Freising
Town square with town hall and Saint George Church
Freising
Location of the town of Freising within Freising district
Coordinates	48°24′10″N 11°44′56″E / 48.40278°N 11.74889°E / 48.40278; 11.74889Coordinates: 48°24′10″N 11°44′56″E / 48.40278°N 11.74889°E / 48.40278; 11.74889
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Upper Bavaria
District	Freising
Town subdivisions	29 Stadtteile
Lord Mayor	Tobias Eschenbacher (FSM)
Basic statistics
Area	88.45 km2 (34.15 sq mi)
Elevation	448 m  (1470 ft)
Population	45,223 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	511 /km2 (1,324 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	FS
Postal codes	85354, 85356
Area code	08161
Website	www.freising.de

Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500. The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport. Anyone taking off 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 Weihenstephan Hill with the oldest working brewery in the world.

Cultural significance[link]

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 Some important historical documents were created between 900 to 1200 in its monastery: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.

History[link]

St. Peter and Paul Church with War Memorial (in foreground)

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 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 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.

Freising cathedral

Politics[link]

The Lord Mayor of Freising is Tobias Eschenbacher (FSM). The majority of seats in the city council is held by the so-called "Freisinger Mitte" (FSM). The distribution of seats in Freising's city council can be seen in the following diagramme:

Freising city council: dark blue = FSM (8), green = Greens (8), light blue = Free Voters (8), red = SPD (5), black = CSU (4), orange = ÖDP (3), dark red = The Left (2), yellow = FDP (1), grey = Independent (1)

Famous citizens[link]

• Otto of Freising (1112–1158), bishop.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Ludwig Prandtl
• The Bavarian General and War Minister Benignus Ritter von Safferling (1825–1895) was born in Freising.
• Maximilian Haas - footballer, former clubs: Middlesbrough F.C. and Bayern Munich.

Points of interest[link]

• Freising cathedral
• Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan, a notable horticultural garden

References[link]

External links[link]

Bavaria portal

• Official Site (German)
• http://www.dioezesanmuseum-freising.de
• Bavarian state library
• Pictures of Freising

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Freising

v t e Towns and municipalities in Freising Allershausen Attenkirchen Au in der Hallertau Eching Fahrenzhausen Freising Gammelsdorf Haag an der Amper Hallbergmoos Hohenkammer Hörgertshausen Kirchdorf an der Amper Kranzberg Langenbach Marzling Mauern Moosburg Nandlstadt Neufahrn bei Freising Paunzhausen Rudelzhausen Wang Wolfersdorf Zolling