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Oberlinden Street with the Schwabentor (in English: "Swabian Gate") in the historic city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
Some background information:
The Schwabentor (also called Obertor in the Middle Ages) is the younger of the two remaining city gates of Freiburg im Breisgau's medieval fortifications. The gate tower, built around 1250, originally featured a barbican extending towards the city moat and was open on the city side. It wasn’t until 1547 that it was enclosed on this side with a stone wall.
About 130 years later, a scene was painted on the city-facing side, depicting a merchant with a cart, which later inspired a 19th-century legend about a Swabian who arrived in Freiburg with two barrels full of money to buy the city. He was mocked, but the laughter grew louder when it was revealed that the barrels contained only sand and pebbles as his wife had secretly replaced the money with worthless material before his departure.
The Schwabentor remained largely unchanged until the end of the 19th century. However, in 1896, a competition among German architects sought proposals for redesigning both the Martinstor and the Schwabentor. In 1899, Freiburg's electric tramway was approved, necessitating the relocation of private buildings adjoining the gates. It was proposed to raise the Schwabentor from 26 to 65 meters and the Martinstor from 22 to 66 meters, citing the height of surrounding buildings as justification.
The design of the Schwabentor combined early 13th-century elements with late Gothic additions from the 15th century and the raised city gate was equipped with a stepped gable inspired by North German city towers. In 1954, parts of the alterations were reversed, and the Schwabentor was given a simpler roof, resembling its original state, complete with a bell tower and onion dome.
Freiburg im Breisgau, commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of about 230,000, it is the fourth largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim. The town is located in the very southwest of Germany, in the tri-state-area near the French and Swiss border. It is also situated on the southwestern edge of the Black Forest and traversed by the Dreisam River.
Freiburg is a famous old German university town and archiepiscopal seat. It was founded by Konrad and Duke Berthold III of Zaehringen in 1120 as a free market town. This town was strategically located at a junction of trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea regions, as well as the Rhine and Danube rivers. In 1200, Freiburg's population numbered approximately 6,000 people. At about that time, under the rule of Bertold V, the last duke of Zaehringen, the city began construction of its Freiburg Minster on the site of an older parish church.
At the end of the thirteenth century there was a feud between the citizens of Freiburg and their lord, Count Egino II of Freiburg. Egino II raised taxes and sought to limit the citizens' freedom, after which the locals used catapults to destroy the count's castle atop the Schlossberg (in English: "Castle Hill"), a hill that overlooks the city centre. The furious count called on his brother-in-law the Bishop of Strasbourg, Konradius von Lichtenberg, for help, who responded by marching with his army to Freiburg.
According to an old Freiburg legend, a butcher named Hauri stabbed the Bishop of Strasbourg to death. But it was a Pyrrhic victory, 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 that year the citizens were fed up with their lords, and the town purchased its independence from them. Freiburg turned itself over to the protection of the Habsburg dynasty, which allowed the city to retain a large measure of freedom.
The silver mines in the neighbourhood of Freiburg provided an important source of capital for the town and the silver even made Freiburg one of the richest cities in Europe. In 1377, the cities of Freiburg, Basel, Colmar, and Breisach entered into a monetary alliance known as the Rappenpfennig Collective. This alliance facilitated commerce among the cities and lasted until the end of the 16th century.
In 1457, Albrecht VI, Regent of Further Austria, established the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, one of Germany's oldest universities. In 1520, Freiburg decided not to take part in the Reformation and became an important centre for Catholicism on the Upper Rhine. Erasmus of Rotterdam moved here after Basel had accepted the Reformation. Being in need of finding a scapegoat for calamities such as the Black Plague, the city became a centre of witch-hunt in the 16th century.
The 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries were turbulent times for Freiburg: At the beginning of the Thirty Years' War, Freiburg had 10,000 to 14,000 residents, but by its end only 2,000 remained. During this war and other conflicts, the city belonged at various times to the Austrians, the French, the Swedes, the Spaniards, and various members of the German Confederation.
Between 1648 and 1805, when the city was not under French occupation it was the administrative headquarters of Further Austria, the Habsburg territories in the southwest of Germany. In 1805, the city, together with the Breisgau and Ortenau areas, finally became part of Baden. In 1827, when the Archdiocese of Freiburg was founded, Freiburg became the seat of a Catholic archbishop.
During World War II, Freiburg was heavily bombed. In May 1940, aircraft of the German Luftwaffe mistakenly dropped approximately 60 bombs on Freiburg near the railway station, killing 57 people. And on 27th November 1944, a raid by more than 300 bombers of the RAF Bomber Command destroyed a large portion of the city centre, with the notable exception of the minster, which was only lightly damaged. However, after the war, the city was rebuilt judiciously on its medieval plan.
A Happy and Healthy New Year 2025 to all of you!
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EC4, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, BLACK FRIAR PUB, 174
Built in 1875 by H. Fuller Clark but the exterior decorations which make it so memorable were added in 1903 by sculptors Nathaniel Hitch, Frederick T. Callcott and Henry Poole. Saved from demolition in the '60s by John Betjeman.
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A narrow alley in a historic town on the Iberian Peninsula is lit up with Christmas lights.
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