Fribourg

City in west Switzerland, capital of the canton of Fribourg, on a loop of the Sarine River about 30 km/19 mi southwest of Bern; population (2000) 35,500. It is renowned for its food products, especially the cheese of the Gruyère district and chocolate. Other industries include breweries, metal-working, and chemicals.

It is the seat of a bishopric and the centre for Swiss Catholicism. The main building is the Gothic cathedral of St Nicholas with a famous organ of 7,900 pipes. There are many other notable churches, a 16th-century town hall, and the Catholic state university founded in 1889. The medieval part of the city lies high above the river.

Fribourg

Canton in southwest Switzerland, bordering Lake Neuchâtel; area 1,670 sq km/645 sq mi; population (1999 est) 234,300. It lies in the foothills of the Alps, the highest point being 2,395 m/7,858 ft. The chief rivers in the canton are La Broye and La Sarine. Gruyère cheese is made in Fribourg, its capital.

Fribourg is on the French–German linguistic frontier of Switzerland; two-thirds of its inhabitants speak French and they are almost entirely Roman Catholic. Fribourg is essentially a rural canton; market gardening and fruit farming are important in the north, whereas industry is mainly concentrated in the city of Fribourg. Tourism is also highly developed.