It might be a good idea to adventure beyond Munich´s city limits towards one of the S-Bahn end stations: Freising offers a vibrant mix of history, culture and student life.
Every end station of an S-Bahn or U-Bahn line has some kind of mythological significance. They are places you have heard about, but nobody around you seems to have been to them. They become just markers, reference points.
I have the privilege to study in such a place: Freising. I commute every day to this city to attend classes at the Life Science Campus at TUM. When I say this to fellow Munuch inhabitants, they look at me with compassion. They have heard about the city, this ethereal monument serving as the end of the S1 line. They imagine me waking up every morning, dreading an eternal ride in an overfilled and most likely late S-Bahn towards a Kuhdorf, a one-horse town at the end of the line. They couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Historical Freising: Echoes from a powerful past
For one, Freising is sort of Munich’s mother. Since its foundation in the 8th, Freising has been the seat of a Bishopric, an office that held strong political power in medieval Germany. Besides, its location between the salt mines in Salzburg and the richer German cities in Swabia allowed it to profit from this trade, instituting a salt tax for the ware to cross the Isar River. In the 10th century, the monks (Mönchen in German — see a pattern?) identified a better crossing in the river some 30 km upstream and decided to set up a taxing station there. The location proved advantageous and Freising enjoyed the fruits of the blossoming salt trade. Henry the Lion, a Bavarian Duke embroiled in a power struggle with the Archbishopric, saw Freising´s salt tax income with envy. In 1158, he burned the monks´ trading post down and founded a new one nearby. This trading post, München, soon overtook Freising to become the dominant city in the area.
The ecclesiastical heritage is still very much identifiable in Freising. The city is dominated by the Domberg, a hill almost completely covered by churches and monasteries. A highlight is the Dedicated to Saint Mary and Corbinian, impressive frescoes and a great altarpiece decorate its interior. And for us students, the best part is that entry is free.
Bib and Beer: TUM´s campus at Weihenstephan
If you are not that interested in a cultural sortie, may I entice you with something more festive? Perhaps beer? The same monks who founded Munich are also responsible for the old Bavarian brewing tradition. If you climb Weihenstephan hill, you will find an eponymous brewery embedded in an old monastery. Founded in 1040, it is the world’s oldest. So get a Maß, a Brezn with some Obazda, and if you’re still hungry, some Schweinehaxn. Prost.
Directly below this last hill is TUM’s Life Sciences campus. But why so far from Munich? In the 19th century, the biochemical processes behind brewing began to be understood. The monastery started offering brewing courses, which then grew to encompass agricultural sciences. Over time, these courses were incorporated into TUM’s structure and became the current School for Life Sciences. As its focus subject might lead you to expect, the campus is integrated into nature, which makes it, in my opinion, the nicest in the university.
So do visit if you’re in Munich. And if you don’t want to take the S-Bahn all the way to the last station, there’s a regional train connection — only 23 minutes from Munich’s main station to Freising.