the station stop right here.

Rathausplatz, the two town halls and the Haus zum Walfisch

Rathausplatz is a shaded square with a fountain and chestnut trees where Freiburg has not one but two historic town halls. The Neues Rathaus, now the main seat of the city council, is two Renaissance houses that once belonged to the university, joined together around 1900 and crowned with a small tower whose glockenspiel plays at noon. Beside it the Altes Rathaus of 1559, rebuilt after the war, carries the painted coats of arms of the cities that once sent their councillors here.

From the square the walk passes the Haus zum Walfisch, a late Gothic house of 1516 with a richly carved oriel window, built for a treasurer of the Habsburg emperor and later the residence of a famous humanist scholar. The walk then loops back to Münsterplatz, where it ends after about 1.5 hours, close to cafés and the market stalls if you are there before early afternoon.