Freising is celebrating - celebrate with us!

The city of Freising is celebrating a very special anniversary in 2024: the arrival of St Corbinian in Freising. The Prince-Bishop of Freising, Johann Franz Eckher von Kapfing und Liechteneck, decided on the year 724 - and had the Cathedral of St Mary redesigned by the brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam as a "festive gift" in 1724. The anniversary was then celebrated again in 1824 and 1924.

This year, the city and the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising are celebrating the great Corbinian jubilee, which is both a diocesan and a city festival. Because there is another important aspect for the city: when Corbinian came here, Freising already existed. "1300 years of Corbinian in Freising" therefore also means "1300 years of Freising", which thus establishes its status as one of the oldest towns in Bavaria.

The jubilee year in honour of the wandering bishop was officially opened on 16 March 2024 with the unveiling of an art installation on Marienplatz, which refers to the arrival of Saint Corbinian 1300 years ago.

Corbinian's places of activity on the Domberg and Weihenstephaner Berg are now a natural part of the city. His reliquary in the crypt of Freising Cathedral (currently still in the Johann Nepumuk Chapel due to the crypt renovation) can be visited daily. Freising commemorates this special person, Bishop Corbinian, and his significance for the church and the city with a wide range of events.

The varied programme of events for the "1300 years of Corbinian in Freising" celebrations was jointly organised by citizens, associations and institutions. The European idea - very much in the spirit of the city's patron saint - is also upheld with a programme of events organised by Freising's partner municipalities. Together they invite you to enjoy an entertaining cultural programme and an interesting exchange across borders.

The anniversary cultural programme is available at the tourist information office and can also be downloaded here as a PDF file (only available in German).

We also provide information about the anniversary year and the historical background on a separate web portal at https://www.korbinian2024.de (only available in German). 

The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising is celebrating the anniversary year under the motto "Living faith" and provides information about the diocese's anniversary on a website at https://korbinian-in-freising.de (only available in German).  You can also download the diocesan programme for the Korbinian Year here (only available in German).

Exhibitions, concerts, readings, guided tours, storytelling evenings, culinary and musical greetings from Freising's twin towns, a large parade and much more: the programme of events in the anniversary year is extensive and varied. There will be more than 50 programme items. Companies are also contributing special products, for example the Weihenstephan state brewery has brewed an anniversary beer and Chocolaterie & Pâtisserie Muschler is creating Corbinian chocolates and cakes.

The Corbinian's guided tours offered by the tourist information centre can be found here (please note: only German guides):

- for individual guests you can choose from two different tours on specific dates.
- for groups we offer the interesting guided tour "St. Korbinian in Freising".

Would you like to explore the most important places yourself? We have published the new city walk "In the footsteps of St Korbinian". The handy folding map takes you up the Domberg, through the city centre and up the Weihenstephaner Berg. Interesting and surprising facts about Bishop Korbinian accompany you on this circular route. You can obtain the folding map from the tourist information office or download it here (only available in German).

Den Faltplan erhalten Sie in der Touristinformation oder hier zum Download.

Another highlight in the anniversary year: the Bavarian State Exhibition 2024 "Tassilo, Corbinian and the Bear - Bavaria in the Early Middle Ages" is coming to Freising and will be presented in the Freising Diocesan Museum from 7 May to 3 November 2024.

A ruler with sword and sceptre, a saint who tames a wild bear ... this is not the stuff of a Hollywood film, but pure Bavarian history. Tassilo, Corbinian and the bear take us back to the early Middle Ages in the Bavarian State Exhibition 2024! The history of the diocese of Freising began with the arrival of the missionary bishop Corbinian in 724. To mark the 1300th anniversary of the diocese, we tell you about the beginnings of the church in Bavaria and the splendour of the Agilolfing dukes. They had called Corbinian and ruled over a land that at times stretched as far as South Tyrol, Upper Austria, Carinthia and Slovenia. A powerful kingdom of the Bavarians was within their grasp. Let yourself be captivated by the treasure and fate of Duke Tassilo III, who could rival the Frankish King Charlemagne.
(Organiser: House of Bavarian History and Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, click here for a preview of the exhibition - German website)

The state exhibition will be accompanied by a special exhibition entitled "724 Men, Power, Stories" organised by the Diocesan Museum and the Freising Cathedral Church Foundation. This is thematically dedicated to the interplay between spiritual and secular power. State rooms within the so-called "cathedral district" are made accessible.

Further information is also available on the website of the Freising Diocesan Museum at https://www.dimu-freising.de (German website).

Various souvenirs, which we have available for you at the tourist information office, offer a lasting memory of the Korbinian Year: from attractive paper bags and beer mats to the valuable Corbinian coins.

In honour of Corbinian, Sparkasse Freising Moosburg has had a commemorative coin minted with a historical image of the bishop in gold, silver and bronze. You can obtain the medal at the Sparkasse office (Untere Hauptstraße 29) and at the Freising tourist information office (only the copper version).

The Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan has brewed a tasty festival beer for the anniversary year in memory of Corbinian on Weihenstephan Hill. The anniversary beer comes into the glass as if freshly "wound" from the lager tank: naturally cloudy and wonderfully refreshing. The anniversary beer is available in the region in and around Freising in selected beverage markets until the end of 2024.

The Leitner family's Wachau winery still manages the former "Freisinger Hof" of the Prince-Bishop of Freising. The winegrower is offering two celebratory wines for the Corbinian Year: a white "Grüner Veltliner" and a red "Blauer Zweigelt". We will inform you here as soon as the wines are available for purchase.

The Freising Historical Society is republishing Bishop Arbeo's "Vita Corbiniani" for the feast year. The successor to Corbinian as Bishop of Freising wrote the life story of the saint around 768 and was still able to draw on stories from people who had known Corbinian personally. Arbeo described miracle legends such as the taming of the bear, but also Corbinian's very human traits: his outbursts of anger, his gruff demeanour, his enjoyment of noble horses and beautiful clothes. Bishop Arbeo of Freising marks the beginning of historiography in Bavaria and thus the history of literature in general. In his "vita sancti Corbiniani", he describes the life and work of St Corbinian, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

These notes, first published in 1983, were out of print - the Historical Society had the book reprinted for the Korbinian anniversary. It can be ordered via info＠historischer-verein-freising.de or in bookshops (ISBN 978-3-7954-3326-0) and is available at a price of 30 euros.

The "Vita Corbiniani" has also been published as an audio book. The audio version is available on the website of the Historical Society at https://historischer-verein-freising.de/vita-corbiniani. The audio version can be ordered as a booklet with two CDs for 10 euros at info＠historischer-verein-freising.de and is also available in bookshops (ISBN 978-3-9824008-1-5).