DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Bayern	Bavaria
Regierungsbezirk: Oberfranken
Stadt: Bamberg

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Bamberg is situated at an elevation of 240 m on the river Regnitz in the administrative region Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) of Bavaria. Bamberg was first mentioned in a document of AD 902 and was given to the Bavarian Duke Heinrich (called "der Zänker", "the Quarreller") by Emperor Otto II in 973. Heinrich's son, King Heinrich II (from 1014 Emperor) installed the bishopric of Bamberg in 1007 and also was the founder of Bamberg's first cathedral, which was consecrated in 1012. The bishopric soon became an important centre of the Holy Roman Empire, especially after the foundations of the Benedictine abbey of St. Michael (1015) and the collegiate monasteries St. Stephan (1020), St. Gangolf (1058) and St. Jakob (1071). In 1020 Bamberg was the site of a meeting between Emperor Heinrich II and Pope Benedict VIII. When Heinrich died in 1024, he was buried in the cathedral. Bishop Suidger of Bamberg became Pope Clemens II in 1046. When Clemens died just one year later his remains were brought back to Bamberg where he also was buried in the cathedral. The sovereign territories of the bishops grew rapidly and later also included regions in Upper Italy and Carinthia. In 1460 Bamberg was the second place after Mainz where the new technique of printing books was used. Today's appearance of the town was mainly shaped during the reign of the bishops from the Schönborn family. During that period (1693–1746) Bamberg was embellished with numerous splendid Baroque buildings. After the secularisation of 1803 the bishops lost their sovereignty and Bamberg became part of the Electorate (1806 Kingdom) of Bavaria. After World War I, the Bavarian government and parliament met in Bamberg and drew up the first democratic constitution of Bavaria (the so-called "Bamberger Verfassung"). After World War II Bamberg became an important industrial and cultural centre. The historic old town of Bamberg with its about 2,000 buildings under monument protection, which constitute one of the largest preserved historical town centres of Europe, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO in 1993 (see also list of other UNESCO heritage sites).

The Altenburg [left] is situated at an elevation of 386 m on the highest hill of the town. The castle was first mentioned in 1109 and originally served as a refuge stronghold for the bishops who had come in possession of the castle in 1251. After 1305 it was remodelled and by 1400 had became a sumptuous residence castle. When Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach besieged the Altenburg during the second Margraves' War in 1553, he threatened to burn down the entire city. In order to avoid this, the bishops capitulated and Albrecht Alcibiades looted the castle and destroyed it completely. In the same year, however, Albrecht Alcibiades was defeated decisively so that the castle could be rebuilt in very reduced degree. From then on it only served as a prison. After 1801 private investors began to restore the castle in Romantic style. The Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann liked the castle so much that he even chose to live in one of the tower apartments in 1812. The great hall of the castle was reconstructed in 1901/1902.