After 1007 Bamberg castle was rebuilt as a modern cathedral and palace complex. Likely, it turned out to be an ideal prototype for other similar building projects at Paderborn, Goslar and elsewhere
In 973, Otto II presented his cousin, Heinrich der der Zänker ( Henry the Wrangler), with the keys to Babenberg Castle near the confluence of the rivers Regnitz and the Main. When Heinrich der Zänker was granted Bamberg, the castle on the later Domberg was already impressive. Archaeologists have shown that already in 902, the Babenberg – later Bamberg – was a heavily fortified castle domineering a riverine landscape with a village down to the river. For several years, it was used as a state prison for the Italian king, Berengar II, who died there in 966.
Later, Heinrich II, at that time Duke of Bavaria, presented his wife, Kunegunde, with Bamberg as her matrimonial gift; he granted her a thriving and vital city, which they later transformed into a diocese in 1007, and where they built the first cathedral, consecrated in 1012.
The Cathedral and the Palace
Today, the cathedral is a late Romanesque building from the beginning of the 13th century, and the adjoining palace is long gone. However, archaeological excavations have shown that the layout appears to have been used as an ideal type of other similar palaces from the early 11th century.
Based on the excavated foundations, St. Henry’s Cathedral can be reconstructed as a 75 m long, double-choir basilica with two towers flanking the east choir and a western transept.
To the north of the transept, the buildings of the kings (bishop’s) palace were connected via a connecting corridor, the northern end of which was the St. Thomas Chapel, consecrated in 1020.
Around the middle of the 11th century, the octagonal St. Andrew’s Chapel was finally added to the ensemble in the south. On the south side of Henrich’s Cathedral were the cathedral cloister and the adjoining buildings of the cathedral monastery. However, no information is yet available about their former layout and appearance.
Based on the excavations in the Cathedral and on the “Domburg”, a virtual model was created as a contribution to the celebrations of the anniversary.
The plan shows how the transept of the first cathedral was adjoined with the residential buildings, which limited the width of the secular hall to 12 meters. This hall was two-story with an impressive length of 45 meters and a height of approximately 9 metres. To the north, a gatehouse led to the inner courtyard behind the palace. Directly linked was also the Thomas chapel, which functioned as the private chapel for the royal couple and their household. Probably, there was direct access to a gallery opening up into the chapel from the upper floor. It has been suggested that the inspiration derived from a similar building at St. Emmeram in Regensburg. Later, the plan was reused as a model for the new palace at Paderborn built ca. 1015.
Visiting the
FEATURED PHOTO:
SOURCES:
Die Baugeschichte der Alten Hofhaltung in Bamberg. Dissertation.
By Walter Burandt
Bamberg : BVB, Bayerische Verlag 1998
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