2023-06-10 10:03:13
The canton of Fribourg/Fribourg
WIf he only thinks of Breisgau when he thinks of Freiburg, he overlooks one of the most exciting regions and cities in Switzerland: the canton of Freiburg/Fribourg, in which German and French are the official languages, and its capital, also known as Freiburg im Üechtland, which was founded in 1157 by a Zähringer – a representative of that Swabian dynasty to which the mother city in Breisgau goes back.
Swiss Fribourg inspires with a medieval cityscape: historic fountain, the magnificent cathedral, the Loreto chapel, the city wall that can be walked on. And with contemporary art, for example in the Kunsthalle Friart. Connoisseurs feast through the restaurants of the university town, which was named the Swiss Capital of Taste in 2023.
The canton offers other medieval towns such as Gruyeres/Gruyères, home of the famous cheese. Or Romont, center of glass art, with a stately castle and the Swiss Museum for Glass Painting. Murten on Lake Murten invites you to swim and go on boat trips. Estavayer-le-Lac on Lake Neuchâtel is also ideal for activities in, on and around the water.
Source: Infographic The World
Exciting are cycling and hiking tours in the nature reserve of the Grande Cariçaie, the largest lakeside wetland Switzerland with over 10,000 animal and 800 plant species. And if you love the tropics, visit the Papiliorama with over 1000 butterflies.
The bizarre show of the frogs
They cram at school, play dominoes, show off their riding skills, sit at the barber’s, have drills or have a feast at a long table. 108 stuffed frogs illustrate im Museum von Estavayer-le-Lac everyday life of people in the region around 1850. The 19th century collection is one of the most whimsical in the world and die Main attraction of the “Frog Museum”, as the locals call it.
Buffaloing frogs in the museum of Estavayer-le-Lac
What: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE
At that time, the animals were prepared and staged by an officer. Furniture, equipment, accessories: he reproduced everything with great attention to detail. With his weird works of art, their creator wanted to satirize the petty bourgeoisie, a new class of society at the time.
The whimsical exhibit also features a frog riding a squirrel
Source: picture alliance/dpa/KEYSTONE/Jean-Christophe Bott
The collection has recently been restored. For those looking to take a break from seeing the amphibians in human poses, the museum, housed in a 15th-century house, has many other undisturbed treasures from the region’s past, from weapons to kitchen utensils.
Cool art by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely
Her colorful Nana female figures are world famous: Nikki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. The pop art icon and her husband Jean Tinguely (1925-1991) created spectacular art.
Eine Figur von Niki de Saint Phalle im Museum „Espace Jean Tinguely – Niki de Saint Phalle“
Source: Brusini Aurélien/hemis.fr/ddp; Niki de Saint Phalle/VG Bild-Kunst Bonn
In Freiburg, where Tinguely was born, works by the artist couple are permanently exhibited together: the museum „Space Jean Tinguely – Niki de Saint Phalle“ in a former tram depot presents the rattling, moving sculptures of the man from Freiburg and works by his wife. For example “Remembering”, 22 reliefs that she created from painted polyester. Special exhibitions show works by Swiss or international artists that relate to Niki de Saint Phalle or Jean Tinguely.
Sewage powers the funicular
The tank of the Funiculaire Freiburg, last water ballast lift of the Switzerland and national treasure. Since 1899 the funicular of the canton’s capital – and without a combustion engine at all: The drive of the “Funi”, the nickname for the green nostalgic train, works with filtered waste water.
The Funiculaire Freiburg is the last water ballast lift in Switzerland
What: Pascal Gertschen
When it is poured into the car tank at the upper station – the scent is part of it – the weight pulls the upper car down. The driver controls the speed, the passengers enjoy the view of the old town and the course of the Saane.
Rue is a town straight out of a picture book
In the midst of an enchanting landscape, a castle sits enthroned on a rocky outcrop. At their feet, a medieval town nestles on the hillside. Rue advertises that it is the “smallest town in Europe”, which other places do and which with around 1500 inhabitants is also not true.
Castle Rue was already mentioned in the early twelfth century
Those: pa/Zoonar/Georg A
It doesn’t need such a status anyway: it’s definitely one of the most picturesque – a city straight out of a picture book. The castle, once the seat of the ruling family of the same name, was first mentioned in the early twelfth century. The Savoyards, who founded the city around 1264, ruled it until Friborg conquered the region in 1536.
Today, visitors feel like they have been transported back in time when they stroll through the streets and admire historical buildings. For example the Saint-Nicolas church and the chaplaincy, one of the oldest houses in the city. At the top of the castle there are wide views across the foothills of the Alps to the main Alpine ridge.
Several signposted footpaths lead through the town and out into the hilly landscape criss-crossed by streams. If you want, you can also circumnavigate Rue as part of a two-hour mountain bike tour.
The quote
“De Pety Präingjss”
This is the title of the book, “The Little Prince” in Bolz, a mixed language of French and Swiss German that can still be heard in Freiburg’s lower town. It developed when, in the 19th century, impoverished peasants, some speaking French and some speaking German, moved to the city. The dialect slang became part of the culture of the “Basse-Ville”, long one of the poorest areas of Switzerland.
Bolz suits the canton, which has a special position – in Switzerland the majority is German-speaking, but here it’s the other way around: around two-thirds speak French. And so is the “little” prince in the Bolz translation by Fränzi Kern-Egger “petit‘ just spelled differently.
Bizarre, record-breaking, typical: Other parts of our Regional geography series can be found here.
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