Sarine District (German: Saanebezirk, French: District de la Sarine) is one of the seven districts of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is largely French-speaking, with a German-speaking minority. Its territory is drained by the Sarine river (which gives it its name), and by its tributary, the Glâne. It has a population of 96,979 (as of 31 December 2011).
Fribourg (French pronunciation: [fʁibuʁ]; Arpitan: Fribôrg/Friboua, IPA: [fʁibwa] ( listen); German: Freiburg or Freiburg im Üechtland, Swiss German pronunciation: [ˈfribʊrg]; Italian: Friburgo or Friborgo) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland (Romandy). Its Old City, one of the best maintained in Switzerland, sits on a small rocky hill above the valley of the Sarine.