Bamberg

Today we left Rattelsdorf and headed to Bamberg.  Bamberg has many great things to see but we were mostly interested in the Rathaus and Dom, the Catherdal of St. Peter and St. George.   The Rathaus(pics 1 and 2) is built in the middle of the Regnitz River.  There are 2 gates that go thru it like the one in pic 3.  The Dom(pic 4) was started in 1012.  It burned to the ground in 1081 was rebuilt in about 1110.  It was destroyed again in 1185.  Todays church was consecrated in 1237.  Pic 5 is the high altar.  Probably the most famous art in the church is the Bamberg  rider statute(pic6).  Created around 1235 by an unknown craftsman it is uncertain who the rider is supposed to portray.  There is a altar by Tillman Riemenschneider, a famous wood carver  of altars in Bavaria.  He also did the top of the double tomb on Heinrich II and his consort Kunigunde which is in the church.  After the sightseeing we adjourned to beergarden and to have "smokebeer" which is only made in Bamberg.  After the beer and lunch we headed off to a gesthaus in Sand.  I downloaded Google earth and looked at the things I just talked about and with the street level cameras you get a good idea of Dom courtyard including the Residence.  I hope some of the things I mentioned are looked up on Wikipedia so you get a better history then I will write.