Its position separated the Habsburg and Bohemian lands, and it stood at crossroads of the valuable salt and iron trade route, which had operated from prehistoric times through the Middle Ages.

The outer and inner walls, towers and gates of the old city, built mainly between 1363 and 1393, still exist today.

Following the Anschluss with Germany on 13 March 1938, the locality was part of Gau Oberdonau but in 1945 was restored to Bundesland Upper Austria.

The spacious Hauptplatz (main square) is surrounded by painted fronts of renovated burghers' houses.

At the northeastern corner of the square a gateway leads to the 14th century Schloss Freistadt, with a 50m/165 ft high keep which now houses the Mühlviertler Schlossmuseum, a local museum with a large collection of verre églomisé (glass decorated with a layer of engraved gold).