Things to see and do Fribourg

This remarkable building in the Radiant Gothic style was built from the 13th century onwards and completed in 1490. The late Gothic tower is 74 m high and contains thirteen bells, among the oldest in Switzerland. The main portal is adorned with beautiful sculptures (copies of the 15th-century originals) and a 17th-century wooden statue of St Nicholas of Myra. The Sunday Gate was originally the main portal. Statues framed by arches overhang an oak door in the Louis XVI style with a Virgin and Child in the centre, a statue of St Nicholas and the three young girls he saved on the left, and the Three Wise Men on the right. Inside, the choir, which is higher than the nave, and the old sacristy, which dates from the 17th century, can be seen. Above the 15th century stalls, beautiful frames by Jean-François Reyff surround two paintings by Nicolas de Hoey, painter to the court of Henri IV. The high altar, from the 19th century, is in the neo-Gothic style. The side chapels are illuminated by double lancet windows and open towards the nave through semi-circular arches. In the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, the group of figures that make up the Entombment is the most important group of monumental sculpture of the late Middle Ages and the most important medieval funerary group in Switzerland. Beautiful stained glass windows by Manessier. The top of the tower, accessible in summer, offers a beautiful view of the city. It is also a place of pilgrimage linked to Santiago de Compostela.

Housed in the Hôtel Ratzé, the only Renaissance building in Fribourg, as well as in a slaughterhouse, a 19th century arsenal, the MAHF exhibits sculptures, paintings and objects. On several floors, one discovers the sculptures of Jean-François Reyff, the paintings of Hans Geiler, archaeological collections with. The former slaughterhouses house beautiful religious silverware. The 19th and 20th centuries are represented by some great names: Delacroix, Courbet...

Former fortifications from the 17th century which housed a powder magazine and which exploded. Since then, they have been rebuilt and provide a beautiful viewpoint over Freiburg with a view of its old quarters, the white university and part of the Henri Tower. The chapel of Loreto dating from 1646 is a small replica of the Santa Casa de Loreto in Italy. The small and very pretty Loreto path invites you to walk or drive down to the Upper Plank.

Housed in a former tramway depot built in the early ^20th century, the Espace is home to works by Jean Tinguely and his wife, French artist Niki de Saint-Phalle, who donated them to the city of Fribourg. One of Tinguely's masterpieces can be seen here: the Altarpiece of Western Abundance and Totalitarian Mercantilism, as well as Niki de Saint-Phalle's 22 painted polyester reliefs entitled Remembering (1997-1998). Temporary exhibitions are also on view.

You can't get enough of certain tourist transports. This little train allows you to visit the city in a playful way and without getting too tired. You will have plenty of time to climb the streets during your free visit. It goes around the city and takes place at Place Georges-Python. Easily recognisable with its white and blue colours, it takes you into the historic centre and is an alternative to the funicular, for example. It works like a hop-on, hop-off, which allows you to stop and pick it up whenever you want.

Jean Tinguely was a contemporary artist from Fribourg. This animated fountain by the artist is the little sister of the one in Basel. The stone basin is aesthetically combined with the modern sculpture consisting of wheels, metal elements and flexible pipes. It is powered by motor and water, and is a tribute to Jo Siffert, a Swiss racing driver from Fribourg in the 1960s. To be seen in winter because it is particularly impressive when the water freezes, forming beautiful spontaneous ice sculptures.

It was built between 1501 and 1522 on the former site of the castle of the Dukes of Zaehringen, founders of the city. Its symmetrical three-storey façade has a double-flight staircase in the centre. The building has a hipped roof. The tower has a clock and two bells accompanied by their jacquemarts. Inside, the Grand Council room, dating from the 18th century, is covered with Louis XVI woodwork. The room of the Cantonal Court houses two beautiful Louis XV-Louis XVI stoves. Next door, the Town Hall is from the 18th century.

The first construction dates from 1281, but the main part of the building still visible was built in the 18th century. Inside, the oldest choir stalls in Switzerland date back to 1280. The church has a magnificent altarpiece by the Masters of the Carnation. When open, the altarpieces show the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Magi; when closed, the Annunciation, with Saints Clare of Assisi and Elizabeth of Hungary. In the side chapels there are eleven baroque altars.

Founded in 1985 by Jean Bindschedler and Marie-José Aebi, then street puppeteers at La Samaritaine in Fribourg, this museum presents the rich collection assembled by the two artists during their travels. The collection includes shadows and puppets of various techniques from all over the world, including China, India, Indonesia, Africa, South America and various European countries, including Switzerland. It also includes magnificent paper theaters, masks and sets.

Fri-Art, founded at the end of the 1970s in the former seminary of Fribourg, has been housed since 1990 in a former 19th-century factory near the Motta baths in the old town. It is an ambitious centre for contemporary art, committed to mediating between the Swiss and international scene in its most current developments. A laboratory for the various artistic movements of today's art. Numerous exhibitions punctuate the year with artistic and cultural discoveries. It is also a place of exchange with the artists.

It is the true sap descendant of the ancient lime tree associated with the Battle of Murten. Associated with an historic event, the "Morat lime tree" is actually located 17 kilometers from Morat. It commemorates the Battle of Murten (1476), which saw Swiss troops inflict a severe defeat on Charles the Bold's Burgundian army. According to legend, a messenger ran to Fribourg with the good news, waving a branch as a sign of victory. Exhausted, he collapsed on arrival. The branch is said to have taken root at this very spot...

The Fribourg region of Switzerland has a tourist office located in Villars-sur-Glâne. The office address is Route de la Glâne 107, 1752 Villars-sur-Glâne.

It is the main work of Jean-François Reyff. A fine late-Gothic building with early-Baroque and Renaissance elements dating from 1653-1656, the church features Switzerland's first Baroque curvilinear façade and a beautiful octagonal dome. Inside, the sculpted decor of the ^17th and ^19th centuries can be admired in many places, while the sacristy boasts a number of fine pieces of silverware. The monastery buildings feature handsome ^17th-century facades.

The 13th-century monastery has been a state building since 1916, but St. Maurice's church has been a parish church since 1872. See the stained glass windows by Aloys Balmer dating from 1896 and the magnificent altarpiece by Peter Spring from 1593 from the Mannerist period. Also the liturgical furniture with late Gothic sculptures from Fribourg and two altarpieces from the Reyff workshop from the 17th century. In the monastery, the ceiling of the refectory was painted in 1748 by Melchior Eggmann.

Elevated to the status of basilica minor in 1932 by Pope Pius XI, this church dates back to 1201, but was completely remodeled at the end of the ^18th century by the Berchtold brothers, with paintings by Gottfried Locher. A major restoration, completed in 2011, has brought many of the works to the fore. The Neapolitan crib on display near the entrance is unique. It features 75 figurines, the oldest dating back to the ^18th century. Scenes from everyday life are depicted on the right: a tavern, a market and even courtesans on the balcony.