Quite simply, the city is a joy to visit; relaxed but electric, calm but alive, a small city dressed in smaller-town clothes. It's German but with an almost Mediterranean climate and the ambiance and joie de vivre that goes with it. France, after all, is just 15 miles away. The Austrians, too, left their cultural fingerprint here, thanks to the city's 400 years under Habsburg rule.

Pride is expressed everywhere. The sidewalks are paved with dark pebbles from the Rhine. In front of each shop, quartz and other stones form mosaics of medieval trade symbols: a boot for a shoe store, a mortar and pestle for an apothecary, a bear in front of the Gasthaus Zum Roten Bären, and an ice cream cone with three scoops in front of an ice cream parlor. This is no easy task: Three men are employed full-time and each day can complete only a small area of sidewalk. The shops share the costs.

The Minster the city cathedral is further evidence of civic pride. For more than a century, its upkeep has been supported purely by donations. Scaffolding surrounds it, as it has for years and perhaps will for eternity, thanks to the fragility of the sandstone and extensive filigree. When one section is repaired, another awaits. As a local saying goes, When the scaffolding comes down, well know its the end of the world. Just a few blocks away 13 stonemasons apply ancient techniques in recreating statues and intricate scrollwork (a wonder to watch).

The construction of the great church spanned four centuries and was supported in great part by local guilds, whose symbols are still seen in stained glass windows. Don't miss the gargoyles, including one that spouts water not from his hideous mouth but rather from his naked bottom. If your legs are sturdy and the weather's good, consider the 330-step climb up the spire for an outstanding view of the Old Town, the Black Forest and the Rhine plain.

Tradition is important in Freiburg. Farmers and craftspeople still sell their wares daily (except Sunday) on the Cathedral Square. On one side, farmers offer local fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses, sausages and bread, as well as teas and spices. On the other, craftspeople peddle wooden toys, carvings and candles, many of them from the Black Forest. Most buyers are not tourists. As they have for centuries, Freiburg's residents come to the marketplace at least once a week, usually on Saturday, to shop, even though it may be less convenient or more expensive than a supermarket. They know where the goods came from; they have known the sellers for generations.

Retailing is by no means restricted to the market square. Freiburg is a shopper's city, with values in department stores along the Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse and high-end buys in boutiques and galleries on Konviktstrasse and Knigstrasse. Young designers round out the mainstream stores with a trendy jewelry and clothing scene. Browsers will love the antique shops in the Insel (Island) District and along the Gerberau.

Water, water everywhere

Visitors to Freiburg quickly note a unique city feature, the so-called Bächle or little streams that flow in neat, narrow trenches through most streets. They were built nearly 600 years ago as a water supply and to fight fires. The Dreisam River, above the city, was split into multiple channels and follows a network through the Altstadt. The downstream flow is collected on the other side of town and eventually reaches the Rhine. A team of cleaners scrubs the stones and removes obstructions to ensure a steady flow of clean water.

Today, the Bächle is a way for tired backpackers to cool their feet, a race course for kids with rubber ducks and a challenge for inattentive visitors. Local tradition has it that any visitor who stumbles into the water must marry a Freiburger. The waters can also reflect a sense of renewal, as in the stream emerging from the Star of David statue at the new synagogue. There, the town has erected a plaque acknowledging its shame and sorrow for the Jewish community that was torn from Freiburg during Nazi times.

Architecturally, Freiburg doesnt follow any cookie-cutter image of an old German city. Unlike many towns its size, it has no castle standing watch from above; the French turned it to rubble nearly 200 years ago. And, except for a few barely visible exceptions, the defensive wall disappeared long ago, much of it replaced in the 18th century by the ring roads that encircle the Old City. Today, those same boulevards circulate automobile traffic away from the Altstadt, allowing for one of Germany's largest pedestrian zones.

Although Freiburg was damaged greatly during World War II, the city was rebuilt following its medieval layout. Builders used similar construction materials and styles, and even the modern structures within the Altstadt blend in beautifully.

With more than 30,000 students in a population of 200,000, a youthful spirit pervades the old city. There's an active pub and club scene, and cafes spread their tables across plazas and sidewalks until the wee hours (the Universitätstrasse has the liveliest concentration). When plays and concerts let out in the evening, the city gets a second wind. Live music is popular in the Platz, a popular student gathering ground. For music with a beer chaser, theres the Hausbruerei Feierling (Gerberau 46 (tel. 0761/2-66-78). The brewery/restaurant is on one side of the Augustiner Platz and pipes beer under the road to the beer garden across the street.

