Bamberg

Bamberg lay on the two arms of the Regnitz, with the cathedral hill above and the island town of burghers, gardeners and vintners below. Its bishopric was founded by Henry II in 1007, and in the middle of the thirteenth century the bishop received sovereign rights from Frederick II and became the first prince-bishop, so that he ruled the town as well as the church. Floods were a constant danger: in July 1342 the Magdalene flood swept away a bridge.

In January 1430 the Hussites advanced on Bamberg. The cathedral chapter fled with its treasure and the bishop withdrew to Carinthia, while the town paid a ransom of 12,000 gulden to escape burning. In the Peasants' War of 1525 rebels attacked the cathedral hill and plundered the canons' houses. The worst came after 1612, when witch trials swept the bishopric: at least 884 people were put to death by 1631, among them Mayor Johannes Junius, who was held in the witch-house built in 1627 and executed in 1628. Swedish troops entering in February 1632 ended the trials, though the war cut the population from about 12,000 to 9,600.

Under the Schönborn prince-bishops the baroque age brought the New Residence and the Lower Bridge. The prince-bishopric passed to Bavaria in 1802 and 1803.