Bamberg

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Bamberg

Bamberg is a town in Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
. It is located in Upper Franconia

Upper Franconia

Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the States of Germany of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia ...
on the river Regnitz

Regnitz

The Regnitz is a river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length.The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz River, which meet in the city of F?rth....
, close to its confluence with the river Main

Main

The Main is a river in Germany, 524 km long , and it is one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine. The Main flows through the States of Germany of Bavaria, Baden-W?rttemberg and Hesse....
. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg. Bamberg is home to nearly 7,000 foreign nationals, including over 4,100 members of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
and their dependents.

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Encyclopedia

Bamberg is a town in Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
, Germany

Germany

Upper Franconia

Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the States of Germany of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia ...
on the river Regnitz

Regnitz

Main

The Main is a river in Germany, 524 km long , and it is one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine. The Main flows through the States of Germany of Bavaria, Baden-W?rttemberg and Hesse....
. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg. Bamberg is home to nearly 7,000 foreign nationals, including over 4,100 members of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
and their dependents. The name Bamberg is supposed to have its origin in the House of Babenberg.

History

During the post-Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
centuries of Germanic migration and settlement, the region afterwards included in the Diocese of Bamberg was inhabited for the most part by Slavs. The town, first mentioned in 902, grew up by the castle (Babenberch) which gave its name to the Babenberg

Babenberg

Originally from Bamberg in Franconia, now northern Bavaria, an apparent branch of the Babenbergs or Babenberger went on to rule Austria as counts of the march and dukes from 976 - 1248, before the rise of the house of Habsburg....
family. On their extinction it passed to the Saxon

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a States of Germany of Germany. Located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states....
house. The area was Christianized chiefly by the monks of the Benedictine Fulda Abbey, and the land was under the spiritual authority of the Diocese of Würzburg.

In 1007, Henry II

Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor

Saint Henry II , called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy Roman Empire of the Ottonian dynasty from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later....
, King of the Romans, made Bamberg a family inheritance, the seat of a separate diocese

Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
. The emperor's purpose in this was to make the Diocese of Würzburg less unwieldy in size and to give Christianity a firmer footing in the districts of Franconia

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria and a much smaller region in northeastern Baden-W?rttemberg called Heilbronn-Franken....
, east of Bamberg. In 1008, after long negotiations with the Bishops of Würzburg and Eichstätt, who were to cede portions of their dioceses, the boundaries of the new diocese were defined, and Pope John XVIII

Pope John XVIII

John XVIII was Pope from 1004 to 1009.He was born Fasanius at Rapagnano, near Ascoli Piceno, the son of a Rome priest named Leo.During his whole pontificate he was allegedly subordinate to the head of the Crescentii clan who controlled Rome, the patricius Crescentii....
granted the papal confirmation in the same year. Henry II ordered the building of a new cathedral

Bamberg Cathedral

File:Bamberger Dom BW 6.JPGFile:Kernbereich Bamberger Dom.jpgFile:Dom umrahmt von Birnbaum.jpgThe Bamberg Cathedral is one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany and has been Bamberg?s most famous landmark since its completion in the 13th century....
, which was consecrated May 6, 1012. The church was enriched with gifts from the pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
, and Henry II had it dedicated in honor of him. In 1017 Henry II also founded Michaelsberg Abbey

Michaelsberg Abbey, Bamberg

Michaelsberg Abbey or Michelsberg Abbey, also St. Michael's Abbey, Bamberg is a former Rule of St. Benedict monastery in Bamberg in Bavaria, Germany....
on the Michaelsberg ("Mount St. Michael"), near Bamberg, a Benedictine abbey for the training of the clergy. The emperor and his wife Cunigunde

Cunigunde of Luxemburg

Saint Cunigunde of Luxembourg , also called St. Cunegundes and St. Cunegonda, was the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor....
gave large temporal possessions to the new diocese, and it received many privileges out of which grew the secular power of the bishop. Pope Benedict VIII during his visit to Bamberg (1020) placed the diocese in direct dependence on the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church....
. For a short time Bamberg was the centre of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
. Henry and Cunigunde were both buried in the cathedral.

