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Freiburg (inhabited place) |
Coordinates: |
| Lat: 50 55 00 N degrees minutes |
Lat: 50.9167 decimal degrees |
| Long: 013 22 00 E degrees minutes |
Long: 13.3667 decimal degrees |
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Note: The eastern German town of Freiberg is located on the Freiberger Mulde river at the foot of the Ore Mountains. It was founded by free miners in the 12th century and fast became an influential silver-mining center, and home of the mining code "Freiberger Stadtrecht," established in 1296. It was the largest city in Saxony until the 16th century, its economic center and home to its mint. The Reformation was introduced here by Henry the Pious in 1536. The Thirty Years War of the 17th century and the French occupation of 1806 to 1814 inflicted great destruction on Freiberg. It never quite regained its former high status. The silver mines closed in 1913, and in 1936 the lead, zinc, and pyrites mines became state property. The modern town is still a mining center and now also has manufacturing industries for porcelain, electrical and precision instruments, leather, textiles, and machinery. Its historic architecture includes its Old City, which has three sections: the Civitas Saxonium, which is a network of narrow alleys around the St. Nicholas Church, the Lower Market, and the Upper City with its wealth of medieval building, including the town hall, 1410-1416, the cathedral, 1484-1501 with its 1230 Golden Portal from an earlier church, and some remaining sections of the old town wall. The Freiberg Mining Academy, founded 1765, is the world's oldest mining education institution. The calculated population for 2005 was 43,150. |
Names: |
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| Freiberg (preferred,C,V)
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............ | name derived from term for "free miners (bergleute)" who settled here, refers to |
| Freiburg (NA,V,English-P)
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| פרייבורג (C,U,Hebrew )
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Hierarchical Position: |
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Freiburg (inhabited place) (P) |
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Place Types: |
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| inhabited place (preferred, C) |
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founded ca. 1190, chartered in early 13th century |
| town (C) |
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| mining center (C) |
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silver mines closed in 1913, though lead, pyrites and zinc are still mined |
| manufacturing center (C) |
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| university center (C) |
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mining academy founded in 1765, granted university status in 1905; also site of other institutes |
| commercial center (H) |
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was major economic center of Saxony, declined in 17th and 19th centuries |
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