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Bamberg Cathedral has inspired many legends and mysteries, which is reflective of the German taste for lively sculpture, making it a perfectly representative German Gothic cathedral . Several German cathedrals have legends surrounding them, but the stories from Bamberg are especially interesting since we can still see the physical "remains" of those stories. The fact that Bamberg Cathedral is the subject of so many stories shows how inspiring it was to the population, and how it will be inspiring to you.
Two very damaged lion sculptures sit outside the Marienpforte and Adamspforte, which are referred to as Domkröten, or "cathedral frogs". The legend goes that a sculptor of supposed Greek origin hired a young apprentice to work on a portal. The master was completing his portal much faster. Troubled by this, the young man sold his soul to the devil so that he could also work faster. Each night, two toad demons were sent down and they would destroy the master's daily progress. This made the young man able to complete his portal before the master, but after he accomplished this, the demon took him up the tower for a view and then pushed him off to his death. The two demons turned to stone outside of the portals, the Domkröten we see today.
Another legend of an unfortunate death is about a young woman. She was the daughter of a guard and she was very beautiful. Many men attempted to seduce her, but she resisted all approaches. Satan became frustrated by this, so he made accusations which came to the father, who believed them and had her sentenced to death. As the daughter was led into the cathedral through the Fürstenportal to make her last repentences, she prayed to the Virgin for death, so as to avoid the shame of execution. After she made this prayer, a tile fell from the roof and struck her violently, killing her. After this, everyone recognized her innocence.
Bamberg foot outline https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamberger_Dom
The Bamberger Elle is a unit of measurement found throughout the city, and is one of the oldest units of measure in medieval Europe. The interesting part is that the measurement was supposedly based off of Kunigunde's foot, with a stone showing the outline of her foot, about 10.5 inches long.
Bailey McCulloch // Bibliography
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