From the middle of the 13th century onward the bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
s were princes of the Empire and ruled Bamberg, overseeing the construction of monumental buildings. In 1248 and 1260 the see obtained large portions of the estates of the Counts of Meran

Duke of Merania

The Duchy of Merania was an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Emperor from 1153 until 1248. It was also called the Duchy of Dalmatia because it covered the northern seacoast of Dalmatia....
, partly through purchase and partly through the appropriation of extinguished fiefs. The old Bishopric of Bamberg was composed of an unbroken territory extending from Schlüsselfeld

Schlüsselfeld

Schl?sselfeld is a town on the southwestern edge of the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg ...
in a northeasterly direction to the Franconian Forest, and possessed in addition estates in the Duchies of Carinthia

Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 976 until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918....
and Salzburg

Salzburg

is the List of cities and towns in Austria#List of cities and towns by population size in Austria and the capital city of the states of Austria of Salzburg ....
, in the Nordgau

Nordgau

The Nordgau can refer to two distinct areas:* Nordgau...
(the present Upper Palatinate

Upper Palatinate

The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven Regierungsbezirks of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria. It is subdivided into two regions - Oberpfalz-Nord and Regensburg....
), in Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen States of Germany ....
, and on the Danube

Danube

The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
. By the changes resulting from the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
, the territory of this see was reduced nearly one half in extent.

The witch trials

Witch-hunt

A witch hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and mob lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials....
of the 17th century claimed hundreds of victims, as they did in England, in Bamberg and reached a climax between 1626 and 1631 under the rule of Prince-Bishop

Prince-Bishop

A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office....
Johann Georg II Fuchs von Dornheim. The famous Drudenhaus (witch prison), built in 1627, is no longer standing today; however, detailed accounts of some cases, like that of Johannes Junius

Johannes Junius

Johannes Junius was the Burgomeister of Bamberg, who wrote a letter to his daughter from jail while he awaited execution for witchcraft. Junius became Burgomeister in 1608 and remained in that position until his arrest, which came shortly after his wife had been executed on similar charges....
, remain.

In 1647, the University of Bamberg was founded as Academia Bambergensis. Bambrzy

Bambrzy

Bambrzy are the Poles of German people origin, the descendants of Germans who moved from the area of Bamberg to villages surrounding Poznan, Poland....
(Ger. Posen Bambergers) – German Poles are descendants of settlers from the area near Bamberg, who settled in villages around Posen in the years 1719 –1753. In 1759, the possessions and jurisdictions of the diocese situated in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
were sold to that state. When the secularization of church lands took place (1802) the diocese covered and had a population of 207,000. Bamberg thus lost its independence in 1802, becoming part of Bavaria in 1803.

Bamberg was first connected to the German rail system in 1844, which has been an important part of its infrastructure ever since. After a communist uprising took control over Bavaria in the years following World War I

World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, the state government fled to Bamberg and stayed there for almost two years before the Bavarian capital of Munich

Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
was retaken by Freikorps
Freikorps

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 119-1983-0012, Kapp-Putsch, Marienbrigade Erhardt in Berlin.jpgThe designation of Freikorps was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of 18th century onwards....
units (see Weimar Republic

Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was the democracy and republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933. Following World War I, the republic emerged from the German Revolution in November 1918....
). The first republican constitution of Bavaria was passed in Bamberg, becoming known as the (Bamberg Constitution). In 1973, the town celebrated the 1000th anniversary of its founding.

Historic population

Year	Population
1818	17,000
1885	31,521
1905	45,308

Historic beer

Bamberg is known for Rauchbier (or smoked beer in English). The most famous is Schlenkerla's
Schlenkerla

Schlenkerla is a historical brewpub in Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is most renowned for its Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier ,...
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier is a brand of beer produced by the Brauerei Heller in Bamberg. Each variety has a smoky aroma and flavor, varying in intensity from one style to the next....
from the Heller brewery

Brewery

A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made in the home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
; it can be enjoyed at the Schlenkerla tavern on the Dominikaner Strasse in the Old Town.

Bamberg is currently (2005) home to nine traditional breweries (Brauerei Fässla, Brauerei Greifenklau, Brauerei Heller-Trum (Schlenkerla), Brauerei Kaiserdom, Keesmann Bräu, Klosterbräu, Mahrs Bräu, Maisel Bräu and Brauerei Spezial) and one modern brewpub (Ambräusianum)—an unusually high number for a city of 70,000.

Geography

Bamberg is located in Franconia

Franconia

Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city in the Germany State of Bavaria, in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz River river and the Rhine?Main?Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city....
by railway and east of Würzburg

Würzburg

W?rzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located on the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken....
, also by rail. It is situated on the Regnitz river, before it flows into the Main

Main

The Main is a river in Germany, 524 km long , and it is one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine. The Main flows through the States of Germany of Bavaria, Baden-W?rttemberg and Hesse....
river.

