Freiburg, A Mini History Lesson

I have been in Freiburg now for almost a week.  This time seems like it should be longer because so much has happened in those six days.  Last week was filled with IES orientation meetings, getting to know other IES students, becoming familiar with the city and my apartment, then the IES trip to Feldberg, and this week we have started a three-week intensive German class, intended to give us a review of grammar, practice speaking German with each other, and give us more information about Freiburg.  I placed into the intermediate level class, and this is good because it will give me a review of grammar I never technically learned but also not be too easy.  My professor is a very nice, refined woman who has lived both in France and Germany.  The class is small, which allows me to get to know the people in it a bit better, and we will be taking lots of field trips within the city.

Today we learned about the history of Freiburg (as well as verb tenses, but I'll spare you).  Then we walked to the city museum and looked at paintings, models, and photographs of Freiburg throughout its history.  I found this really interesting, mainly because in America the oldest structures, aside from Native American cliff dwellings in the west and burial mounds in the east, are, say, 400 years old, at most.  Where I live, 200 years is about as old as it gets.  Freiburg was founded in 1120, so that is 889 years of history.  And the city has gone through some enormous changes in that time.  At one point the city center was surrounded by a wall with tower gates (two recreated towers still survive; my train into the city drives through one), a moat, and large earthen bastions.  This was when the city was under French occupation, but when the French left it in the hands of the Habsburgers from Austria, they tore down most of their fortifications.  Today there are a few places around the old city where you can see remains of the bastions.  The mensa (cafeteria) of the University is built on one, for example.  There was also a massive fortress on a hill overlooking the city, but apparently all that survives of that is one wall.  I found it really interesting that so much used to be there that is now almost completely gone.

The one significant exception is the Münster, the big cathedral in the center of the city.  Construction started around 1200, and it has survived since then, making it one of the oldest and best examples of gothic medieval cathedrals in Germany.  In 1944 80 percent of Freiburg was destroyed by Allied firebombing, but somehow, miraculously, the cathedral was barely touched:

The city was rebuilt to look much the same as it did before the war, and the planners then made it so that the old city center would be mostly a pedestrian zone.  So, most of downtown still maintains its medieval feel; all the streets are cobblestone, there are mosaics in lots of the sidewalks, and the buildings downtown all look like they could have been there for hundreds of years.  The city manages to do this convincingly, too, without seeming cheesy or touristy.  I really like the downtown area, there are always lots of people and bicyclers, cafes, shops, bakeries, and, of course, the Bächle, or little open rain and river water gutters running along the side of most streets downtown.

I do not have many pictures yet because I have been so busy and this week it has been grey and rainy.  I will definitely go on a walk the first sunny day that I have time, however, so you can get a better feel for the town.  I am amazed at how easily I am able to navigate around already.  The tram lines are all very clear, too.  In general I feel at home here, much earlier than I thought I would.  Tonight, for example, I cooked dinner with some friends from IES who live in the area; they are nice and I am glad that I get along with them well.  Next post I will tell you more about the area I live and give you a picture of my room, but it is getting late so I should finish up my homework (yes, homework! it's kind of fun after being out of school for so long...) and get to bed.