Bamberg Cathedral

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Bamberg Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St George
Bamberger Dom
Bamberg Cathedral
49°53′27″N 10°52′57″E / 49.89083°N 10.88250°E / 49.89083; 10.88250
Location	Bamberg
Country	Germany
Denomination	Catholic
Website	Website of the cathedral
History
Status	Active
Founded	1002
Founder(s)	Heinrich II (Henry II)
Consecrated	6 May 1012
Architecture
Functional status	Metropolitan Cathedral, Minor Basilica
Style	Romanesque
Completed	1012
Specifications
Length	94 metres
Width	28 metres
Height	26 metres
Number of spires	4
Spire height	81 metres
Administration
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Bamberg
Clergy
Archbishop	Ludwig Schick
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Designated	1993 (17th session)
Reference no.	624
Region	Europe and North America

Bamberg Cathedral (German: Bamberger Dom, official name Bamberger Dom St. Peter und St. Georg) is a church in Bamberg, Germany, completed in the 13th century. The cathedral is under the administration of the Archdiocese of Bamberg and is the seat of the its archbishop. Since 1993, the cathedral has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Town of Bamberg".

It was founded in 1002 by King (and later Emperor) Heinrich II (Henry II) and consecrated in 1012. With the tombs of Henry II and his spouse Cunigunde, the cathedral contains the remains of the only imperial couple that was canonized. With the tomb of Pope Clement II (1005–47) it also contains the only papal grave in Germany, and north of the Alps.

After the first two cathedrals burned down in the 11th and 12th centuries, the current structure, a late Romanesque building with four large towers, was built in the 13th century.

The cathedral is about 94 m long, 28 m broad, 26 m high, and the four towers are each about 81 m high. It contains many works of art, including the marble tomb of the founder and his wife, the Empress Kunigunde, considered a masterpiece of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and carved between 1499 and 1513.

Another well-known treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue known as the Bamberg Horseman (German: Der Bamberger Reiter). This statue, possibly depicting the Hungarian king Stephen I, most likely dates to the period from 1225 to 1237 and is the first of this kind since antiquity.