page_title: Bamberg Cathedral
section_title: Bamberger Reiter
hierarchical_section_title: Bamberg Cathedral / Description / Sculptures and carvings / Bamberger Reiter
caption_attribution_description: English: Bamberg Horseman, a life-size stone equestrian statue in the cathedral of Bamberg, in Germany. It is considered the first monumental equestrian statue since classical antiquity. Español: es: El Jinete de Bamberg, estatua ecuestre de piedra de dimensiones naturales, localizada dentro de la Catedral de Bamberg en Alenmania. Se considera la primera talla ecuestre de tamaño natural desde la Edad Antigua. Deutsch: Bamberger Reiter Français&#160;: Le cavalier de Bamberg, une statue équestre grandeur nature sise dans la cathédrale de Bamberg, en Allemagne. Cette statue anonyme est considérée comme la première statue équestre depuis l'antiquité classique. Italiano: Cavaliere di Bamberga Polski: Jeździec bamberski
context_page_description: Bamberg Cathedral is a church in Bamberg, Germany, completed in the 13th century. The cathedral is under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is the seat of the Archbishop of Bamberg. Since 1993, the cathedral has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Town of Bamberg".
  It was founded in 1002 by King Heinrich 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 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.
context_section_description: Near the tomb, on the northwestern choir column, supported by an Acanthus corbel, stands an equestrian statue known as the Bamberg Horseman (Bamberger Reiter). There is no consensus on who this knight on horseback really was supposed to represent. During the cathedral’s long history, the favoured version changed. The Romantics thought he was a German emperor from the Hohenstaufen family. The Nazis thought he was a knight who symbolized German perfection, looking towards the east for new lands to conquer. Pictures of the horseman were displayed in schools, hostels and dwellings.
  It is now thought that he was probably the 11th century Hungarian king Stephen I. This is based on modern technology which has revealed the original colours used to paint the statue.
  The sculptor carved only his mark into the sculpture, leaving his identity a mystery. He may also have been involved in the creation of figures on the eastern choir screen (Mary and Elisabeth) and possibly of the Last Judgment of the Fürstenportal. The Reiter is probably the oldest statue of a horseman created in post-Roman Germany.
caption: The Bamberger Reiter
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