Monastery garden of the Charterhouse Freiburg

The monastery garden of the Charterhouse Freiburg is a structured garden with sections for medicinal herbs, vegetables, and fruit trees arranged in geometric patterns within stone-walled areas. The layout shows how monks systematically cultivated plants while integrating cultivation with their daily routines.

The Charterhouse was founded in 1278 by Count Egino II and developed between Salzstraße and the city walls as a monastic center. The site has shaped the area since that time and demonstrates continuous monastic use through to the present day.

The garden reflects medieval monastic traditions of plant cultivation, combining food production with spiritual contemplation in a structured environment.

The garden is open from April through October and can be visited independently, with guided tours available on weekends through the monastery office. It is helpful to wear sturdy shoes since paths between the beds are sometimes uneven.

The garden retains original irrigation channels from medieval times that demonstrate the water management system of the Carthusians. Some of these underground and surface channels remain partly functional and offer insight into the technical skills of the monks.