This building, Altes Rathaus (The Old Town Hall), and the bridge tunneled through the building…read moreholds my favorite memories of my time spent in Germany. Actually, some of the best moments of my entire life. I spent the majority of my time in Europe in Bamberg, Germany with friends and on either side of the bridge are so many pubs. The building itself is hundreds of years old and is breathtakingly beautiful. I can't count the number of times we walked the bridge through Altes Rathaus heading from pub to pub. It snowed every day I was there and the bridge was constantly iced over. I very distinctly recall slipping on the ice one night as we were heading to another pub and one of my friends caught me before I went down. Considering how drunk I already was (boy is beer and liquor stronger in Germany), I'm not sure how I remember it so clearly! LOL I also spent New Year's Eve on this bridge by Altes Rathaus. It's one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen in my life. Just before midnight, everyone rushed out of the pubs into the streets and onto the bridge and before I knew it people were shooting fireworks off everywhere I turned and people were even shooting pistols into the air. Had I not been so plastered, the pistol shooting might have actually scared me! LOL The night was so beautiful and clear (and cold) which seemed to make the fireworks even more brilliant and I recall them glistening off the water. Never in my life have I see so many happy people ringing in a New Year! The Germans really know how to throw a party! No one is a stranger there; such amazing people!! It's the heart and soul of Bamberg, in my humble opinion, and I can't wait to one day return to Altes Rathaus and stand on that bridge again. Those are the moments in life we live for :)

The iconic Bamberg landmark. The Old Town Hall in Bamberg is one of the most important buildings…read morethat characterize the historic city center. It is located between the mountain and island town in the left Regnitz arm. This location "... marks the old rule border between the episcopal mountain town and the bourgeois island town and clearly shows the power striving of the Bamberg bourgeoisie." You see, the bishop of Bamberg did not want to give any of his land to the citizens for the construction of a town hall. Therefore, the crafty citizens struck stakes in the Regnitz and thus created an artificial island on which they built their town hall. The Regnitz marks the old rule border between the episcopal mountain and the bourgeois island town. The town hall was mentioned for the first time in 1387 and was rebuilt between 1461 and 1467, so that it took on the shape it is today. At this stage of construction, it was mainly influenced by the Gothic. Johann Jakob Michael Küchel redesigned the town hall between 1744 and 1756 in the Baroque and Rococo styles. Worth mentioning are the façade paintings originally created by Johann Anwander in 1755, which have been restored many times. After not much of these paintings could be seen in the 1950s, the painter Anton Greiner repainted between 1959 and 1962. Both sides of the building are completely decorated with simulated allegorical scenes and architectural details, the typical illusion painting of this time. Small, actually figurative elements on the eastern side reinforce the spatial impression. The Rococo balconies and coat of arms reliefs come from Jos. Bonaventure Mutschele. The half-timbered house attached to the bridge tower, the Rottmeister's house, served as accommodation for the leaders of the guards. You cannot miss this structure when/if you are in Bamberg. It's a must-visit place along with Bamberger Dom and Neue Residenz.