Discover Freilassing

Freilassing combines its history as a railway station with museums, a weekly market and paths along the Saalach. The town is centrally located with convenient transport links, right on the doorstep of Salzburg, a city of trade fairs and world culture, amid the picturesque mountain scenery of Upper Bavaria. You’ll find attractions to suit a range of interests, from railway history, art and architecture to outdoor activities.

Railway and Town History

When the Munich–Salzburg railway line was built, Freilassing became a railway station in 1860 on an important European transport route along the border with the then Austrian Empire. You can explore this history from different perspectives at Lokwelt Freilassing and the Town Museum. Lokwelt includes a lovingly restored roundhouse and offers insights into 150 years of railway history. Built between 1902 and 1905, the roundhouse is considered an important industrial heritage monument.

The Freilassing Town Museum is divided into five sections: prehistory and early history, the town’s development, Freilassing as a border town, railways and the economy. A special exhibit is a reconstructed grave containing a young Bavarian woman who lived here around 1,500 years ago. The association that runs the museum and received the City of Freilassing’s Cultural Promotion Award in 1998 organizes three special exhibitions each year on different topics. The annual programme may change, so check what is currently on offer before your visit.

The town gallery offers a different perspective. Located on the ground floor of the Old Fire Station on Hermann-Ober-Platz, it presents various exhibitions by regional artists throughout the year. At St. Mary’s Church, the focus is on the early Neoclassical high altar, made from multicoloured Untersberg marble. It was designed by Wolfgang Hagenauer and created in 1775/76. The town museum, gallery and church offer different ways to explore history, art and design.

Cycling and Walking

The easy Freilassing circular cycling route starts at the railway station, heads into town, takes in Lokwelt Freilassing and runs partly along the Saalach before returning to the station. Town history and river scenery are thus part of the same route. The starting and finishing point is clear: the trail returns to Freilassing railway station.

At the Badylon sports and leisure complex, the outdoor area has a covered climbing wall run by the German Alpine Club, with a height of up to nine metres. If you’d rather focus on the landscape and river, the Saalach floodplain is nearby: a green corridor around seven kilometres long along the border river Saalach. Its approximate length and location in the surrounding area offer a distinct contrast to the town.

Weekly Market and Regional Perspectives

The Freilassing weekly market, also known as the Grünmarkt, takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Hauptstraße and the pedestrian zone. Check dates and times before your trip. Alongside the museums and cycling route, the market gives you another specific reason to discover the town beyond its railway history.

The wider Berchtesgadener Land destination offers a different landscape setting from town life in Freilassing. It stretches from the gently rolling Rupertiwinkel in the north to Berchtesgaden National Park on the border with Austria; in the south, the region is shaped by high alpine mountain scenery and the natural surroundings of Lake Königssee. The national park has a network of 260 kilometres of hiking trails and alpine paths. The panoramic trail around Haus der Berge brings the natural habitats of water, forest, alpine pasture and rock to life, with views of Watzmann, Hochkalter and Jenner.

You can choose your destination based on the experiences you’d like to focus on.

Discover more destinations: Bayerisch Gmain, Saaldorf-Surheim, Schönau am Königssee, Weißbach an der Alpenstraße, Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, Berchtesgaden, Bischofswiesen, Marktschellenberg.

View the wider travel overview: Berchtesgadener Land.