Freising

Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in Upper Bavaria, north of Munich and near the Munich International Airport. The city is built on and around two prominent hills: the Cathedral Hill with the former Bishop's Residence and Freising Cathedral, and Weihenstephan Hill with the former Weihenstephan Abbey, containing the oldest working brewery in the world. It was also the location of the first recorded tornado in Europe. The city is 448 meters above sea level.

Freising is one of the oldest settlements in Bavaria, becoming a major religious centre in the early Middle Ages. It is the centre of an important diocese. Some important historical documents were created between 900 and 1200 in its monastery: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 "Bayerische Staatsbibliothek" (Bavarian State Library) in Munich.

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 AD.

In 724 AD, the Frankish Saint Corbinian was sent to Bavaria by the Catholic Church to spread Christianity. On a mountain near Freising, where there was already a sanctuary, Corbinian erected a Benedictine monastery and a school. According to his Vita by Bishop Arbeo, Corbinian was on his way to Rome when his packhorse was attacked and killed by a wild bear. By divine power, Corbinian ordered the bear to carry his luggage over the Alps. When he finally arrived in Rome he let the bear free. The saddled bear is still the symbol of the city, displayed in the coat of arms, as well as statues and paintings.[3] After Corbinian's death, Saint Boniface established Freising as a Catholic diocese. Between 764–783, Bishop Arbeo founded a library and a scriptorium (writing room) at the abbey. The settlement started to become a religious centre.

The earliest recorded tornado in Europe struck Freising in 788.[4][5]

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.

As early as the 10th century, in order to collect additional revenue, monks were sent from Freising down the Isar River to build a toll bridge on the Salt Road between Salzburg and Augsburg. This village would be later known as München (or Munich, which means 'of the monks'). By 1158, Duke Henry the Lion destroyed the bridge and customs building and built new ones closer to his home further downriver, (near the center of modern downtown Munich), so that he could collect the revenue instead.[6]

The construction of the Freising Cathedral in its current romanesque style started in 1159 and was completed in 1205. The Romanesque wooden ceiling was replaced by a gothic vault in 1481–1483.[7]

Freising went through difficult times during the Thirty Years' War. In 1632, the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus came through Freising on his way to Munich. He demanded 30,000 guilders as the sum to protect the city from destruction. Nevertheless, his army sacked the city. Hunger and plague raged when the Swedes invaded the city again in 1646. In 1674, the Church placed a statue of the Virgin Mary in the city square as a sign that war and plague had been overcome.[8]

A wave of witch hunts and trials broke out from 1715–1717 in Freising, and again in 1721–1723. Most of the accused were child beggars. Several children were executed.[9]

In 1802/1803 Bavaria fell under the influence of Napoleonic France in which church controlled lands were secularized. In Freising, the more than thousand-year-old bishopric was abolished. The Roman Catholic Church lost most of its properties and authority over the city.[10] Though the seat of the diocese was moved to Munich in 1821, including the elevation to an archdiocese, Freising has remained the seat of diocesan administration until today.

In 1858 the Bavarian Eastern Railway Company built the first railway line from Munich to Freising, Landshut and Regensburg for passenger and rail traffic.[11]

Near the end of the Second World War, Allied aircraft bombed Freising on April 18, 1945. By April 30, units of the US Army arrived in Freising.[12]

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited Freising during a papal visit. He was formerly archbishop of Munich/Freising from 1977 to 1982.[13]

Schools include:

• Camerloher-Gymnasium Freising
• Dom-Gymnasium Freising
• Josef-Hofmiller-Gymnasium

Universities include:

• Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science
• Technical University of Munich School of Life Sciences

Marienplatz

Freising is twinned with:[14]

• Otto of Freising (1112–1158), bishop
• Mair von Landshut, late 15th-century artist, was a citizen and probably born in Freising
• Georg Eder (1523–1587), jurist and historian
• Martin Ruland the Elder (1532–1602), physician and alchemist
• Johann Stadlmayr (1575–1648), court music director and composer
• Benignus von Safferling (1824–1899), Bavarian General and Minister of War
• Ludwig Prandtl (1875–1953), physicist
• Ernst Kraus (1889–1970), a German geologist
• Karl Maria Demelhuber (1896–1988), SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS
• Anton Schlüter (died 1999), tractor manufacturer
• Jost Raba (1900–2000), violinist
• Karl Gustav Fellerer (1902–1984), a German musicologist
• Albrecht Obermaier (1912–2004), German naval officer, last deputy naval officer of the Bundesmarine
• Pope Benedict XVI (1927–2022), Pope from 2005–2013
• Karl Huber (1928–2009), German painter and sculptor
• Heinrich Reinhardt (born 1947), Roman Catholic priest and professor of philosophy
• Peter Neumair (born 1950), wrestler
• Joseph Weiss (born 1959), German diplomat
• Hans Pflügler (born 1960), footballer, former clubs: Bayern Munich - World champion 1990
• Alexander Kutschera (born 1968), footballer
• Stefan Diez (born 1971), German industrial designer
• Ferdinand Bader (born 1981), ski jumper
• Brigitte Wagner (born 1983), wrestler
• Maximilian Haas (born 1985), footballer
• Maximilian Wittek (born 1995), footballer
• Veit Arnpeck (c. 1440), Bavarian chronicler
• Benignus von Safferling (1824–1899), General of the Bavarian Army and War Minister
• Oskar von Niedermayer (1885–1948), officer and adventurer

• Freising Cathedral
• St. Georg Church
• Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan, a notable horticultural garden
• Freising Town Hall
• Marienplatz

• 
  Freising Cathedral
• 
  Cathedral interior
• 
  Bishop's Residence
• 
  Town Hall and St. George's Church
• 
  Neustift Abbey
• 
  Asam Building
• 
  Weihenstephan Brewery
• 
  Hofbrauhaus Brewery

Freising has 4 sport clubs: SE Freising, SV Vötting-Weihenstephan, SC Freising, and SG Eichenfeld.

• Prince-Bishopric of Freising

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Freising.

• Freising travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website (in German)
• Bavarian state library
• Pictures of Freising
• Freising during the Third Reich