Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest. It straddles the Dreisam river, on the foothills of the Schlossberg. The city is bordered by the Black Forest mountains Rosskopf and Bromberg to the east and Schönberg, Tuniberg to the south. The Kaiserstuhl hill region lies to the west. Freiburg was founded in the 12th century (1120) by Duke Konrad of Zähringen as a free market town; hence its name, which translates to "free (or independent) town" the word "frei" meaning "free" and Burg, like the modern English word borough, was used in those days for an incorporated city or town, usually one with some degree of autonomy.[2] However, the German word "Burg" also means "a fortified town" as in Hamburg. Thus, it is likely that the name of this place means a "fortified town of free citizens"