Freiburg im Breisgau

A spectacularly beautiful city in West-end of Schwarzwald, preserving fabulous architectures of late medieval era such as Freiburg Cathedral (Freiburger Münster). To my view it unquestionably deserves the fame of one of the most beautiful city in Germany.

The renowned Freiburg University (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, founded in 1457) that sits right in the middle of the town also comprises the true value of the city, and incubating numerous high-tech companies, for instance biotech and environmental engineering firms, in the suburbs.

Every time we are captivated by beautiful townscapes in Germany, we better not forget that almost all of them are reconstructed after World War II and Freiburg is not the exception.

This is making striking contrast with cities in Japan which repeatedly undergo scrap-and-build, and prompting me deep reflection of what cities ought to be….

(Actually, I stayed in the city as a student for two semesters from 1990 to 1991)