Freilassing

• Type — Stadt • State — Bayern • Region — Oberbayern • District — Berchtesgadener Land • Elevation — 423 • Area — 14.81 • Postal Code — 83395 • Area Code — 08654 • Licence — BGL • Gemeindeschlussel — 09 1 72 118 • Website — www.freilassing.de • Mayor — Markus Hiebl • Leader Term — 2020–26

As proved by excavations, the area was already settled in the Neolithic times. Celts and later Romans established permanent settlements. First mentioned in 885 in a Carolingian document, the peasant village named Salzburghofen was given to the archbishop of Salzburg by King Louis IV in 908. After the Napoleonic Wars in 1816, the border between Bavaria and Austria was drawn along the rivers Saalach and Salzach, and Salzburghofen became part of Bavaria. The railway line connecting Munich and Salzburg (and further on to Vienna) changed the appearance of the village significantly. First, the railway company paid good prices for the land of the farmers. Second, many jobs were created, more than 1,000 in the 1970s. In 1923, the name of the village was changed to Freilassing. Since the railway was of strategic interest and was also used by top Nazis on their way to Berchtesgaden during the war, Freilassing became a target for the Allied forces. In addition, a depot of the Wehrmacht (the German army) was situated close to the station. On April 25, 1945, only a few days before the end of World War II, British and American bombers destroyed Freilassing almost completely. Due to the expulsion of many Germans from the eastern territories, the population of Freilassing grew and reached 7,700 in 1952. Thus, Freilassing became "Stadt" (city) in 1954. Since then, the population has doubled.

Freilassing is located in the valley of the rivers Salzach and Saalach, which merge close to the northern part of the town. To the south and the east, the Alps rise to altitudes of more than 2,000 m. To the north and west, rolling hills dominate the landscape.

Cattle farming and timber industry were major economic branches before the railroad era. The railway has dominated the economy for a long time since the construction of the Munich–Salzburg line in 1860. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the DB (German railways) gradually centralised their organisation. Hence, the importance of the railway as an employer diminished. Several small and midsize companies, especially in mechanical engineering, provide jobs.

• Illustration — Freilassing station Trains stop at Freilassing Station.

• Florian Grassl (born 1980), skeleton pilot • Fritz Schmidt (engineer) (1900–1982), aviation engineer and university professor • Hans Schaidinger (born 1949), former mayor of Regensburg • Katharina Trost, athlete

• Illustration — Stadtmuseum • Illustration — Friedenslinde • Illustration — Fountain • Illustration — From the air • Illustration — Church • Illustration — Untereichet • Illustration — Hotel • Illustration — Gasthof • Illustration — Railway bridge