Freising, city (1994 pop. 38,180), Bavaria, S Germany, on the Isar River. Manufactures include electrical machinery, textiles, chemicals, and brewing. Freising was founded in 724 by St. Corbinian, and its bishops held temporal power until the see was secularized in 1802-3. The diocese was restored in 1817, the archbishop of Munich being also bishop of Freising. The city has a Romanesque cathedral (c.1160), with 18th-century baroque additions, and is the site of one of the world's oldest breweries, licensed in 1146.

Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500. The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Franz Josef Strauß International Airport. Anyone starting or landing at Munich airport can see the city to the north with its two famous hills, the cathedral hill with the bishop's castle and the Freising cathedral and the Weihenstephan hill with the oldest brewery in the world.

Cultural significance

Freising is one of the oldest settlements in Bavaria, gaining importance by becoming a major religious center in the early middle ages. It was and still is the center of an important diocese. Some important historical documents have been created from 900 to 1200 in its monastery: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 Bayrische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian state library) in Munich today.

History

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 Frigisinga. Saint Corbinian settled at a shrine that already existed at Freising in 724. He was the forerunner of the diocese of Freising, established after his death by Saint Boniface. According to his Vita by Bishop Arbeo he ordered a bear to carry his luggage over the Alps after it had killed his packhorse. The saddled bear is still the symbol of the city, displayed in the coat of arms, though the seat of the diocese was moved to Munich in 1821. Freising has remained the seat of diocese administration until today.

764-783 Bishop Arbeo founded a library and scriptorium at the abbey. The settlement started to become a religious center.

In 996 Freising received city rights from Emperor Otto III. However, after the "(...) destruction of the episcopal bridge, custom houses, mint, and salt works near Oberföhring by Duke Henry the Lion, who transferred the custom houses and bridge site to the upper part of Oberföhring, placing them in the village of Munich on the Isar" (Lins, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913). In 1158, Freising started to lose its economic significance. In 1159 the romanesque cathedral was constructed (with a notable animal column in the crypt).

In the secularization of 1803, the Roman Catholic Church lost most of its properties and authority over the city.

Famous citizens

• Otto of Freising (1112 - 1158), bishop.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Ludwig Prandtl

External links

• Official Site
• http://www.dioezesanmuseum-freising.de
• Bavarian state library
• Pictures of Freising