MEDIEVAL CITY PATCH

“The protest was peaceful at the time, deeply rooted in solidarity,” said Axel Mayer, who took part in the event and is now the managing director of BUND (Federation for Environment and Nature Protection Germany).

MEDIEVAL CITY PATCH

Thousands of protestors camped out for nine months on a patch of land 30km north of Freiburg deep in the Black Forest. So, while the city reflects on its 900-year history, I’m here to find out what makes it a city of the future.įor most, the city’s sustainable turning point can be traced back to February 1975. These ingredients have all helped create a Freiburg that is one of Germany’s, if not the world’s, most liveable, progressive, sustainable and child-friendly cities. And the colourful half-timbered houses and car-free cobblestone streets lining its Old Town are, in fact, relatively young, as they were faithfully reconstructed after World War Two bombings. Mayor Martin Horn was just shy of 34 when he was inaugurated at Town Hall in 2018. Around 10% of the city’s 220,000 residents attend the prestigious Albert Ludwig University, making the population one of Germany’s youngest. It does, however, have youth on its side. Celebrating its 900th anniversary since originating as a merchant settlement in 1120, the medieval German city nestled at the foot of the Black Forest near the border triangle of Switzerland, France and Germany is arguably quite old. “900 years young” reads the bold slogan emblazoned on the side of the tram as it rattles through Freiburg im Breisgau’s historical Old Town.

Medieval city