ABSTRACT
A bishopric and city in Bavaria, Bamberg was especially important during the Ottonian through Gothic periods. A small settlement seems to have existed on the site since the seventh century, but Bamberg was essentially founded in the early eleventh century when the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and his wife, the Empress Kunigunde, established a bishopric there in 1007. Henry hoped to create a "new Rome" in the eastern part of his domain, and to this end a cathedral, palace, market, and settlement were built, forming a center of imperial power. Bamberg cathedral's connections with both a holy emperor and a pope gave the church a unique character that continued to be reflected in the building's decorative programs through the Middle Ages, The importance of the emperor and his wife was heightened by Henry's canonization in 1146 and Kunigunde's. The sculpture at Bamberg Cathedral represents one of the finest ensembles in any German cathedral.
