Bamberg is a historic town in the region of Upper Franconia, which is part of Bavaria, Germany. It's home to about 70,000 people and is a lively university city. The town's leader is called the Lord Mayor, and currently, it's Andreas Starke.

Bamberg is famous because many of its buildings are very old and beautiful. Unlike most other German towns, it wasn't badly damaged during World War II. This means its old town center is still mostly intact. Because of its amazing history and well-preserved buildings, Bamberg's town center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Just like the city of Rome, Bamberg is built on seven hills. Each hill has a church at its top! The main church, called the cathedral (Dom), sits on the highest hill. For many centuries, powerful church leaders called prince-bishops ruled the land from here. Today, they only have religious duties.

The town center is built along the Regnitz river, which splits into two parts. The left side holds the oldest part of the town. The right side is a canal called the Main-Danube Canal. This canal is super important because it lets big ships travel all the way from the Main river to the Danube river.

Exploring Bamberg's Historic Center
Culture and Arts in Bamberg
Getting Around Bamberg
Learning in Bamberg
Bamberg's Sister Cities
Famous Bamberg Beer
Sports Teams in Bamberg
Gallery
Images for kids
See also

Exploring Bamberg's Historic Center

The houses known as "Little Venice" by the riverside

Many visitors come to see Bamberg's beautiful sights. A great place to start your tour is at the statue of Neptune in the main walking area. Locals call this statue "Gabelmann" because Neptune holds a three-pronged fork, or "Gabel."

This area is known as the Grüner Markt, or Green Market. It's been a busy center for people living in the town for a long time. Nearby, you'll find a big square called Maximiliansplatz. This square is especially lively on market days. You can often see people enjoying traditional sausages and drinking local Bamberg beer here.

The names of the streets nearby tell stories about the town's past. For example, Fischstrasse (Fish Street) is where fishermen used to live. This street leads down to the river, where boats once loaded and unloaded their goods. You can also see an old slaughterhouse nearby. The Old Canal runs along the east side of town, creating a large island with very old buildings. Some of the oldest buildings, from the 1500s, were built by tanners. These tanners became quite wealthy from making leather.

The Old Town Hall

One of Bamberg's most unique buildings is its Old Town Hall. It was built right in the middle of the Regnitz river! People built it by driving huge wooden beams into the riverbed. This way, the town hall stood between the two sides of the river: one side where the bishops ruled, and the other where ordinary people lived.

The Old Town Hall is the most photographed building in Bamberg. There are two bridges here for people to walk across: the Upper and Lower Bridge. The old Lower Bridge actually goes right through an archway in the town hall itself. On one side, you can see beautiful Baroque paintings. On the other side, you can still see the original black-and-white medieval walls. This side also had Baroque paintings once, but they fell off during World War II when a nearby bridge was bombed.

If you walk up a steep, cobbled street, you'll reach Cathedral Square (Domplatz). All the buildings around this square are made from local sandstone, even though they were built at different times. Bamberg Cathedral (also called Kaiserdom, or Emperor Cathedral) shows both Romanesque and Gothic architecture styles.

Inside the cathedral, you must see the famous Bamberg Rider, a statue of a horseman, and many other medieval sandstone figures. The Ratsstube building is in the Renaissance style. The Alte Hofhaltung is a medieval courtyard from the 15th century, with a long row of two-story buildings and a wooden balcony. Across the street is the New Residence (Neue Residenz), a grand Baroque palace. If you walk through it, you'll find the famous Rose Garden (Rosengarten). From here, you can see Abbey Church of St Michael at the very top of a hill. Just below, closer to the river, is Sandstrasse, known for its fun pubs and nightlife.

Culture and Arts in Bamberg

The 15th century Alte Hofhaltung

Bamberg is home to the world-famous Bamberger Symphoniker. They perform in a modern concert hall not far from the town center. There are also many other music groups, like the Musica Canterey Bamberg, who play old music in some of the historic buildings.

The famous German writer E.T.A.Hoffmann lived in Bamberg in the 1800s. There's a new theater in the town center named after him.

Bamberg also has an important library, the Bamberg State Library, which holds many old and valuable books.

Getting Around Bamberg

Bamberg Cathedral (Kaiserdom)

Bamberg has a railway station. From here, you can easily travel to other big German cities like Würzburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Berlin, and Hamburg. You can also reach smaller towns in the area.

For air travel, the closest major airport is Nuremberg Airport. You can get there in about 30 minutes by car or an hour by train. Many international visitors fly into Frankfurt International Airport or Munich Airport and then travel to Bamberg.

Driving in Bamberg can be tricky because of the hills and narrow streets. Even though there's a bypass road, it can't go all the way around the town. Many streets in the town center don't allow cars. For example, you can't park in the beautiful Domplatz except on Sundays.

Since Bamberg is on a river, boat transport has always been important. The Rhine-Main-Danube Canal starts near Bamberg. This amazing canal, finished in 1992, allows boats to travel all the way from the North Sea to the Black Sea!

Within the town itself, many people use the bus system. There's also a Park-and-Ride system, where you can park your car outside the center and take a bus in.

Learning in Bamberg

Bamberg has a university with about 9,000 students. The university uses many of the town's large, historical buildings for its classes, which is a cool way to keep them in use.

There are also many good schools in Bamberg, including 8 "Gymnasien" (a type of high school). Students often choose which school to attend based on what they are good at, like science, music, or languages.

Bamberg's Sister Cities

Bamberg has "twin towns" or "sister cities" around the world. These are towns that have special friendly relationships with Bamberg. They include:

Famous Bamberg Beer

Bamberg is super famous for its beer! There are ten breweries in the town. The most well-known is Schlenkerla, which makes a unique smoked beer called "Rauchbier."

Here are some of the breweries in Bamberg:

Schlenkerla (making beer since 1678)
Spezial (since 1635)
Kaiserdom (since 1718)
Fässla (since 1649)
Ambräusianum (since 2004)
Greifenklau (since around 1700)
Klosterbräu (since 1533)
Keesmann (managed by one family since 1867)
Mahr (since 1602)
Maisel (since 1894, closed in 2008)

Sports Teams in Bamberg

Bamberg has several sports teams that are popular with locals:

Basketball: Brose Baskets Bamberg is a well-known basketball club.
Football (soccer): There are many football clubs, including 1. FC Eintracht Bamberg, ASV Gaustadt, and DJK Don Bosco Bamberg.