Freiberg

Freiberg, a mining-town of Saxony, on the northern slope of the Erzgebirge Mountains, 20 miles SW. of Dresden. Its cathedral, successor to one burned in 1484, contains tombs of the Saxon electors of the Albertine line, and has a Romanesque portal called the Golden Gate. The town owes its origin to its silver-mines, discovered about 1163, and has a famous school of mines (1765). The mineral ores extracted near Freiberg are silver, bismuth, nickel, cobalt, zinc, arsenic, etc. The manufactures comprise gold and silver ware, wire, chemicals, machines, leather, and cigars. Pop. (1875) 23,559; (1890) 28,955 ; (1900) 30,175. [Frl-berg.]

Freiburg

Freiburg, or (French) Friboueg, a Swiss canton, bounded N. and E. by Bern, and S. and W. by Vaud and the Lake of Neuchatel, with three enclaves in Vaud. Area, 644 sq. m. ; population, 128,000, principally French-speaking and Catholic. - The capital is Freiburg, or Fribourg, 19 miles by rail SW. of Bern, on the Sarine or Saane, here spanned by a suspension bridge (1834), 870 feet long. St Nicholas Church, dating from 1283, has one of the finest-toned organs in Europe, and a lofty belfry. Since 1889 there is here an academy with faculties, like a university. Pop. 16,840.

Freiburg in Breisgau

Freiburg in Breisgau, a town of Bade.n, on the western edge of the Black Forest, 32 miles NNE. of Basel. It is an open, Avell-built town ; the walls and ditches with which it was formerly surrounded have been converted into promenades and vineyards. The beautiful Gothic cathedral (1122-1513) has a western steeple, 381 feet high. The university (1455) has 106 professors and teachers and over 800 students. The chief manufactures are sewing silk, cotton and thread, buttons, artificial beads, chicory, paper, parquetry, etc. Population, over 61,500, of whom more than one-half are Protestants. Founded in 1091 by the Duke of Zahringen, and created a town in 1115, Freiburg has repeatedly changed masters; twice it was given over to France (1679-97 and 1744-48). In 1806 it fell to Baden ; and in 1848 the Baden revolutionists were defeated here by the troops of the German confederation.

Freising

Freising, a town of Bavaria, on the Isar, 22 miles NNE. of Munich by rail. It has a beautiful cathedral (1160) and a former episcopal palace (now a theological seminary); whilst close by is a Benedictine abbey (725-1803), now a royal model-farm. Pop. 9550.

Freistadtl

Freistadtl (Hung. Galgocz), a market-town of Hungary, 40 miles NE. of Presburg by rail, on the Waag, opposite the fortress and prison of Leopoldstadt. Pop. 8409.

Frejus

Frejus (Frd-zhiis; anc. Forum Julii), a town in the French dep. of Var, a mile inland from the Mediterranean, and 22 miles SW. of Cannes by rail. The birthplace of Agricola, it has traces of a lighthouse, walls, an amphitheatre (restored 1869), and other Roman remains. The old harbour, in which Augustus stationed the 300 galleys captured at Actium, is silted up. Here, or rather at the new harbour of St Raphael, 1J mile off, Napoleon landed on his return from Egypt in 1799, and embarked for Elba in 1814. Pop. 4634.