Overview and exterior The cathedral is about long, broad, high, and the four towers are each about high. Due to its long construction process, several styles were used in different parts of the cathedral, particularly the Romanesque and
Gothic ones. Between these two styles is the Transitional style, and this is the style which is characteristic of the
nave. The current structure is a late Romanesque building with four big towers. The eastern towers were originally lower, but raised to the western towers' height after 1766 by steep pointed gables, added by architect Johann Jacob Michael Küchel. The western towers are early Gothic.
Choirs The cathedral has a
choir at each end. The eastern choir is the oldest part of the cathedral, still in pure Romanesque style. The western choir is early Gothic and its vault was built from 1232. The east chancel, elevated due to the presence of a crypt beneath, is dedicated to
St. George. This symbolizes the
Holy Roman Empire. Of the figures adorning the southern choir screen, the first three apostles pairs are attributed to the stonemasons who made the
Gnadenpforte (see below). The others and the twelve prophets on the northern screen reflect a later style. The choir stalls with carved chimeras and lions date from the 14th century. The fresco in the
apse is much younger. It was created in 1927/8. The west chancel is dedicated to
St. Peter symbolizing the
Pope. It contains the
cathedra (created in 1904) and behind it, the grave of Pope Clement II. To the left and right are Gothic (late 14th century) choir stalls, richly carved. In the back, the
Kreuzaltar dominates the choir. The figures of Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalena and John was created from gold-covered basswood in 1652/3 by , auctioned off during the purification in 1835, bought back in 1915 and erected in 1917. In the front is the 20th-century
Volksaltar with a large
wheel chandelier above. This sandstone base, fitted with various bronze plates showing scenes from the life of Jesus, was made in 1974/5 by .
Transepts The northern transept holds a late Gothic (c. 1500) altar dedicated to Mary (
Mühlhausener Altar). It was previously located in the Protestant parish church of
Mühlhausen. In 1781, it was replaced and then sold off in 1891. Given to Archbishop
Joseph von Schork, he gifted it in 1904 to the cathedral. The southern transept contains a large
Nativity altar made of
basswood by the artist
Veit Stoss in 1520–3. It was originally intended for a church in
Nuremberg (
Karmeliterkloster) but after
Reformation came to that city in 1524 the council refused to allow it to be set up. Veit's son Andreas Stoss, who had moved to Bamberg in 1526, managed to have it brought to Bamberg in 1543, where it was erected in the church ''''. It only came to the cathedral in 1937 and is on a permanent loan from the parish. The altar is incomplete (e.g. the
predella was never made) and only some parts of it were made by Stoss himself rather than by his workshop.
Nave and side-aisles The nave, which connects the eastern and western choir and accounts for about a third of the overall length of the church, contains the imperial tomb, the
Bamberger Reiter, an early 19th-century
pulpit and the organ. Two more notable altars are located in the side aisles: The
Kirchgattendorfer Altar and the so-called
Riemenschneider Altar. The former is dedicated to Mary and dates from the 16th century. It came from the Protestant parish church of
Kirchgattendorf in Upper Franconia and was set up here in 1921. The latter was assembled in 1926 from various individual figures of different origin, all dating from around 1500. It is named after the statue of St. Sebastian, which is attributed to the workshop of Riemenschneider.
Crypts The western crypt was filled in with rubble but reopened in 1987–95. It was discovered that it still contained features of Heinrich's original cathedral. It now serves as the burial site for the Archbishops of Bamberg. The first to be buried there in 1998 was Josef Schneider (1955–76). Under the northwestern tower a chapel (
Häupterkapelle) was created in 1997 to keep the skulls of the two founders, Heinrich and Kunigunde. They are contained within a glass shrine on a stele. Kunigunde's skull was previously kept in a cabinet in the eastern choir, behind the so-called
Sonnenloch which gave access to the outside of the cathedral. The eastern crypt was created alongside the current cathedral, c. 1200. The tombs now here were only relocated from the nave in the 19th and 20th centuries. These include bishops from the 11th and 12th centuries and the tomb of
King Konrad III (Conrad III) who died at Bamberg in 1152 and was initially buried next to Heinrich and Kunigunde. There is also a well used for baptisms.
Chapels Nagelkapelle This is the former chapter hall beneath which members of the cathedral chapter were also buried (the bronze slabs from their burials have now been moved to the walls). A wooden Gothic altar from c. 1500 is located in the further, late-Gothic part of the room. The name "Nagelkapelle" ("Nail chapel") refers to a
nail said to come from the
True Cross; this nail has been venerated at Bamberg since the 14th century.
Sakramentskapelle Formerly the Antonius or
Gertrude Chapel, this was rededicated in 1974 after the Second Vatican Council. It now serves to store the
sacramental bread for the
Eucharist. It contains a painting (
Rosenkranzgemälde) attributed to
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1520).
Sculptures and carvings There are many
sculptures both inside the cathedral and adorning the exterior.
