With more than 1,000 years of history, this cathedral is simply magnificent. A "Castrum Babenberg"…read moreexisted on the Domberg (Cathedral Hill) and was mentioned in 902 for the first time. It was founded in 1002 by King (and later crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor by pope Benedict VIII in 1014) Heinrich (Henry) II and consecrated in 1012. Emperor Heinrich II died in 1024, and his wife empress Kunigunde in 1040. With the tomb of the couple, the cathedral contains the remains of the only imperial couple that was canonized. The second bishop Suidger of Bamberg was elected as Pope Clemens II. in 1046. His last resting place in the Bamberg Cathedral is the only preserved tomb of a pope in Germany and north of the Alps. After the first two cathedrals burned down in the 11th and 12th centuries, the current structure, a late Romanesque building with four large towers, was built in the 13th century. The cathedral is about 94 m long, 28 m broad, 26 m high, and the four towers are each about 81 m high. It contains many works of art, including the marble tomb of the Emperor Heinrich II and his wife, the Empress Kunigunde, considered a masterpiece of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and carved between 1499 and 1513. Another well-known treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue known as the Bamberg Horseman (German: Der Bamberger Reiter). This statue, possibly depicting the Hungarian king Stephen I, most likely dates to the period from 1225 to 1237.

Dominating the hillside above the old town of Bamberg is its imposing late Romanesque Cathedral…read more The current building is the third to stand on the site, after the original (founded by Heinrich II and his wife Kunigunde in 1104), and its successor, both burned down. Erected in the 13th Century, the style is a mixture of late Romanesque (particularly the doorways and windows) and early Gothic, best seen in the arcades. The exterior is dominated by four spires and some impressive sculpture in the porches: the interior has some lovely treasures - particularly the late Gothic tomb of its founders, Heinrich and Kunigunde, and the unusual but impressive equestrian statue of the Bamberg horseman. Sadly, the decision to strip away the plaster and wall decoration in the 19th Century does detract from the atmosphere: the bare expanse of stone could do with some colourful banners (or restored plaster and fresco) to enliven it. The cathedral has two crypts, one of which, containing saintly relics, can be visited. The west choir was roped off in my visit but contains the only papal tomb North if the Alps (that if Clemens II).

St. Jakob (James) is one of the oldest churches in Bamberg and is located just a few meters above…read moreDomberg on Jakobsberg, one of Bamberg's seven hills. Jakobskirche dates from the High Middle Ages, is only a little younger than the Bamberg Cathedral and today gives an impression of how the cathedral may originally have looked inside. It is a flat-roofed, double-choir, cross-shaped pillar basilica, which, based on the model of the cathedral, has the transept in the west. Jakobskirche was begun in 1073 and completed in 1109. The western of the two choirs was Gothic renewed in the 15th century, the eastern apse was masked by a baroque façade in 1771. At the same time, the southern half-finished tower was demolished and the northern one was crowned with an onion helmet. A coat of arms from the 13th century is the oldest example of the coat of arms carried by the Bamberg "city knight." The crypt under the west choir was filled in during the first restoration in 1706. The crypt of the east choir disappeared during the second restoration in 1771. The fresco above the crossing with scenes from the life of St. Jakob dates from that time. From 1866 to 1882 the church was re-Romanized. After a careful restoration in the 1990s, it is now the only almost completely Romanesque church in the city.