Being in contact with the green economy: is what attracts thousands of people that every year visit Freiburg.
In the last years, near the different types of traditional tourism a new form of tourism has been developed: the sustainable tourism. And Freiburg is the proof.
Discovering the beauty of this small city into the hearth of the Black Forest (Baden Württemberg, Germany) that in the last years has become the first example of sustainable tourism.
Sustainable tourism
Today, the term sustainable tourism relates to the set of practices and choices that do not damage the environment and improve the economical and durable development, without damaging the local and social processes but contributing for the improvement of the quality of life of the citizens. The sustainable tourism is a different way of traveling asking a particular attention for the choices taken during the holidays such as for example the transportation and the accommodation. In some cases, sustainability is the motivation to undertake a trip: what we call sustainable tourism. This is exactly the case of Freiburg, a small city in the south part of Germany, that starting from the 90’ has begun to create a project with the aim to transform the city into a sustainable one.
The sustainable city
The first step for creating a sustainable city was the realization and construction of the green buildings with a low environmental impact and with the introduction since 2011 of a standard of passive house for the residential buildings. Thanks to the thermal insulation, the buildings in Freiburg are able to save a huge amount of energy requested to heat and cool the internal environment. This is possible only thanks to the insulation, without any conventional heating.
But not only, the project includes an urban mobility plan to improve the quality of the life and the welfare of the citizens without compromising the development of the city. The principal public transport is the bicycle. The city counts today only 500 km of bike lane, and more than 200 thousands of bicycles, the double of the quality of the autos circulating in Freiburg.
Finally, the area of the city known as Village Solar uses the 1800 sunny hours per year to generate energy thanks to the use of 1800 solar panel, producing more than 4 times the energy that consumes. This is the most important solar energy project of Europe.
The eco villages of Freiburg
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- Vauban District – picture of Frank via Flickr
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- Weingarten district – picture of Jörg via Flickr
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- University library – picture of Thomas Meinersmann via Flickr
But it is not finished. Here in Freiburg three authentic eco areas have been built.
The Vauban area, projected by the German architect Rolf Disch is the model for the urban development planning and it has been developed thanks to the environmental awareness and to the citizens participation becoming the symbol of the sustainable city and of the hight quality of the life.
Weingarten, an old district of the ’60, that has been requalified realizing “Buggi 50”, the highest restored building with a passive standard in the world.
Rieselfeld is an eco-friendly district with a high population density but in contact with the nature, that uses the removable energy. All the houses are equipped with solar panels that produce more energy of what they consumes.
Freiburg the perfect destination for the green tourism
Thanks to this innovative and eco-friendly choices, Freiburg is become one of the principal destinations for the sustainable tourism in Europe, that attracts every year thousands of travelers. Here the tourists arrives to have a contact with the green economy. Entrepreneurs, politicians, students and citizens interested for the ecology are the first visitors of the environmental German capital, attracted by the stadium entirely covered with photovoltaic panels, the pedestrians city center, the Vauban district, besides the several workshops and lectures on the ecological subjects.
Certainly, the interest for this new typology of sustainable tourism is growing and Freiburg represents a model to follow.
If you are interested for the ecological themes and you want to plan a trip to Freiburg, then have a look to our green guide!