Tomb of Heinrich and Kunigunde One of the most notable works of art of the cathedral is the tomb of Emperor Heinrich II, the founder of the cathedral, and his wife, Empress Kunigunde. It was made by sculptor
Tilman Riemenschneider from polished
Solnhofen limestone and marble from the
Franconian Jura. It took him 14 years to carve: between 1499 and 1513. The tomb, located near the eastern choir, is slightly higher than floor level because below there is a
crypt. The tomb rises about 1.7 m above the floor. The top is carved with the likeness of Emperor and Empress. Above is a late-Gothic canopy. The carvings round the sides, reflecting the influence of
Renaissance art, tell of various episodes in the lives of the imperial couple: The Empress walks across red-hot ploughshares to prove her innocence after being accused of adultery, the payment of the workers who built , the Emperor being cured by
Saint Benedict, the Emperor's death and the weighing of his soul by the archangel Michael. Reportedly they are based on sketches by
Wolfgang Katzheimer.
Bamberger Reiter Near the tomb, on the northwestern choir column, supported by an
Acanthus corbel, stands an
equestrian statue known as the
Bamberg Horseman (
Bamberger Reiter). There is no consensus on who this knight on horseback really was supposed to represent. During the cathedral's long history, the favoured version changed. The
Romantics thought he was a German emperor from the
Hohenstaufen family. The
Nazis thought he was a knight who symbolized German perfection, looking towards the east for new lands to conquer. Pictures of the horseman were displayed in schools, hostels and dwellings. It is now thought that he was probably the 11th century
Hungarian king
Stephen I. This is based on modern technology which has revealed the original colours used to paint the statue. The sculptor carved only his mark into the sculpture, leaving his identity a mystery. He may also have been involved in the creation of figures on the eastern choir screen (Mary and
Elisabeth) and possibly of the
Last Judgment of the
Fürstenportal. The
Reiter is probably the oldest statue of a horseman created in post-Roman Germany.
Portals Numerous carvings ornament the three major portals. The
Adamspforte and
Marienpforte (or
Gnadenpforte) leading into the eastern towers are each guarded by a carved Romanesque lion, a weathered remainder of Heinrich's original cathedral. The former portal sports figures (replicas) of St. Stephen, Kunigunde, Heinrich II, St. Peter and
Adam and Eve. The latter is a funnel-shaped portal of the Lombardian style. The
tympanum shows Mary, venerated by St. Peter and St. George on one side and by Kunigunde and Heinrich on the other. Figures cowering in the corners are interpreted to be bishop Ekbert (left), a cleric possibly cathedral provost Poppo of Andechs-Merania (right) and a crusader in the centre, maybe based on one "frater Wortwinus", architect of the 1229–31 work. The main portal, not in the west as usual due to the two-choir structure of the cathedral but in the centre of the north wall, is called
Fürstenportal (princes' portal) and opened only on holy days. It accesses the northern side aisle and was started by late Romanesque artisans (prophets and apostles) but finished by early Gothic workers (
Last Judgment in the tympanum). The statues (replicas) topping the columns are
Ecclesia and Synagoga (the originals were moved in 1937). There are also statues here of
Abraham and the Angel announcing the Last Judgement. The
Veitspforte is a minor entryway, dating to the early Gothic period. It was inspired by the style the
Cistercians had brought from France to southern Germany, as at
Ebrach Abbey. The portal gives access to the southern transept.
Papal grave The tomb of
Pope Clement II (1005–47) is made from silver-grey
marble with carved reliefs from the first half of the 13th century on all four sides: the four
Cardinal virtues, death of the pope and St. Michael,
rivers of Paradise, and
John the Baptist (or possibly Christ sitting in judgment over the world).
Others Although many medieval bishops' tombs remain inside the cathedral, most of the later ones where transferred to the
Michaelskirche during the 19th-century "purification" of the cathedral.
Organ The cathedral first had an organ in 1415. The one that was built in 1868 gave many problems and had to be rebuilt five years later, but it was kept until 1940 because of its good sound. The organ that is present in the cathedral today was built in 1976 by the organ builder Rieger. There are four angel figures in the corners of the organ case. The organ has four
manuals and
pedalboard. All the organs during the cathedral's history were built against the north wall because the sound was best there. Every year about 40 concerts are given in the cathedral.
Bells Further structures The
cloisters and the nearby chapter house by Balthasar Neumann today house the '''' (cathedral museum). The
Domkranz is a terrace reached by two broad stairways from the
Domplatz. From here the
Adamspforte and the
Gnadenpforte give access to the cathedral.
Domplatz The cathedral square is also fronted by the Renaissance buildings of the '
and the Baroque ', the palaces of the bishops from the 15th century to 1602 and from 1602 to 1803, respectively. Originally known as
Hofplatz or
Burgplatz, after secularization the square was renamed
Karolinenplatz in honour of the then
Queen of Bavaria, Karoline. Only in 1949, did
Domplatz become the official name for the area. Previously, this had been limited to just the immediate surroundings of the cathedral. ==In popular culture==