Bamberg, Germany

The next day we visited the most beautiful little German town....Bamberg.  It has 2,000 buildings listed as historical monuments, and its old city center is Europe's largest existing group of historic buildings.

Bamberg has been relatively untouched by war and strife, and so it still exists today as it was in the Middle Ages.

During its period of greatest prosperity, from the 12th century onwards, the architecture of Bamberg strongly influenced northern Germany and Hungary.

In the late 18th century it was the center of the Enlightenment in southern Germany, with the great philosophers and writers such as Hegel and Hoffmann living there.

Most of the front of the buildings were redone in the 18th century, but the buildings are actually much older.

Bamberg Cathedral is one of the most famous cathedrals of Germany.  It can be seen from a long distance near the top of the hill.

It has a very rich history.  Its official name is Bamberg Cathedral of St. Peter and St. George.  The cathedral was founded in 1004 by the Emperor Heinrich II.

Inside the cathedral are many sculptures; Heinrich II, the founder of the cathedral and his wife Cunigunde are carved in the entrance porch.

 And they are buried together inside...

Bamberg Cathedral is the only place in Germany where a pope is buried.  He was Pope Clement II.  He was the local bishop before he became Pope, but he died in 1047 after having been pope for only 12 months.

Our Program Director, Wes, leads us on a city walk and points out the interesting signs above the shops' doors.

According to legend, the bishop of Bamberg did not grant the citizens any land for the construction of a town hall.  This prompted the townsfolk to ram stakes into the river Regnitz to create an artifical island, on which they built the town hall they so badly wanted.

Frescoes on the exterior walls of the Town Hall.

Wes showed us a pub where we have a taste of the local beer.

The weather has been quite warm on this trip so the refreshment is always welcomed!

We had some time to wander around in the shops.  Found a shop with plenty of German cuckoo clocks....

and a display of folding yardsticks with names....popular German ones, of course.

Then it was back on the ship and we set sail for our next destination....

To continue reading, scroll up towards the top of this page and click on the right-hand column entry entitled:  "Wurzburg and Rothenburg, Germany"