Bamberg, Germany

               BAMBERG’S CATHEDRAL

      In Bamberg, Germany it was a gradual uphill climb to the Cathedral where the docent said, “The Cathedral  is the origin of the city. The large 15^th century buildings along the side of the Cathedral  originally housed the kitchens and stables. In the Middle Ages the Cathedral was painted and the paint was not removed until the 19^th  century.  This is the third Cathedral built on this site. The first burned in 1007 and the second one also burned. This structure was built in 1237 and is of Romanesque and Gothic design. Instead of building from the ground up this was built from side to side.”

       Before going into the Cathedral we walked out to the rose garden which was in full bloom. The garden contains 4500 rose bushes in 40 varieties.  From here we had a panoramic view of the city below. It was a clear, cloudless, hot day. Easily visible were the old medieval curved streets with the houses built helter skelter, not in neat little rows. All the old buildings except the church had tile roofs. The church had  a slate roof. Slate had to be imported and only the church was rich enough to afford it.

        In the distance high on a hill we could see St. Michael’s, a monastery built in 1015. The docent told us, “There is a heavenly garden there---a flower fresco painted on a ceiling. At one time there were several orders of monks here including Franciscan, Benedictine, and Dominican. There are none now, and there are only four nuns left. Monks established the first brewery. During lent they fasted, but were allowed 4-5 liters of beer a day.”

       There was no stained glass in the church, as the windows were removed years ago. However, there has been discussion about replacing them. The columns inside were stone and there was statuary along the walls. Pope Clement I, who was pope only nine months, is buried in the church  making it  the only papal grave north of the Alps. The Prince Bishop was the religious, spiritual and political leader, something unique to southern Germany. The 16^th century sarcophagus contains the bodies of Henry II and his wife, Kunigunde.

      The docent explained, “The Bamberg Horseman (1235) here in the cathedral was the first life-size sculpture made. He is in 16 pieces and is attached to the wall. Note the crown over his head.  He symbolizes the order of things, first the ground and plants, then the animal, followed by man and finally God.”

      Moving onto the left side of the Cathedral, she continued, “This Christmas altar is carved of linden wood and dates to the 1520s. Over the centuries parts of it have been lost as we think it originally was twice the size of these five panels.” Then he briefly described what was depicted in each panel.

      Leaving the Cathedral the guide stopped by a pair of rather primitive 1000-year-old stone lions that once stood outside the original cathedral. It is not certain what effect a thousand years of weather have had on the lions or what they might have originally looked like. Very likely the sculptor never had seen a real lion. Locally the pair of creatures is nicknamed cathedral toads.

BAMBERG, GERMANY

BAMBERG, GERMANY

Bamberg, Germany dates back to 973 and the whole city is  a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is rather unusual.   Because Bamberg had no industry the city escaped bombing in W W II, and as a result Bamberg has 2000 historical buildings and monuments.

Bamberg was the center of the Franconia before 1800. A university town with 8000 students, it is often  referred to as the town of seven hills or as the Rome of the North. The city is located at the confluence of the Regnitz River and the Danube Canal, which was completed in 1992. The canal has helped tremendously to control flooding.

The city became part of Bavaria in 1802 but being located in upper Franconia the people refer to themselves as Franconians rather than Bavarians, and feel connected to Bavaria only administratively. Today the city does have an industry that produces spark plugs and fuel injection systems.

The town was ruled by bishops for 800 years. One of the highlights of the city is the rather unusual city hall situated on an island in the Regnitz River between two sections of the city. Way back in the 7^th century one side of the river was for bishops, the other side for merchants. By locating the city hall in the middle of the river with a bridge on each side, it solved the problem of neutrality. The foundation of the building is shaped like a ship’s bow as it faces small falls just a few meters upstream. The tower was destroyed in 1440 when it was full of explosives and caught fire.

I was quite intrigued with city hall both for its structure and its location. However, the gorgeous frescos on the side of the building took my breath away. The frescos on the outside of the building date to the 18^th century and are in unbelievable condition. In 1002 the German King, Henry II, chose Bamberg as his residence.

Bamberg with its cobbled streets and wonderful old buildings is a quaint and picturesque town, really little more of a small village.