From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area. Parts of the Breisgau are also situated in the political districts of Freiburg im Breisgau and of Emmendingen.

Contents 1 History 2 Borders and area 3 Climate 4 Agriculture 5 Places in the Breisgau

In earlier times the Breisgau was known as Breisachgau, meaning the shire around the town of Breisach on the right bank of the Rhine.

The earliest historically attested inhabitants were Celtic tribes. In Roman times, the area was part of the province of Germania superior. After the fall of the limes in 260, the area was settled by the Alemanni. In the 12th century, Freiburg was founded by the counts of Zähringen. Until 1797, the area was part of the Vorlande, the area in southwest Germany ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs, but the Breisgau, along with the rest of the Vorlande, was then ceded by them to the former Duke of Modena, a relation, as compensation for his loss of his hereditary lands to the French-created Cisalpine Republic. In 1805, by the Treaty of Pressburg, the area was ceded to the Grand Duchy of Baden.

The Breisgau includes the flat area around river Rhine, the foothills of the Black Forest and the western faces of the southern Black Forest mountains and the Kaiserstuhl hills.

In the south the Breisgau borders onto the Markgräflerland, in the west onto the Sundgau (Alsace, France), in the east onto the Black Forest and in the north onto the Ortenau area.

The climate of the Breisgau is warm; in fact, it is the warmest region in Germany. The average annual temperature is 11 degrees Celsius, the average rainfall is 900 mm.

The Breisgau is known for its wine and used for fruit tree orchards and grain.

The by far biggest town in the Breisgau region is Freiburg. Other known places are Bad Krozingen, Staufen, Breisach, Endingen, Kenzingen, Neuenburg and Emmendingen.

A noted mountain is the Schauinsland with 1200 m.