Freiburg Old Town

Freiburg's streets carry Bächle, narrow open channels of running water fed from the Dreisam, recorded from the thirteenth century and originally used for fire fighting and livestock; they still run and local custom says anyone who steps in one will marry a Freiburger. A bombing raid in November 1944 destroyed most of the old town but the minster survived largely intact, its openwork Gothic spire of about 116 metres among the few of its kind completed in the Middle Ages. The rebuilt streets follow the medieval plan. Freiburg's sunny position at the edge of the Black Forest makes it one of the warmest cities in Germany.

What you actually see

• The Bächle - open water channels running through the streets.
• The minster spire - an openwork Gothic tower finished in the Middle Ages.
• The rebuilt centre - postwar reconstruction on the medieval street plan.
• The two gates - the Martinstor and Schwabentor surviving from the walls.

When to go

April to October; the minster market runs on the square most mornings. Summer is warm here by German standards. The tower climb is steep and narrow.

Honest expectations

Most of the old town is postwar reconstruction, not surviving fabric. The tower climb is a long narrow stair. Bächle are shallow but easy to trip in.

Nearby

Schauinsland rises east; the Kaiserstuhl hills lie north.