Bamberg Cathedral - The Bamberger Reiter

The Bamberger Reiter

Another treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue called the Bamberg Horseman (Bamberger Reiter). People have tried to guess for years who this knight on horseback really was. During the cathedral’s history people have often made up stories about who he was. 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. This was Nazi propaganda. The knight on the statue does not, in fact, look east at all. It is now thought that he was probably the 11th century Hungarian king Stephen I.. Modern technology has made it possible for us to know what the original colours were, and this has helped scientists to identify him. The sculptor carved only his mask into the sculpture, leaving his identity a mystery.