Its geography is shaped by the Regnitz and by the foothills of the Steigerwald, part of the German uplands. From northeast to southwest, the town is divided into first the Regnitz plain, then one large and several small islands formed by two arms of the Regnitz (Inselstadt), and finally the part of town on the hills, the "Hill Town" (Bergstadt).

Bamberg extends over seven hills, each crowned by a beautiful church. This has led to Bamberg being called the "Franconian Rome" — although a running joke among Bamberg's tour guides is to refer to Rome instead as the "Italian Bamberg".

Sights

The Old Town of Bamberg is listed as a UNESCO

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
World Heritage, primarily because of its authentic medieval appearance. The city established a documentation centre in 2005 to support World Heritage activities. Some of the main sights are:

Cathedral (1237), with the tombs of emperor Henry II and Pope Clement II
Pope Clement II

Clement II, born Suidger of Morsleben and Hornburg , was Pope from December 25, 1046 to his death. He was the first in a series of reform-minded Popes from Germany....
Alte Hofhaltung, residence of the bishops in the 16th and 17th centuries
Neue Residenz, residence of the bishops after the 17th century
Old Town Hall (1386), built in the middle of the Regnitz River, accessible by two bridges
Klein-Venedig ("Little Venice"), a colony of picturesque fishermen's houses from the 19th century along one side of the river Regnitz.
Michaelsberg Abbey, built in the 12th century on one of Bamberg's "Seven Hills"
Altenburg, castle, former residence of the bishops

Cathedral The cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
is a late Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which evolved into the Gothic architecture style beginning in the 12th century....
building with four grand towers. It was founded in 1004 by the emperor Henry II, finished in 1012 and consecrated on May 6, 1012. It was later partially destroyed by fire in 1081. The new cathedral, built by Saint Otto of Bamberg

Otto of Bamberg

Saint Otto of Bamberg was a medieval Germans bishop and missionary who, as papal legate, converted much of Pomerania to Christianity....
, was consecrated in 1111 and in the 13th century received its present late-Romanesque form.

The cathedral is long, broad, high, and the four towers are each about high. Of its many historic works of art may be mentioned the magnificent marble tomb of the founder and his wife, considered the masterpiece of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider

Tilman Riemenschneider

Tilman Riemenschneider was a Germany sculpture and woodcarving active in W?rzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between late Gothic art and Renaissance, a master in stone and Tilia....
, and carved between 1499 and 1513. Another treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue known as the Bamberg Horseman

Bamberg Horseman

The Bamberg Horseman is a life-size stone equestrian sculpture by an anonymous Middle Ages sculptor in the Bamberg Cathedral of Bamberg, Germany....
. This statue, possibly belonging to the emperor Conrad III

Conrad III

Conrad III may refer to:*Conrad III of Germany*Conrad III of Provence *Conrad III of Dachau*Conrad III of Jerusalem*Conrad III of Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Salzburg...
, most likely dates to approximately 1200. The statue also serves as a symbol of the city.

Neue Residenz

The Neue Residenz (New Palace) (1698-1704) was initially occupied by the prince-bishops, and from 1864 to 1867 by the deposed King Otto of Greece

Otto of Greece

Otto of Bavaria was made the first modern king of First Kingdom of Greece in 1832 under the London Conference of 1832, whereby Greece became a new independent monarchy under the protection of the Great Powers ....
. The magnificent Rosengarten (Rose Garden) offers excellent views of the city. The Altenburg

Altenburg (Bamberg)

The Altenburg in Bamberg was first mentioned in 1109; it served next as a :de:Fliehburg, and then from 1305 to 1553, it was the residence of the Bamberger :de:F?rstbischofs ....
is located at the highest of Bamberg's seven hills. It was mentioned for the first time in 902 BCE. Between 1251 and 1553 it was the residence of Bamberg's bishops. Destroyed in 1553 by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Albert Alcibiades was a Margrave of Principality of Bayreuth, also known as Brandenburg-Bayreuth.Because of his bellicose nature Albert received the cognomen Alcibiades after his death; during his lifetime Albert was known as Bellator ....
, it was used, after scanty repairs, only as a prison, and increasingly decayed.

