Bamberg

Bamberg is a neighboring city of Erlangen. It is a UNESCO World heritage. I could have visited this place on any other day but I would have missed the Antique Market. This morning when my flatmate asked if I would like to join I said yes spontaneously and it turned out to be a good decision.

Antikmarkt

After a 40-min train ride we reached Bamberg station. The city felt busier as soon as we exited the station. A 10 min walk on the Luitpold Strasse – the main street right in front of the station, took us to the Luitpold Bridge (Bruke). This is one of the many bridges across the Main Danube canal. It is the same Canal which passes next to my house in Erlangen.

Upon reaching the bridge we found that the main attraction seemed to be on the nearby bridge. We walked over to investigate and found a flea market there. Many antique stuff were on sale – old telephones, camera, coins, iron boxes, paintings and a lot of other things. It was crowded but enjoyable.

When we asked around what this market was and we understood that this is a yearly Antique market. It happens on the 3rd of October. The things sold here are strictly regulated so that nothing new gets sold as antique. There is also a group of experts available on site to can confirm if the object is truly antique or not.

St. Elisabeth Church

We continued our walk without buying anything at the flea market looking for the famous Bamberg Cathedral. We entered the Old Town area. This is where the UNESCO World Heritage buildings are. Many buildings date back to the middle ages here.

The first prominent building we encountered was St. Elisabeth Church. The building dates back to before 1300s.

Bamberg Cathedral

The roads kept climbing and getting narrower. At the top they suddenly opens into the vast open space. This is where the main buildings are located.

I do not know enough about architecture to appreciate it. All I can say is that it is a huge building. You really need to be inside it to feel the scale of construction. The roof stands 26m high with the towers being 81m.

One interesting thing about the cathedral is that it has been rebuilt over on top of the same area 3 times. This significantly raised the ground level. I recently watched a video on this concept and I was happy to see it.

This Cathedral was initially built over a settlement around 1000 AD. A fire in 1081 burned it down. It was rebuilt a second time in 1085 AD and a fire in 1185 AD brought it down again. Finally, the current cathedral is built in 1237.

A section of the old cathedral can be seen inside the new one, though the entry is restricted.

New residence, Old court & Ice cream

Stepping outside the cathedral we saw the Neue Residenze and Alte Hofhaltung, the new and old residences of Bamberg’s Bishops. These buildings were both majestic buildings to look at. Both are now used as museums.

The view from up here was stunning. The entire city was visible below.

After enjoying the view for some time we decided to walk down. On the way, we found an ice cream stall. I had never had a lemon flavored ice cream. So, I gave it a try. It was essentially frozen lemonade. It was too sweet for my liking.

We also passed Schlenkerla brewery which is famous for its smoked beer – though wouldn’t know the difference so we simply crossed it towards the Altes Rathaus.

Altes Rathaus and the bridges

The old town hall (Altes Rathaus) of Bamberg has an interesting story. Evidently, the bishop of Bamberg in the 14th century refused to give land for constructing the town hall. The town people came to with an ingenious plan. They built an artificial island in the middle of the water and built the town hall on top of it.

Two bridges connect Rathaus to either side of the riverbank. The Rathaus walls are decorated with murals. One notable aspect is a 3D leg protruding out of the painting.

Further

The city is interesting and a single visit isn’t enough to explore it all. There are a few things that I missed. The next time I’ll hike to the monastery up the hill, take a photo of the Rathaus from the smaller bridge, which offers a better view of the Rathaus. Also, visit the “Little Venice”.

Overall the city is a nice place to spend time walking. So I might visit it a couple more times in the future.