From the Black Forest to the Rhine

Local residents affectionately refer to Freiburg as the Metropolis of the Black Forest. Technically, geographers will tell you, Freiburg's Altstadt lies outside the Black Forest. However, cross one street on the eastern fringe of town—the Schlossbergring—onto the wooded Schlossberg hill, and you're in the Schwarzwald.

With a Freiburg region transit pass, guests can board streetcars or buses and quickly find themselves in the deepest Black Forest, on the rolling vineyards and farmland of the Breisgau or Markgräflerland, and even at the banks of the Upper Rhine. From Freiburg, it's just a few miles to the Breisgau Region and the rolling hills of the Tuniberg and Kaiserstuhl, an area increasingly known as German Tuscany, for its sultry and sunny climate, extensive wine-growing, and amiable populace.

Excursions

A popular day trip within the city limits is the Schauinsland, Freiburg's 1,284-meter (4,213-foot) hometown mountain, where a cable car travels 15 minutes to the summit. The view from the cable car reaches far out over the Rhine plain, past the Tuniberg vineyards toward the French Vosges mountain range. From the summit, the view extends deep into the Black Forest and south to the Alps.

The worn remnants of long-extinct volcanos bear lush vineyard landscapes that alternate with sprawling tobacco farmland and orchards. Red roofs and narrow steeples set off tiny villages at all compass points. Ivy drapes off the ruins of ancient castles.

For a novel ground-level view of the countryside, consider a two-hour journey, perhaps with an accompanying bottle of wine, aboard a small flat-boat in the Taubergiessen Nature Preserve, a remote region often referred to as Germany's jungle. (Contact Klaus Kossmann, tel. 49/7643/6775, fax 9339985, e-mail: info@freiburg-taubergiessen.de)  

Just across the Rhine, Neuf-Brisach (New Brisach) is an example of Alsatian charm and historic military architecture. Protected by massive octagonal walls, imposing gates and star-shaped fortifications, Neuf-Brisach was built by King Louis XIV as a fortress town. Today, its central square, church, officers' quarters, barracks, and private homes are still intact. Despite the proximity to Germany, Neuf-Brisach is fully Gallic in character with delightful French bakeries, Alsatian restaurants (try the fresh trout at Ville de Paris at 13 rue de Ble, +33/389/72/5355) and corner bistros.

Winemaking

Thanks to its soil and favorable weather, winemaking has been central to daily life in this part of Germany for at least 1,500 years. In September, town markets and produce stands burst with dozens of varieties of ripe grapes as well as plums, pears and apples.

Many vintners give tours. At the Weingut Felix and Kilian Hunn in Gottenheim, about midway between Freiburg and the Rhine, Kilian Hunn and wife Martina are proud to show off an operation which produces about 70,000 bottles annually. Guests can take a guided stroll through the vineyards and sample five wines for €3.50.

Like many wineries, the Hunns also operate a Strausswirtschaft, a seasonal restaurant with wines by the glass and homemade dishes such as pork shoulder simmered in wine, smoked bacon and bread, and fresh potato salad from the family kitchen. (Weingut Felix and Kilian Hunn, Rathausstrasse 2, D-79288 Gottenheim, tel. +49/7665/6207, fax 6223, e-mail: weingut-hunn@gmx.de)

For a broader sampling of wine, the Alte Wache on Freiburg's Cathedral Square represents more than 30 local vintners and offers more than 100 wines. Formal tastings are generally reserved for groups, but call manager Alixe Winter, who may be able to merge you with an existing reservation. (Alte Wache, Mnsterplatz 38, D-79098 Freiburg, tel. +49/761/202870, fax 2028713, e-mail: service@alte-wache.com.)

Sekt, Germany's sparkling champagne-style wine, has an extensive tradition in the region. To learn what it's all about, take a guided tour of the extensive cellars and bottling operation at the Geldermann Privatsektkellerei. Two-hour tours, which run six times daily except Sundays and holidays, cost €5 and include a detailed and informative wine tasting (Geldermann Privatsektkellerei, Am Schlossberg 1, D-79206 Breisach, tel. +49/7667/ 834 100, fax 834-351, e-mail: info@geldermann.de,   Web: www.geldermann.de