Freising Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Freising Overview
Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500. The city is located north of Munich (Munich vacation rentals | Munich travel guide) at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport. Anyone starting or landing at Munich airport can see the city to the north with its two famous hills, the cathedral hill with the bishop's castle and the Freising cathedral and the Weihenstephan hill with the oldest brewery in the world.
Freising is one of the oldest settlements in Bavaria, gaining importance by becoming a major religious center in the early Middle Ages. It was and still is the center of an important diocese. Some important historical documents have been created from 900 to 1200 in its monastery:
- Freising manuscripts written in Slovenian, being the first Roman-script continuous text in a Slavic language
- Chronicle or history of the two cities by Otto of Freising
The above and other scripts from that time can be found in the Bayrische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian state library) in Munich today.
[ source: Wikipedia ]
Where to stay in Freising?
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Things to See in Freising
Freising cathedral
Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan, a notable horticultural garden
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Georg
Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul
Dombergmuseum
Europäisches Künstlerhaus in Schönleutnerhof
Maps and Driving Directions to Freising
Freising
[ source: Flickr]
Popular Points of Interest in and near Freising
Freising Cathedral
[ source: Wikipedia ]
Freising Cathedral, also called Saint Mary and Corbinian Cathedral, is a romanesque basilica. It is the co-cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The tomb of St. Corbinian, the patron saint of the bishopric, is located in the four-nave crypt ot the cathedral. In the centre of this crypt one of the most distinguished sculptures in Europe is located: the so called Bestiensäule (the column of beasts), carved out of stone in the high Middle Ages. The rococo decoration of the interior created in 1724 is a work of Cosmas Damian Asam and Egid Quirin Asam. After a fire had destroyed the old cathedral, the church was constructed from 1159 onwards and consecrated in 1250. St Mary's cathedral was the first brick structure to be built north of the Alps since ancient times.
Hours: Daily 8am -12pm and 2pm - 5pm (6pm in summer).
Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan Horticultural Garden
[ source: Garden website ]
The Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan is a horticultural garden maintained by the Research Institute for Horticulture of the Fachhochschule Weihenstephan. It is open daily except Sunday April - October; admission is free.
The garden was founded in 1948 on the grounds of a nineteenth century villa. It now contains a large variety of perennial plants, and is primarily focused on education and training for students of horticulture, food technology, and landscape architecture.
Diocesan Museum (Dioezesanmuseum)
[ source: Museum website ]
Housing around 20,000 works of religious art from medieval to modern times, Freising Diocesan Museum is among the world's largest religious museums. Stunning works by famous artists including Lucas Cranach, Ignaz Günther and Arnulf Rainer. Examples of the goldsmith’s art, liturgical textiles and icons tell of liturgy and folk customs. The collection documenting Bavarian piety is probably unique in its diversity and richness.
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm.
Admission: 4 € Adults, 2 € Concessions.
Bürgerturm (Citizens' Tower)
The Bürgerturm (Citizens' Tower) is the only visible remainder of the medieval city fortifications. It was probably built around 1350 as a watchtower and is still owned by the city of Freising. Its four floors house fascinating changing exhibitions on the theme of Freising – Then and Now
.
Hours: May - October every Saturday from 1pm - 5pm. November - April every 1st Saturday of the month from 1pm - 4pm. During the Advent season every Saturday from 1pm - 4pm with mulled wine.
Weihenstephan Brewery at the Weihenstephan Abbey
The Weihenstephan Brewery can trace its roots at the abbey to the year 768, as a document from that year refers to a hop garden in the area paying a tithe to the monastery. A brewery was actually licensed by the City of Freising in 1040, and that is the founding date claimed by today's modern brewery. The brewery thus has a creditable claim to being the oldest working brewery in the world.
Guided tours are available Mondays: 10 am, Tuesdays: 10 am and 1:30pm, and Wednesdays: 10 am. The tour price of 9 € includes beer tasting a pretzel, and a gift shop voucher.
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Freising. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Freising: Freising (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Freising
More about the History of Freising
Even though archaeological finds show that the area was settled in the Bronze Age, no proof has been found yet to suggest a continuous settlement until the 8th century Frigisinga. Saint Corbinian settled at a shrine that already existed at Freising in 724. He was the forerunner of the diocese of Freising, established after his death by Saint Boniface. According to his Vita by Bishop Arbeo he ordered a bear to carry his luggage over the Alps after it had killed his packhorse. The saddled bear is still the symbol of the city, displayed in the coat of arms, though the seat of the diocese was moved to Munich (Munich vacation rentals | Munich travel guide) in 1821. Freising has remained the seat of diocese administration until today. 764-783 Bishop Arbeo founded a library and scriptorium at the abbey. The settlement started to become a religious center. The mortal remains of Pope Alexander I are said to have been transferred to Freising in 834.
In 996 Freising received city rights from Emperor Otto III. However, after the "(...) destruction of the episcopal bridge, custom houses, mint, and salt works near Oberföhring (Oberföhring vacation rentals | Oberföhring travel guide) by Duke Henry the Lion, who transferred the custom houses and bridge site to the upper part of Oberföhring, placing them in the village of Munich on the Isar" (Lins, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913). In 1158, Freising started to lose its economic significance. In 1159 the romanesque cathedral was constructed (with a notable animal column in the crypt). In the secularization of 1803, the Roman Catholic Church lost most of its properties and authority over the city.
What makes this Live Like a German Freising Travel Guide special...
This Freising travel guide provides you with an overview of Freising, Freising pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Freising destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
