Bamberg

The old town centre of Bamberg is an UNESCO world heritage site .. that's right - the entire town. Thus it is quite the tourist attraction, and there are quite a number of interesting buildings to be seen. Apart from old houses, there are really three major highlights: old churches, the older town hall and Little Venice.


The old town is built between two major canals, and Little Venice, is the highly decorated, and spruced up section of the old fishing village. With the recent floods accross Europe, I cannot help but wonder at the rationality of living right next to the water, but I suppose it is easier to control the flow of water on a canal than on a river.



While Little Venice is built next to the canal, the older town hall (Rathaus) is built in the middle of the canal. Apart from the unusual architecture of having a building in the middle of the canal, the Rathaus is also highly decorated with paintings on the outside and a number of statues adorning the building and the bridges connecting the Rathaus to the dry land.


I am not sure how religious the people of Bamberg really are, but most likely, the answer is not very. They must have been at one point, because there are so many religious symbols, such as the statue above outside the Rathaus. There are also a number of churches.



Churches, and for that matter, all religious buildings have always facinated me. Especially old ones. They are highly decorated and offer visitors a free art gallery. And apart from wondering at the extent people went to, to raise money and build these buildings, I can also marvel at some of the incredible inconsitencies thrown by the contents in the churches. Take the statue of Zeus, hurling lightning down to the earth while a sleeping Jesus lies below comforted by angels. A mixture of the unholy and holy in almost perfect harmony - I wonder what the religious conservatives of today would think. This is from the St Michael's Benedictine Monastery (founded around 1050, not sure when the work was created and installed).



St Michael has a number of beautiful artwork installations, including the entire roof painted with medicinal plants. The lighting makes it quite spectacular, even without any fancy stained glass windows.


The Imperial Cathedral (Dom) is slightly older, and more well known, particularly for having a papal tomb. While it is certainly majestic, it seems a lot colder and impersonal, and I found St Michael a lot more interesting.

Bamberg is certainly an interesting town to visit and walk around. However, it is not a place which draws you to see it again and again. It does however seem to host a fair share of rock concerts, including Nightwish in their new tour (after I leave Germany :( ). In a city of churches, it is somewhat ironic.