00:00The Altenburg is a castle that sits on the tallest of the seven hills of Bamberg, southern
00:14Germany, overlooking the town.
00:17It is located in Upper Franconia, a region in the state of Bavaria, and dates back to
00:22at least 1109.
00:23The first mention of the Altenburg was in 1109, although it is likely that it was built
00:28on the spot of an earlier palisade castle.
00:31It first served as what is known in German as a «Fleberg».
00:34This is a castle that was not regularly inhabited but served mainly for city defense as a place
00:39where residents could flee to in times of danger.
00:42In 1251, the Bamberg, 1st Bischof, the sovereign bishops of Bamberg, acquired the castle.
00:48From 1305 to 1553, it was the residence of the bishops.
00:53In 1553, during the Second Margrave War, the army of Albert Alcibiades, margrave of
00:58Brandenburg-Kalmbach, burned the castle down.
01:01Afterward the castle was used as a prison for a while.
01:04In 1801, the Bamberg physician Adalbert Friedrich Marcus acquired the decaying castle and restored
01:10it from the ground up.
01:11The author E.T.A.
01:12Hoffmann, who was friends with Marcus, felt so drawn to the castle that he frequently
01:17stayed for a long time in one of the wall towers during the years 1808-1813.
01:23In 1818, a society for the maintenance of the Altenburg, named the «Altenburg-Verein
01:28e.
01:29V.
01:30Bamberg» received the castle.
01:31The society was founded by Anton von Grafenstein, the postmaster of Bamberg.
01:36Today the castle is open for public tours.
01:39There is also a restaurant in the castle called the «Restaurant Altenburg».
01:43The restaurant also manages the so-called Knight's Hall, used mostly for events such
01:47as weddings or other celebrations.
01:49From 1952 to 1982, a brown bear named Poldi lived in a zwinger, a defensive enclosure,
01:55in the castle.
01:57The zwinger is still present, but today only houses a stuffed bear.
02:01Bamberg East Franconian
02:02Bamberg is a town in the Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz
02:07close to its confluence with the river Main.
02:10Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in 2022.
02:14The town dates back to the 9th century when its name was derived from the nearby Babenberg
02:18castle.
02:19Cited as one of Germany's most beautiful towns, with medieval streets and buildings.
02:24The old town of Bamberg with around 2,400 timber houses has been a UNESCO World Heritage
02:29Site since 1993.
02:31From the 10th century onwards, Bamberg became a key link with the Slav peoples.
02:36Notably those of Poland and Pomerania.
02:38It experienced a period of great prosperity from the 12th century onwards, during which
02:43time it was briefly the center of the Holy Roman Empire.
02:46Emperor Henry II was buried in the old town, alongside his wife Kunigunde.
02:51The town's architecture from this period strongly influenced that in northern Germany and Hungary.
02:57From the middle of the 13th century onwards, the bishops were princes of the empire and
03:01ruled Bamberg, overseeing the construction of monumental buildings.
03:05This growth was complemented by the obtaining of large portions of the estates of the Counts
03:09of Marin in 1248 and 1260 by the sea.
03:13Partly through purchase and partly through the appropriation of extinguished fifes.
03:18Bamberg lost its independence in 1802, following the secularization of church lands.
03:23Becoming part of Bavaria in 1803.
03:26The town was first connected to the German rail system in 1844, which has been an important
03:30part of its infrastructure ever since.
03:33After a communist uprising took control over Bavaria in the years following World War I.
03:38The state government fled to Bamberg and stayed there for almost two years before the
03:42Bavarian capital of Munich was retaken by Freikorps units, see Bavarian Soviet Republic.
03:48The first republican constitution of Bavaria was passed in Bamberg, becoming known as the
03:52Bamberger Verfassung, Bamberg Constitution.
03:56That is all.
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