In 1801 doctor A. F. Marcus bought the castle and completely repaired it. His friend, the famous German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann

E.T.A. Hoffmann

Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann , better known by his pen name E.T.A. Hoffmann , was a Germany Romanticism author of fantasy and Horror fiction, a jurist, composer, music critic, drawing and caricature....
, who was very impressed by the building, lived there for a while. The next owner, Anton von Greifenstein, founded in 1818 an association to save the castle. This society still maintains the whole property today. The Altenburg serves as a high-class restaurant and has a beautiful view.

Other sights Other noteworthy churches are the Jakobskirche, an 11th-century Romanesque basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a ancient Rome public building , usually located in the Forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC....
; the St. Martinskirche; the Marienkirche or Obere Pfarrkirche (1320-1387), which has now been restored to its original pure Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style. The Michaelskirche, 12th-century Romanesque (restored), on the Michaelsberg, was formerly the church of the Benedictine Michaelsberg Abbey

Michaelsberg Abbey, Bamberg

Michaelsberg Abbey or Michelsberg Abbey, also St. Michael's Abbey, Bamberg is a former Rule of St. Benedict monastery in Bamberg in Bavaria, Germany....
secularized in 1803 and now contains the Bürgerspital, or almshouse

Almshouse

Almshouses are Charitable organization houses provided to enable people to live in a particular community. They are often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows, and are generally maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest....
, and the museum

Museum

A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment, for the purposes of education, study, and entertainment", as defined by the International Coun...
and municipal art collections.

Of the bridges connecting the sections of the lower town, a very interesting one is the Obere Brücke, completed in 1455. Halfway across this, on an island, is the Rathaus or City Hall (rebuilt 1744-1756). The royal lyceum, formerly a Jesuit

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Roman Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits, Soldiers of Jesus Christ, and Foot soldiers of the Pope, because the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a knight before becoming a Holy Orders....
college, contains notable collections and the royal library of over 300,000 volumes. The picturesque Old Palace (Alte Hofhaltung) was built in 1591 on the site of an old residence of the counts of Babenberg

Babenberg

Maximilian I of Bavaria

Maximilian I was prince-elector of Bavaria from 1799 to 1805, king of Bavaria from 1806 to 1825. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach....
, the emperor Henry II and his wife, Conrad III

Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III was the first List of German monarchs of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes of Germany, a daughter of the Salian Dynasty Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor....
and Saint Otto

Otto of Bamberg

Saint Otto of Bamberg was a medieval Germans bishop and missionary who, as papal legate, converted much of Pomerania to Christianity....
, bishop of Bamberg.

Education

The University of Bamberg, named Otto-Friedrich University

Otto-Friedrich University

The University of Bamberg in Bamberg, Germany, is simultaneously one of the oldest and one of the newest university in Bavaria. It specializes in the Humanities, Cultural Studies, Social Sciences, Economics and Applied Information Technology....
, offers higher education in the areas of social science, business studies

Business studies

Business studies is the name of an academic subject taught at high school level in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, India, and Canada , as well as at university level in many countries....
and the humanities

Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural science and social sciences....
, and is attended by more than 9300 students. Bamberg is also home to eight secondary schools called Gymnasien

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English Grammar schools in the United Kingdoms or sixth form colleges and U.S....
:

Clavius-Gymnasium
Dientzenhofer
Dientzenhofer

?Dientzenhofer is the name of a family of German architects, who were among the leading builders in Bohemian and Germany Baroque....
-Gymnasium
Eichendorff-Gymnasium
E.T.A.-Hoffmann-Gymnasium
Franz-Ludwig-Gymnasium
Kaiser-Heinrich-Gymnasium
Maria-Ward-Gymnasium
Theresianum

There are also numerous other institutes for primary, secondary, technical, vocational and adult education.

Infrastructure

Railway

The InterCityExpress

InterCityExpress

File:ICE 3 Fahlenbach.jpgThe Intercity-Express ? in Austria and Switzerland: InterCityExpress ; abbreviation: ICE ? is a system of high-speed rail predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries....
main line #28 (Munich

Munich

Nuremberg

Leipzig

Leipzig is, with a population of over 511,252, the largest city in the States of Germany of Saxony, Germany....
- Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
/ Hamburg

Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
) runs through Bamberg. To Munich the train journey takes about two hours. To Berlin it takes about four hours as of 2007; but construction of a new, shorter and faster connection through the Thuringian mountains has been underway for some years.
East-west connections are poorer. Bamberg is connected to other towns in eastern Upper Franconia such as Bayreuth

