Freiburg was founded in 1120 by Conrad of the Swabian House of Zähringen. It flourished largely thanks to its university, founded in 1457 by Archduke Albrecht VI of Austria. From the 14th Century the city placed itself under Austrian suzerainty, and the Habsburgs ruled it for some five centuries. Showing no enthusiasm for the Reformation, Freiburg remained an important center of Catholicism with ominous witch hunts and executions. In the 16th - 17th Century, the city suffered five sieges, was captured four times, and its population was reduced to a third by the plague. In 1677 it was taken by the French and Vauban made it an impregnable fortress. The city was restored to Austria in 1697. In 1805 Freiburg reverted to the House of Zähringen. Since 1821, it was an Episcopal seat which further enhanced its prestige and development.

The Cathedral of Freiburg (Münster), one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in the world, was built between 1200 and 1510 in red sandstone. The Cathedral is famous for its magnificent spire, an emblem of the city. The tower is 116 metres high and contains one of the oldest bells in Germany, the Hosanna (1258). It offers a wonderful panorama of the town and its surroundings.

The Colombi Palace, a 19th-century villa in neo-Gothic style, now houses the Museum of Early and Pre-History. The new Town Hall in Rathausplatz  was created by converting several older Renaissance buildings, previously used by the university administration. A carillon in the small tower plays daily at noon. The other notable building in the square is the Franciscan Monastery   with its church built about the beginning of the 14th century. There is a fountain in the square, erected in the memory of Berthold Schwarz, the supposed inventor of gunpowder who was a member of the Franciskan convent in Freiburg. The House of the Whale, remarkable for its fine Gothic doorway, was the home of Erasmus of Rotterdam for two years. The Merchant's Hall was the seat of the municipal market and the customs administration. It was built in the early 16th Century, and the coats of arms that decorate it show Freiburg's links with the Habsburgs. West of the Merchants Hall there is a large Baroque palace whixh used to be the Archbishop's Palace.