Bamberg, Germany, is a 1,000-year-old city of Episcopal and Imperial power, set on seven hills and located in the heart of Franconia in northern Bavaria.
The city’s Old Town illustrates the development of a Middle Age city, and it escaped World War II almost unscathed. Set on the Regnitz River, more than 2,000 buildings are listed as UNESCO sites and form one of the largest Old Towns in Europe.
Things to see while there include the late Romanesque-early Gothic Imperial Cathedral, the Old Town Hall built right in the middle of the Regnitz River, the Baroque Palace Bottinger House and the Renaissance buildings of the Old Court.
There are also 15 museums in town, displaying a large variety of collections that document the wide cultural diversity of the city;
at the Diocesan Museum, you can see the Blue Coat of Stars of Emperor Henry II. There are also numerous events and festivals–and, of course, there is that German favorite– beer. The town has 10 breweries which produce more than 50 differents beers, among them the famous “smoked beer.” There is also the Bamberg Brewery Trail, awarded special recognition in 2004.
What else can you do in Bamberg? You could spend a whole day just walking the beautiful cobblestoned streets, taking in the various sights, and checking out the many restaurants, taverns and shops. The town is magical in the evenings.
There are also concerts by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the magic festival called Bamberg Zaubert, an Antiques Week (runs between July and August), an Old Town fair called Sandkerwa–the biggest fair in town in August, the Calderon Festival which features outdoor theater, and the famous Nativity Trail during Advent which features 34 different Nativity scenes around town. These scenes are located in squares, churches, museums and other locations. Between May and October, you can take in an organ concert in the Imperial Cathedral every Saturday at noon; admission is free.
For train-goers, Bamberg can be reached by InterCity and InterCity Express trains, as well as others. The town of 70,000 inhabitants is 37 miles from the Nuremberg airport. Don Heimburger
For more information, go to www.Bamberg.info.
European Traveler 