Bamberg

Bamberg, a city north of Nuremberg, came highly recommended by strangers and randos on the internet. I gave credence to the suggestions from the folks at both the trip advisor Germany forum and the Rick Steves Germany forum because the Altstadt was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. Not to mention, the trip advisor regulars seemed to know what they were talking about.

Bamberg was founded in the Ninth Century. It became an important link between Franconia and the Holy Roman Empire and Slavic people to the east, specifically in Poland and Pomerania. In the reign of Emperor/Saint Heinrich II (973-1024), it became the center of the Holy Roman Empire's Germanic lands. Afterward, in the Thirteenth Century, it's ruling bishop became a Prince Bishop. Bamberg lost its independence in the secularization by the French in 1803, and became part of Bavaria. After World War II, the US Army had several units stationed in and around Bamberg.

Today in terms of tourism, the city is famous for its half-timbered houses and narrow Medieval street, both things we like very much. On blogs and vlogs, they always like to show the Altes Rathaus, the old town hall, a structure that sticks out into the Regnitz River. The story the tourist board tells goes thusly: once upon a time, the people wanted to build a town hall. The bishop wouldn't give them land. Undaunted, they stuck stilts into the river and built it out over the water. In addition to its unique location, the building is also covered with frescoes, so this is a must see.

As the seat of a Prince Bishop, you can imagine Bamberg has some significant religious structures. One is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and George, but that gets posts of its own. The other is the Michaelsberg Abbey, founded by the first bishop of Bamberg, Edelhard. It's a huge complex above the city, but unfortunately it's been undergoing extensive renovation and has been closed for years. It was one of the things I wanted to see, and not having access to it cut the visit short.

Bamberg is also famous for beer. People come from all over Europe to visit the various breweries. These breweries also lend to the fond memories of former American military personnel, several of whom I came across online while doing research, who had a lot of good things to say about the town and especially the beer. We had one brewery in mind that we wanted to visit, the Schlenkerla Brewery, famous for smoked beer.

So we commence at last, with pictures from the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bamberg.Читать далее