The Cathedral of St Mary and St Corbinian stands on the Domberg, the long ridge above the old town, and has dominated Freising since the 11th century. The present building is largely Baroque — remodelled by the Asam brothers in the 1720s — but beneath the light, confident Baroque interior lies a Romanesque core. The crypt, entered from the south aisle, is one of the finest in Bavaria: a forest of painted columns supporting low vaulted ceilings, dating from 1159.
The cathedral's interior is the real draw. The Asam brothers' transformation gave it a white and gold theatricality typical of Bavarian Baroque, with illusionistic ceiling frescoes and an ebullient high altar. But the building never loses its sense of age — the walls are thick, the proportions Romanesque, and descending into the crypt brings you back a thousand years without ceremony. Entry is free.