Last year, Freiburg invited some 25, officials and urban planners from around the world to learn from these ground-breaking projects.
Many of these visitors were shown around by my guide for the day, Andrea Philipp from the sustainability agency Aiforia. We were at the Freiburg bike station, an imposing cylindrical building just behind the main train station. This intentional design can be traced back to the post-war period.
While other German cities were focusing on rebuilding modern cities that put cars at the centre of future transport, planners in Freiburg took a different approach, centring their designs around public transport, thus widening the streets to accommodate trams and bike lanes, including large pedestrian zones.
And at a time when much of Germany was building wide highways and sprawling car parks, Freiburg launched its first urban transport policy in focusing on environmentally-friendly modes of travel. In the shadows of the 13th-Century gothic tower, every morning bar Sunday the square bustles with local produce from 96 stallholders from the region.
Since solar panels were fitted to the grandstand roofs in , the stadium has generated , kilowatt-hours per year, powering the stadium and feeding any excess back into the local grid. Borrowing this design ethos is the much-anticipated new Freiburg Stadium , which is integrating solar panels onto its roof and recycling energy generated from a nearby manufacturing plant to heat the stadium. For locals looking for more earthly pursuits, the surrounding Black Forest provides a welcome refuge.
The vast mountain range hosts walking tracks, community gardens, allotment gardens, BMX runs and tiny forest cabins belonging to kindergartens.
Freiburg native Konstantin Hoffmann remembers his childhood with this connection to nature fondly. Picturesquely located on the river Dreisam, in between green mountainsides, it enjoys one of the sunniest and warmest climates among German cities. Freiburg is a laid-back, beautiful university city of , people Freiburg was founded in and has been a city of importance ever since, which is reflected in the rich medieval and renaissance architectural heritage of its Altstadt.
Having been a university town for centuries, it also has a very forward-looking outlook, and is a centre of sustainable development. There are many solar-energy-related businesses headquartered there, and much of the city, especially the newer quarters, is arranged using cutting-edge sustainable development ideas. Freiburg is close to a corner where the borders of Germany meet those of France and Switzerland. This is reflected by the city sharing its airport with Basel in Switzerland and Mulhouse in France - the unique EuroAirport whose grounds straddle national borders.
While this is the Freiburg most probably referred to when the name is invoked, it is actually one of many places sharing that name. When ordering train tickets and similar items online, be careful not to confuse Freiburg im Breisgau with Freiburg an der Elbe in Lower Saxony or Fribourg in Switzerland or Freiberg in Saxony.
Known throughout Germany for Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, good weather, and vineyards, Freiburg is considered by Germans to be a desirable place to live.
One can find a strong local patriotism, which shows itself in the anthem of Baden the former independent state , which can be heard more often than the national anthem. Although Freiburg is not itself a major tourist destination or a large city, it can serve as a relatively inexpensive base from which to explore much of central Europe.
Frankfurt Airport has frequent direct rail connections to Freiburg almost every hour from the Fernbahnhof. Most trains travel directly through Freiburg, although a few require a train change. Booking ahead online can shave the train ticket from Frankfurt Airport considerably, although it requires use of the selected train. If your plane is late, you will have to buy a new ticket. Buses run frequently from the airport to Freiburg; see the schedule here.
Baden Airpark , situated between Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden , is another airport close to Freiburg, and it has some international flights from various cities operated mainly by Ryanair and Eurowings. It is a minute train ride to the north of the city, but you will have to connect by bus at the train station, which will add extra time to your journey. You will need to plan ahead to make the trip easier, and Deutsche Bahn's website can give you approximate connection times with bus services. Another possible airport is Stuttgart, which has less convenient train connections but is much closer than Frankfurt.
The Frequent connections run to the north towards Frankfurt and south to Basel , with fast ICE trains leaving in each direction each hour. The Hauptbahnhof is also within easy walking distance of the inner city and several good hotels. Main direct destinations include:. Even if the energy turnaround in Germany is slow to progress and the climate-damaging CO2 emissions are rising worldwide, the city is steadfastly sticking to its climate protection target and even exacerbating it.
The reference value is always the CO2 emissions of Sources : Wikipedia , Freiburg official website. City of Freiburg-im-Breisgau is a member of Energy Cities since Our German member Freiburg recently launched a pilot project to involve the inhabitants, schools and organisations of the district of Waldsee in the fight against […]. Powered by WordPress and IDfr. The European association of cities in energy transition.
0コメント