Medieval History is, much to the joy of travelers with a penchant for the past, an integral part of the daily lives of Germans today. While most may well go about their business without thought of knights and castles and villages of meager huts, those things are very much a part of them. They preserve and restore and renovate things past with a passion. Everywhere are signs proudly proclaiming the age of buildings and the dedication of avenues to past heroes. Many of the images below originated in the one city I am most familiar with and love to visit as often as funds allow. My descriptions are entirely inadequate for this city, in spite of having spent years here.

Bamberg is a city most tourist bureaus know little about. Yet this city has a rich history dating from medieval Germany and was in fact once destined to be the capital of the German empire. If you, like I, abhor the frenetic activities and constant racket of the big city, but love to wallow in history and culture and great food, Bamberg is the place to be. The core area of downtown Bamberg is rich with preserved churches, cathedrals and municipal buildings and cobblestone streets connecting all.

Church bells ring, are you listening? Church bells ring on a daily basis, but Sunday is a day to be in Bamberg, if only once, to have etched into your memory forever the sound of church bells from every direction ringing out their call to villagers all around. It is a sound brought through the centuries to constantly remind all of their extraordinary history. It is a history inextricably entwined in royal and religious poltical maneuverings.

While shopping centers begin to spring up around the edges of the city residents rest peacefully knowing their precious history and beloved town is safe from encroaching modernism. Even many of the streets here cannot be altered with modern paving materials.