Фрибург: Политический и административный центр двуязычной Швейцарии.

Fribourg (fʁibuʁ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and district of La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, administrative and educational centre on the cultural border between German speaking and French speaking Switzerland. Its Old City, one of the best maintained in Switzerland, sits on a small rocky hill above the valley of the Sarine. In 2018, it had a population of 38,365.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a Castle embattled and towered on dexter issuant from a Semi Annulet all Argent. The canton and the capital share the same name but have different coats of arms.

The General Council (, link=no), the city parliament, holds legislative power. It is made up of 80 members, with elections held every five years. The General Council decrees regulations and by laws that are executed by the Municipal Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of proportional representation. The sessions of the General Council are public. Unlike members of the Municipal Council, members of the General Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Fribourg allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the General Council. Due to the constitution by canton of Fribourg not only Swiss citizen have the right to vote and elect and being elected on communal level, but also foreigners with a residence permit of type C and being resident in the canton of Fribourg for at least 5 years. The last regular election of the General Council was held on 7 March 2021 for the mandate period (la législature) from 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2026. Currently the General Council consist of 23 ( 7) members of the Social Democratic Party (PS/SP), 21 (+13) Green Party (PES/GPS), 1 ( 1) Christian Democratic People's Party (PDC/CVP), 8 ( 2) The Liberals (PLR/FDP), 7 (+2) Centre Gauche (PCS/CSP), 6 ( 2) Swiss People's Party (UDC/SVP), and one ( ) for parti des artistes (PA/KP), giving the left parties a very strong absolute majority.

In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS/SP which received 29.4% ( 6.8) of the vote. The next four most popular parties were the Green Party 20.9% (+11.0), the PDC/CVP 15.5% ( 7.0), the UDC/SVP 9.7% ( 4.1), and the FDP/PLR 9.1% (+0.4). In the federal election, a total of 9,426 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 46.6%. In the 2015 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS/SP which received 36.3% of the vote. The next four most popular parties were the PDC/CVP (22.5%), the UDC/SVP (13.8%), the Green Party (9.8%), and the FDP/PLR (8.7%). In the federal election, a total of 9.795 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 48.4%.

From the 2000 census, 24,614 or 69.2% were Roman Catholic, while 2,763 or 7.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 443 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.25% of the population), there were 13 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 668 individuals (or about 1.88% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 62 individuals (or about 0.17% of the population) who were Jewish, and 1,676 (or about 4.71% of the population) who were Muslim. There were 161 individuals who were Buddhist, 71 individuals who were Hindu and 43 individuals who belonged to another church. 2,843 (or about 8.00% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 2,509 individuals (or about 7.06% of the population) did not answer the question. Fribourg has more jobs than laborers, and is therefore a large commuter destination for the largely agricultural surrounding area. Local industry includes food and luxury products, drinks (the breweries are owned by the Danish firm Carlsberg), metal and machine construction, electronics, and computer technology. The largest number of workers are active in the service industries. Many of these work in government administrative positions. Other important sectors are education (at the university), banks and insurance companies, tourism and restaurants, as well as health services. Fribourg is home to the administrative offices of several international companies. The Cantonal hospital is on the border with Villars sur Glâne. In 2000, there were 16,572 workers who commuted into the municipality and 6,505 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.5 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 35% used public transportation to get to work, and 37.8% used a private car. In Fribourg about 11,649 or (32.8%) of the population have completed non mandatory upper secondary education, and 5,671 or (16.0%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 5,671 who completed tertiary schooling, 47.7% were Swiss men, 31.2% were Swiss women, 12.4% were non Swiss men and 8.7% were non Swiss women. During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 14,170 students attending 974 classes in Fribourg. A total of 4,966 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There were 25 kindergarten classes with a total of 385 students in the municipality. The municipality had 117 primary classes and 2,037 students. During the same year, there were 117 lower secondary classes with a total of 2,313 students. There were 470 vocational upper Secondary classes and were 186 upper Secondary classes, with 4,012 upper Secondary students and 4,840 vocational upper Secondary students The municipality had 46 specialized Tertiary classes and were 13 non university Tertiary classes, with 273 non university Tertiary students and 310 specialized Tertiary students. From 1897 to 1965 in Fribourg there was a long tram network in operation, with the trams replaced from 1949 with the Fribourg trolleybus system. The current bus network is now operated by the Transports publics fribourgeois, with connections to Bulle, Avenches, Schmitten, Schwarzenburg and in the tourist region Schwarzsee.

The regional Bern Belp Airport is an hour away from the area.

Fribourg is a day trip destination for tourists who want to visit the sights of the city. These include the historic Old City with its Gothic Cathedral of Saint Nicholas renowned for its stained glass windows designed by Józef Mehoffer, and the museums. The Natural History Museum was founded in 1873, and is now located in the natural sciences building at the university. The Museum of Art and History, located in the Ratzéhof since 1920, has exhibits on ancient and early history, sculpture and paintings, traditional tin figures, arts and crafts, as well as money and graphic collections. In the cathedral, a treasure chamber has been on display since 1992. Other museums include the Swiss Museum of Marionnettes, the Swiss Sewing Machine Museum, the Gutenberg Museum, the Bible and Orient Museum and a beer museum. Cultural experiences include the festival of religious music, the international folklore convention, the jazz parade, an international film festival and Cinéplus (since 1972). Like its sister city Bern, Fribourg has preserved its medieval center as a whole that is now one of the largest in Europe. It is located on a spectacular peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the Saane/La Sarine. The architecture of the Old City date primarily from the Gothic period; it was built predominately before the 16th century. Most houses are built of the local molasse stone. Consisting of the neighborhoods Bourg, Auge and Neuveville, its old town is rich in fountains and churches dating from the 12th century until the 17th century. Its cathedral, reaching in height, was built between 1283 and 1490. The fortifications of Fribourg form the most important medieval military architecture of Switzerland: of ramparts, 14 towers and one big bulwark. The protections are especially well preserved east and south of the city.

The most popular sport club in the town is the ice hockey club HC Fribourg Gottéron, which plays in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 8,934 seat BCF Arena. Established in 1937, it has never won a Swiss championship, but has been runner up five times. Basketball is played by Fribourg Olympic, which plays its home games at the 3,500 capacity gym of the Holy Cross College. The club has been successful, winning 13 championships (1966, '71, '73, '74, '78, '79, '81, '82, '85, '91, '92, '98, '99 and 2007), six Swiss Cups (1967, '76, '78, '97, '98 and 2007) and one League Cup in 2007. The football club FC Fribourg plays in the 2. Liga Interregional, the fifth tier of Swiss Football. Since 1933, on the first Sunday in October, a race from Murten to Fribourg, the "Murtenlauf" (Murten Run), is held to commemorate the Battle of Murten. The 17 mile (27 km) race is one of the most popular fun runs in Switzerland.