Bayreuth

Bayreuth is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. It is the capital of Oberfranken and has a population of 73,048 citizens ....
, Coburg

Coburg

Coburg is a Town#Germany located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920....
, and Kronach

Kronach

Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the Kronach .Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....
, with usually at least an hourly regional service. Connections to the west are hourly regional trains to Würzburg, which is fully connected to the ICE network. Tourists arriving at Frankfurt International Airport

Frankfurt International Airport

Frankfurt am Main Airport , known in German language as Flughafen Frankfurt am Main or Rhein-Main-Flughafen is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, southwest of the city centre....
will have to change trains in Würzburg to get to Bamberg or take a detour via Nuremberg.

Motorways

Bamberg is not near any of the major (i.e. single-digit) Autobahns. But it is nevertheless well connected to the network: the A70

Bundesautobahn 70

is an autobahn in southern Germany, connecting the Bundesautobahn 7 via Schweinfurt and Bamberg to the Bundesautobahn 9.Exit list ...
from Schweinfurt

Schweinfurt

Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of W?rzburg....
(connecting to the A7

Bundesautobahn 7

is the longest German Autobahn and the longest national motorway in Europe at 935 km . It splits the country almost evenly from north to south. In the north, it starts at the border to Denmark as an extension of the Danish E 45....
there) to Bayreuth (connecting to the A9

Bundesautobahn 9

is an autobahn in Germany, connecting Berlin and Munich.It served as one of three transit autobahns toward West Berlin during the Cold War.Between 1945 and 1966 the A 9 was interrupted at the border between Bavaria and Thuringia since the bridge over the river Saale was destroyed near the end of World War II....
) runs along the northern edge of the town. The A73

Bundesautobahn 73

is an autobahn in Germany. It connects Suhl to Nuremberg.The part between Bamberg and Nuremberg is also known as the Frankenschnellweg. ...
on the eastern side of town connects Bamberg to Nuremberg (connecting to the A9

Bundesautobahn 9

Thuringia

Suhl

Suhl is a town in Thuringia, Germany. Its population in 2003 was 43,610....
.

Water transport

The Rhine-Main-Danube Canal

Rhine-Main-Danube Canal

The Rhine-Main-Danube Canal , located in Bavaria, Germany, connects the Main and the Danube rivers across the European Watershed, running from Bamberg via Nuremberg to Kelheim....
begins near Bamberg. With its completion in 1992, uninterrupted water transport was made possible between the North Sea and the Black Sea.

Local transport

Local transport within Bamberg relies exclusively on buses. More than 20 lines connect the outlying quarters and some villages in the vicinity to the Central Bus Station. In addition, there are several "Night Lines" (the last of these, though, tend to run around midnight) and some Park and Ride

Park and ride

Park and ride facilities are public transport Bus stations that allow commuting and other people wishing to travel into City Centre to leave their personal vehicles in a parking lot and transfer to a bus, Rail transport system , or carpool for the rest of their trip....
lines from parking lots on the periphery to the town centre.
A short-lived tram system existed in the 1920s.

Politics

Bamberg is an independent city

Independent city

An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity.Independent cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other nation-state....
. Its town council (Stadtrat) and its Lord Mayor (Oberbürgermeister) are elected every six years, though not in the same year. Thus, the last municipal election for the town council was in 2008, for the Lord Mayor in 2006.

As of March 2008, the 44 member-town-council comprises 15 CSU

Christian Social Union of Bavaria

The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian Democracy and conservatism political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany....
councillors, 10 SPD

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD reestablished itself as an ideological party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions....
councillors, 7 Green

Alliance '90/The Greens

The Alliance '90/The Greens is a political party in Germany which originated from the merger of the party "The Greens" and Alliance 90....
councillors, 5 councillors of the Bamberger Bürger-Block and 3 of the Freie Wähler (Free Voters), both local political movements. These five parties achieved the number of councillors necessary to form a caucus

Caucus

A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States. The exact definition varies among political cultures....
. In addition, there are 2 councillors of the Bamberger Realisten and one of the FDP

Free Democratic Party (Germany)

The Free Democratic Party is a centre-right Liberalism political party in Germany. The party's ideology combines beliefs in individual liberty, in a state or government "that is as limited as possible and as extensive as necessary" ....
and the far-right Republicans (Germany)

Republicans (Germany)

The Republicans is a nationalist Conservatism political party in Germany. The primary plank of the REP's program is anti-immigration, and the party tends to attract protest voters who think that the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria are not sufficiently conservative....
, making them ineligible for caucus status. This is the result of the municipal elections of 2 March 2008.

