Freiburg im Breisgau Travel Forum

Field burning in the autumn.
Posted: Mon April 6, 2009 12:16 AM UTC

Hi:

We are planning to visit switzerland and southern germany in early september. In a past visit to southern france the field and vineyard burning was terrible. My wife has asthma so it is more than a inconvenience. I am wondering what the Freiburg situation is for field / vineyard burning in september. I know it cannot be ruled out, but is it common, continuous, smokey conditions in general at that time of the year. Surrounding areas the same?
thanks in advance for any info.
Bob

rfrlin

7 replies

[Reply]

Re: Field burning in the autumn.
Posted: Mon April 6, 2009 12:31 AM UTC

I have been to Freiburg a couple of times including fall and never witnessed anything that came close to field or vineyard burning. First off, I heard of those burnings in spring to protect the berries from the cold and possibly from some vermins, but never in september.

More importantly, those fires are prohibited due to environmental reasons. Same goes for France.

Could it be that your previous trip dates back some time and/or that the fire was unintentional?

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Turtleshell

[Reply]

Re: Field burning in the autumn.
Posted: Mon April 6, 2009 12:45 AM UTC

It was also my understanding vineyard burnings occurred in early springtime, primarily to kill off older, thicker vines and allow younger shoots (which produce sweeter grapes) to grow instead.

If it worries you, try to contact the Freiburg tourist office. You can find contact information at
http://www.freiburg.de/servlet/PB/menu/1143539_l2/index.html .

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travelfrosch

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Re: Field burning in the autumn.
Posted: Mon April 6, 2009 04:58 AM UTC

Open fires in fields have to lit in late winter/early spring or late autumn. During the time period in between they are not allowed because of the danger the fires are to birds breeding and other small animals.
Only in the extremely hot summer of 2003 have I experienced large fires, and these had not been started intentionally.

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christine.j

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Re: Field burning in the autumn.
Posted: Fri April 10, 2009 09:42 PM UTC

Thank you all very much for the information. I think Christine.j may have hit upon our past problem. We were in the Arles region in late November 2004, so that would qualify for the late autumn / winter timeframe for burning. It sounds like we should be just fine in mid October and should go for it. Thanks again to everyone.

Bob

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rfrlin

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Follow up
Posted: Fri April 10, 2009 10:12 PM UTC

We are actually planning on being in Europe from mid Sept to mid Oct and I am looking at adding the Freiburg area to either the beginning or end of the trip. Any recommendations on early sept or late october would be better for general sightseeing kind of things? Colors, events, weather, etc.??

thanks ahead of time for your thoughts.

Bob

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rfrlin

[Reply]

Re: Field burning in the autumn.
Posted: Fri April 10, 2009 10:18 PM UTC

"Golden October" is a fine time to be in this part of Germany (usually -- no guarantees! 8). For advice on what to do, I recommend you browse the VT travel guide, http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Germany/Land_Baden_Wuerttemberg/Freiburg_im_Breisgau-63182/TravelGuide-Freiburg_im_Breisgau.html .

The Travel Guide has dozens of tips already written by locals and frequent travelers on what to do, where to eat, where to stay, and how to travel in the Freiburg area.

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travelfrosch

[Reply]

Re: Field burning in the autumn.
Posted: Fri April 10, 2009 10:20 PM UTC

Freiburg is in the Black Forest, whose trees are mostly conifers, so there is no changing of the colour - if that's what you meant by "colour". September generally sees pretty good weather. I would arrange the sequence of the trip according to what you plan to do, put outdoor activities in the beginning and museums more in October. Of course, there is no guarantee, you may have rain in September and hot days in October this year.

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