in his first time in bamberg, the bishop’s throne in the cathedral was "too ostentatious, too dominant" for him been. But in the meantime "he is an inspiration to me, known archbishop ludwig schick. He cited the various design features of the throne, such as the four cardinal virtues depicted "from which the bishop must carry out his ministry". Or the two patrons of the cathedral, Peter and George, who are depicted on the sides of the bishop’s chair. "Important and obligatory, the archbishop called them.
His very personal approach, indeed his declaration of love for "his" cathedral is like a multifaceted book dom fascinated the many listeners from near and far who had gathered for this evening hour in the cathedral. All participants in the two-day symposium "a book with seven seals? 1000 years bamberger dom". the diocesan academy caritas-pirckheimer-haus nuremberg and the catholic adult education bamberg had invited to it.For archbishop schick, the dome is anything but "sealed". "I feel it as an open book, as a place of speeches and inspirations", he says. His explanations about the pope’s tomb, the high tomb of saints heinrich and kunigunde, about the bamberger reiter, the main altar or the glesker crucifixion group seemed more like a catechesis with theological references; like meditative observations of the cathedral’s furnishings from new perspectives. The brilliant organ playing of the cathedral organist markus willinger, who accompanied the conjured magic with works by bach and messiaen, corresponded with this.
The visitors took the opportunity to be guided to places in the cathedral that are otherwise not so easily accessible: directly to the tomb of pope clemens II., to the west crypt of the original heinrich cathedral, which is now the bishop’s tomb, to the head chapel with the skull relics of the bishopric’s patrons, and to the east crypt with the baptismal fountain.
After these visual impressions, the symposium participants were in the mood for the specialist presentations the next day in the bistumshaus st. Otto. In addition to all the scientific references to the building that shapes culture and the cityscape, the speakers each offered their own view of the cathedral, one of germany’s most important sacred buildings.
Achim hubel, for example, long-time professor of historic preservation at the university of bamberg, devoted himself to the "struggle for design: between diversity and bleakness". Hubel described the fundamental transformations the cathedral has undergone over the course of its history. In his usual trenchant and committed manner, the monument conservator addressed the various attempts to reinstall colored glass windows that had been removed in the baroque period, with recourse to the Middle Ages.
After three unsuccessful attempts in the 19. And 20. in the year 2000, an artist’s competition was held to decorate the entire cathedral with colored glass windows: "unfortunately, immediately after the announcement of the winner, the metropolitan chapter decided not to have the stained-glass windows executed", regretted hubel. He could "not understand" this decision: "A medieval cathedral absolutely needs colored windows that would filter the daylight and eliminate the backlight effects."
The liturgical scholar professor peter wunsche devoted himself to the cathedral as a "place of worship". He took a walk through the history of the Christian liturgy as it was and is celebrated in the Bamberg cathedral for 1000 years. Wunsche drew on the oldest surviving sources that reflect the state of worship that was widespread north of the alps at the time: "the Bamberg cathedral liturgy proves to be a dialect of the roman liturgy, but apart from rome, the influence of mainz is clearly noticeable", the cathedral chaplain reported from the time of the first bamberger cathedral. In his historical foray, wunsche finally landed at the liturgical reform after the second Vatican council with the "reconsideration of the church on its service". He suggested that the largely unused spaces of the cathedral, such as the side aisles and transepts and the east choir, should once again be used for smaller forms of liturgy: "Imagination is needed in their use."
Other speakers at the symposium included district curator of local history professor gunter dippold and pastoral advisor hubertus lieberth. Actor martin neubauer offered a literary walk with stories and texts about and around the cathedral as a final icing on the cake.