Lord Mayors since 1945

Years	Mayor	Party
1945 - 1958	Luitpold Weegmann	CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian Democracy and conservatism political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany....
1958 - 1982	Theodor Mathieu	CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian Democracy and conservatism political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany....
1982 - 1994	Paul Röhner	CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian Democracy and conservatism political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany....
1994 - 2006	Herbert Lauer	Independent
2006 - Present	Andreas Starke	SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD reestablished itself as an ideological party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions....

Twin towns

Bedford
Bedford

Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Bedford . According to Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town of Kempston....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
Esztergom
Esztergom

Esztergom is a city in northern Hungary, about 50 km north-west of the Capital Budapest. It lies in Kom?rom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
Feldkirchen
Feldkirchen

Feldkirchen may refer to the following places:*in Austria:**Feldkirchen in K?rnten, in Carinthia**Feldkirchen bei Mattighofen**Feldkirchen an der Donau...
, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
Prague
Prague

Prague is the Capital and World's largest cities of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavn? mesto Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City....
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
Rodez
Rodez

Rodez is a city and communes of France in southern France, in the Aveyron Departments of France, of which it is the capital. Its inhabitants are called Ruthenois....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
Villach
Villach

Villach is the second largest city in Carinthia in the south of Austria, at the Drau River and represents an important Junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region....
, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....

Famous residents

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg

Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a Wehrmacht Officer and Roman Catholic Aristocracy who was one of the leading officers of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to kill German dictator Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from power in World War II Germany....
(1907-1944), German officer - July 20 Plot attempt to assassinate German dictator Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born Germany politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party....
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III was the first List of German monarchs of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes of Germany, a daughter of the Salian Dynasty Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor....
, king of Germany
E.T.A. Hoffmann
E.T.A. Hoffmann

Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann , better known by his pen name E.T.A. Hoffmann , was a Germany Romanticism author of fantasy and Horror fiction, a jurist, composer, music critic, drawing and caricature....
, author and composer
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German people philosopher, and with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, one of the creators of German idealism....
, philosopher
Ida Noddack-Tacke
Ida Noddack

Ida Noddack , n?e Ida Tacke, was a German chemist and physicist. She was among the first physicists to propose nuclear fission. With her husband Walter Noddack she discovered element 75 rhenium....
, chemist and physicist; she discovered element 75 Rhenium
Rhenium

Rhenium is a chemical element with the symbol Re and atomic number 75. A rare silvery-white, heavy, polyvalent transition metal, rhenium resembles manganese chemically, and is used in some alloys....
Karl Friedrich Gottlob Wetzel
Karl Friedrich Gottlob Wetzel

Karl Friedrich Gottlob Wetzel From 1805 he lived in Dresden. He contributed heavily to Heinrich von Kleist's journal Ph?bus throughout 1808, and from 1809 he was the editor of the Fr?nkischen Merkur in Bamberg....
, writer and illustrator Fränkischen Merkur
Paul Maar
Paul Maar

Paul Maar is one of the most important modern German language writers for children and young people. He is a novelist, playwright, translator and illustrator....
, writer and illustrator
Pope Clement II
Pope Clement II

Clement II, born Suidger of Morsleben and Hornburg , was Pope from December 25, 1046 to his death. He was the first in a series of reform-minded Popes from Germany....
, bishop of Bamberg from 1040 to 1046
Willy Messerschmitt
Willy Messerschmitt

Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt was a legendary Germany aircraft designer and manufacturer. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a wine merchant....
(1898–1978), aircraft designer Flugzeugbau Messerschmitt GmbH
Messerschmitt

Messerschmitt AG was a famous Germany aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Me 262....
Mike Rose
Mike Rose

For the other baseball player with a similar name, see Mike Rouse.Michael John-Ferrero Rose is a Major League Baseball catcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization....
, painter, set designer and writer

Gallery

External links

,
, , , , , ,
,
- everything you have to know about Bamberg's brewing tradition ,

Bamberg

History

Historic population

Historic beer

Geography

Sights

Education

Infrastructure

Railway

Motorways

Water transport

Local transport

Politics

Lord Mayors since 1945

Twin towns

Famous residents

Gallery

See also

External links