Bamberg

Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the Regnitz River, close to its confluence with the Main River.

Sights

The Old Town of Bamberg is included in the UNESCO World Heritage, since it retained its medieval look. Some of the main sights are:

Related Topics:
UNESCO - World Heritage

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• Cathedral (1237), with the tombs of emperor Henry II and Pope Clement II
• Alte Hofhaltung, residence of the bishops in the 16th and 17th centuries
• Neue Residenz, residence of the bishops after the 17th century
• Old Town Hall (1386), built in the mid of the Regnitz River, accessible by two bridges
• Klein-Venedig ("Little Venice"), a colony of picturesque fishermen's houses along the Regnitz

Cathedral

The cathedral is a late Romanesque building with four imposing towers. It was founded in 1004 by the emperor Henry II, finished in 1012 and consecrated on May 6, 1012. It was later partially destroyed by fire in 1081. The new cathedral, built by St. Otto of Bamberg, was consecrated in 1111, and in the 13th century received its present late-Romanesque form.

Related Topics:
Cathedral - Romanesque - 1004 - 1012 - 1081 - Otto of Bamberg - 1111

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The cathedral is about 309 feet long, 92 feet broad, 85 feet high, and the four towers are each about 266 feet high. Of its many works of art may be mentioned the magnificent marble tomb of the founder and his wife, the empress Cunigunde, considered the masterpiece of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and carved between 1499 and 1513. Another treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue known as the Bamberger Reiter (Bamberger Rider). This statue, possible of the emperor Conrad III, most likely dates to approximately 1200.

Related Topics:
Tilman Riemenschneider - 1499 - 1513 - Conrad III

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Neue Residenz

The Neue Residenz (New Palace) (1698-1704) was initially occupied by the prince-bishops, and from 1864 to 1867 by the deposed King Otto of Greece.

Related Topics:
1698 - 1704 - 1864 - 1867 - Otto of Greece

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Other sights

Other noteworthy churches are the Jakobskirche, an 11th-century Romanesque basilica; the St Martinskirche; the Marienkirche or Obere Pfarrkirche (1320-1387), which has now been restored to its original pure Gothic style. The Michaelskirche, 12th-century Romanesque (restored), on the Michaelsberg, was formerly the church of a Benedictine monastery secularized in 1803, which now contains the Burgerspital, or alms-house, and the museum and municipal art collections.

Related Topics:
Basilica - Gothic - Benedictine - Monastery - 1803

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Of the bridges connecting the sections of the lower town the most interesting is the Obere Brucke, completed in 1455. Halfway across this, on an artificial island, is the Rathaus (rebuilt 1744-1756). The royal lyceum, formerly a Jesuit college, contains notable collections and the royal library of over 300,000 volumes. The picturesque Old Palace (Alte Residenz) was built in 1591 on the site of an old residence of the counts of Babenberg. Noteworthy among the monuments of the town is the Maximilian fountain (1880), with statues of Maximilian I of Bavaria, the emperor Henry II and his wife, Conrad III and St Otto, bishop of Bamberg. At a short distance from the town is the Altenburg (1266 ft.), a castle occupied from 1251 onwards by the bishops of Bamberg. It was destroyed in 1553 by Albert, margrave of Brandenburg, but has been partly restored.

Related Topics:
1455 - Jesuit - 1591 - Babenberg - Maximilian I of Bavaria - Conrad III - St Otto - 1251 - 1553 - Albert, margrave of Brandenburg

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