FRIEDBERG, the name of two towns in Germany.
1. A small town in Upper Bavaria, with an old castle, known mainly as the scene of Moreau’s victory of the 24th of August 1796 over the Austrians.
2. Friedberg in der Wetterau, in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, on an eminence above the Usa, 14 m. N. of Frankfort-on-Main, on the railway to Cassel and at the junction of a line to Hanau. Pop. (1905) 7702. It is a picturesque town, still surrounded by old walls and towers, and contains many medieval buildings, of which the beautiful Gothic town church (Evangelical) and the old castle are especially noteworthy. The grand-ducal palace has a beautiful garden. The schools include technical and agricultural academies and a teachers’ seminary. It has manufactures of sugar, gloves and leather, and breweries. Friedberg is of Roman origin, but is first mentioned as a town in the 11th century. In 1211 it became a free imperial city, but in 1349 was pledged to the counts of Schwarzburg, and subsequently often changed hands, eventually in 1802 passing to Hesse-Darmstadt.
See Dieffenbach, Geschichte der Stadt und Burg Friedberg (Darms., 1857).