Bamberg – World Heritage Fascination - Highlights - Cities & Tours - Experience Bavaria - Bavaria Tourism

Highlights

Old town of Bamberg

Bamberg – World Heritage Fascination

Bamberg is a unique work of art, mesmerizing visitors with one of Europe’s largest intact old town centres. Richly endowed with original buildings from the Middle Ages to the Baroque Era, never destroyed in any of the wars, Bamberg’s old town was appointed UNESCO world heritage site in 1993.

Unto this very day, a stroll through Bamberg’s narrow alleys, along its medieval and baroque buildings and across its magnificent places comes close to a journey through time. Bamberg embraces its visitors with many things to see, like the impressive Cathedral or the medieval Old Court and the Old Town Hall built right in the middle of the river.

But Bamberg is by no means a museum. Bamberg also offers culture galore with the world famous Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, street festivals and fairs, arts and antiques, shopping and cafés. And beer lovers can indulge in the specialities of 9 privately owned breweries and their cosy taverns serving 50 different Bamberg beers.

Surrounded by three national parks and many castles and palaces, Bamberg lies in the middle of a landscape, that has many activities and excursions to offer. As an additional benefit Bamberg and its surrounding region is very affordable: a beer (0.5 l), for instance - always a good comparison for Bavarians - is at only 1,80 Euro in one of the many beer gardens surrounding Bamberg. And good traditional fare isn’t necessarily expensive either, 8-9 Euro will suffice in many cases for a proper meal incl. beverage.

Bamberg Top Highlights

Old Town Hall

© Bamberg Tourismus & Kongress Service

The old town is the main highlight. Endowed with one of Europe’s largest intact old town centres, Bamberg has the magic of the past hanging in the air, enchanting visitors with its old cobblestone lanes, its wealth of historic buildings, the waterways of the River Regnitz and the buzzing atmosphere of a city full of life and street cafés and small antiques shops.
The Bamberg Cathedral is one of Germany’s most important examples of architecture on the threshold from the Romanesque to the Gothic period. Inside this cathedral one can find: the famous statue of the Bamberg Rider, works of art by Veit Stoß and Riemenschneider, to name just two, the relics of the Holy Emperor’s couple Heinrich and Kunigunde; and the only papal tomb north of the Alps.
The Old Town Hall, built right in the middle of the River Regnitz, marks the border between the clerical city and the merchant’s Island City.
Rose Garden of the New Residence. More than 4,500 roses, the historic statues and the wonderful view across the roofs of Bamberg make this a must see.
Visit the birth place of Levi Strauss in nearby Buttenheim (9 miles outside of Bamberg). A modern museum on the life and work of Levi Strauss.