The most beautiful religious buildings 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.

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.

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.

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.