Freilassing combines a distinctive railway history with a range of cultural themes: the city museum’s departments cover everything from prehistory and early history to the economy, while Lokwelt focuses on railway history. For planning your visit, a leisurely circular cycling route, the weekly market and the nearby Saalach floodplain also offer different points of interest. The city enjoys excellent transport connections, situated just outside Salzburg, a city of trade fairs and world culture, amid the mountain scenery of Upper Bavaria.
History between the railway and the city museum
The construction of the Munich–Salzburg railway line made Freilassing a station on an important European transport link at the border with the Austrian Empire in 1860. The city museum provides further context on the city’s history. Its five departments are devoted to prehistory and early history, the development of the town, Freilassing as a border town, the railway and the economy. This brings early history, the town’s development and its role as a border town together.
A display grave features a young Bavarian woman who lived here about 1,500 years ago. The association that runs the city museum and received the City of Freilassing’s Cultural Promotion Award in 1998 holds three special exhibitions each year on a range of subjects. As the programme may be revised by the operator, check which special exhibitions are currently scheduled before your visit.
Art and railway heritage
The Freilassing City Gallery is on the ground floor of the Old Fire Station at Hermann-Ober-Platz and hosts various exhibitions by regional artists throughout the year. In St. Mary’s Church, an early Neoclassical high altar made of multicoloured Untersberg marble offers a different focal point: it was designed by Wolfgang Hagenauer and created in 1775/76. Here, changing exhibitions of regional art meet a sacred artwork with a precise date.
Lokwelt Freilassing comprises a lovingly restored roundhouse and presents 150 years of railway history. The roundhouse was built between 1902 and 1905 and is an important industrial heritage monument. Together with the station dating from 1860, these represent two distinct milestones: the development of the Munich–Salzburg railway line and the later construction of the roundhouse.
Getting around Freilassing
The Freilassing circular cycling route is described as easy. It starts at the railway station, leads into the city and includes Lokwelt Freilassing. In places, the route follows the Saalach before returning to the station. It thus links parts of the city and the railway theme with stretches along the river.
In the outdoor area of the Badylon sports and leisure complex, there is a covered climbing wall run by the German Alpine Club, with a wall height of up to nine metres. It offers a different kind of sporting activity from the cycling route, which passes through the city and surrounding area.
The weekly market, also called the Grünmarkt, takes place every Wednesday and Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Hauptstraße, in the pedestrian zone. Check the dates and opening times before travelling so you can plan your visit to the market for the right time.
Nearby is the Saalach floodplain, a green corridor about seven kilometres long along the Saalach, the border river. This landscape adds a nearby riverside and green setting to the cultural attractions in the city.
Discover more destinations: Bayerisch Gmain, Ainring, Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, Piding, Schönau am Königssee, Anger, Berchtesgaden, Laufen.
Go to the overview of the region: Berchtesgadener Land.
