This section features a row of attractive medieval houses along the river. Traveling through Bamberg, one notices the Catholicism that is the root of many townspeople's lives. Statues and paintings of Mary adorn many buildings and doorways, and churches are common throughout the town. Up one of Bamberg's seven hills from the river is the Domplatz, a spectacular plaza surrounded by large ornate buildings. Inside is the enigmatic Bamberg Rider, a statue of a man on a horse.
Residents still wonder about the identity of the rider, even after hundreds of years.
Across the Domplatz is a road leading into the huge courtyard of the Alte Hofhaltung, a former Episcopal palace. Behind an adjoining building is a lush rose garden, from which one can have a great view of the town below. The residential neighborhoods of Bamberg are nothing to scoff at either. The vegetation is plentiful, and neighbors actually talk to each other. A surprising feature of German towns, however, is the many cigarette dispensers along residential streets.