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 Iith century . In 1211 it became a free imperial city, but in 1349 was pledged to the counts of Schwarz-burg, and subsequently often changed hands, eventually in 1802 passing to Ilesse-Darmstadt . See Dieffenbach, Geschichte der Stadt and Burg Friedberg (Darms., 1857) .