Schwabentor

The Schwabentor Gate is part of the city's medieval defensive wall. The gate tower was built around 1250 and originally opened towards the inner city and was only surrounded by a stone wall in 1547. Matthias Schwäri painted in 1572 a merchant with a cart on the inner wall. This image gave rise in the 19th century to a legend about a Swabian man who came to Freiburg with two barrels full of gold to buy the city. People made fun of him, especially after it was revealed that the barrels contained only sand and gravel. Legend has it that before he left his wife had secretly exchanged the gold for a worthless filling.