Freiburg - Famous For Being a "Green City"

Our next stop in Germany was Freiburg. Long famous for its cathedral, university, and cuckoo clocks, Freiburg is now also famous as a “Green City.”




Freiburg was heavily bombed during World War II; little remained of the city center besides the cathedral. It was decided to rebuild without altering the city’s character, following the old street plan and architectural style. As the roads were rebuilt, they were widened just enough for a tram track, not for more lanes of cars.

In 1969, Freiburg devised its first integrated traffic management plan and cycle path network. It gives preference to environment-friendly modes of transport such as walking, cycling, and public transit.

In 1973, the entire city center was converted to a pedestrian zone with over 400 km of cycle paths. This includes bike-friendly streets, streetside bikepaths, and separate bikepaths, e.g., along the river Dreisam. About 9,000 bicycle parking spaces were also developed, including “bike and ride” lots at transit stations. Cycling is promoted with free maps and other information. It was truly amazing to see the number of bikes everywhere and cyclists!

We finished our evening with a traditional German dinner at a cafe along with Warsteiner beer before heading back to Colmar.