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Bamberg's Domplatz is lined with such a superb variety of buildings, which unfold like a great picture-book of architecture, and uses its spacious, sloping site to such dramatic advantage, that it has no possible rival for the title of Germany's finest square. The Ratsstube is a Renaissance gem, with elegantly tapering gables and an ornate oriel window. It now contains the Historisches Museum (Tues-Sun 9am-5pm; DM4/?2), which covers local and regional history from the Stone Age onwards, as well as Bamberg's rich artistic tradition. The exhibits include a tenth-century ivory Virgin and Child from Constantinople; an intricate late sixteenth-century clock; a typically idiosyncratic panel of The Great Flood by Hans Baldung Grien , who here tackled with relish a subject most painters shied away from; and Balthasar Neumann's original wooden model for Vierzehnheiligen. Adjoining the Ratsstube is the Reiche Tor , in which Heinrich and Kunigunde appear once more; the model they carry is recognizably the Kaiserdom. This gate leads into the huge fifteenth-century courtyard of the Alte Hofhaltung , the former episcopal palace, which incorporates the remains of the eleventh-century hall of the Imperial Diet. The overhanging eaves of the huge sloping roof shelter two tiers of wooden galleries, and there's an unusual perspective on the towers of the Dom. One wing contains an annexe of the Historisches Museum. Across the street is the building which supplanted it, the Neue Residenz (guided tours April-Sept Mon-Wed & Fri-Sun 9am-6pm, Thurs 9am-8pm; Oct-March daily 10am-4pm; DM6/?3). An early example of the passion for building huge new palaces in the Baroque style that was to sweep across the German principalities, it was erected at the turn of the eighteenth century to an L-shape plan by Leonhard Dientzenhofer. Inside, a suite of rooms designed expressly for occasions when the emperor stayed as guest culminates in the huge Kaisersaal , which is nowadays a regular concert venue. Its walls are entirely covered with rich stuccowork and colourful frescoes by Melchior Steidl, including portraits of the emperors of ancient Rome and a ceiling with an allegorical composition extolling the benefits of wise rule. The private apartments of the prince-bishops are far more homely in feel; the most original is the Chinesische Kabinett , a curious hybrid in which traditional Baroque decoration is mixed with chinoiserie. Also included in the entrance ticket, but visited independently, is the Staatsgalerie Bamberg (same times), which occupies two suites of apartments. The first of these contains works by Bamberg painters of the Gothic and Renaissance periods, and by some of their German contemporaries, including the Master of the Life of the Virgin, Hans Suess von Kulmbach, Baldung and Cranach. In the second gallery, which is devoted to the Baroque era, the geographical scope is widened to include Dutch and Flemish paintings. The palace also houses the Staatsbibliothek (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-noon; free), and it's worth having at least a quick look at the elegant Baroque hall which serves as its reading room. It usually stages a couple of exhibitions per year; facsimiles of its most valuable treasures, including some stunning illuminated manuscripts, are on permanent view in the corridor. To the rear of the complex is the Rosengarten , a formal rose garden with playful Rococo statues. It commands marvellous views, particularly up to the Abtei St Michael.
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