town

Freistadt

The Braucommune Freistadt is a brewery that has been owned collectively by the town's citizens since 1770, one of the oldest surviving community-owned breweries in the world, and the beer it produces is still sold primarily in the town and region.

Freistadt is one of Upper Austria’s best-preserved medieval towns, with intact town walls, a double gateway, and a Hauptplatz surrounded by Gothic and Renaissance facades. The Braucommune Freistadt, a brewery collectively owned by the town’s citizens since 1770, is both the town’s cultural centerpiece and one of the world’s oldest surviving community breweries. The beer is excellent and sold primarily locally. The town is in the Mühlviertel north of the Danube, about 40 minutes from Linz by car, and pairs naturally with the Czech border region and Český Krumlov for travelers exploring this less-visited corner of Upper Austria.