Henry II founds the bishopric of Bamberg

1007

On newly cleared Franconian hillsides the German king planted a new episcopal see to evangelize the pagan Slavs of his eastern frontier. Bamberg would become a favorite residence and burial place of the last Ottonian emperor, its cathedral a showpiece of Romanesque art for centuries afterward. The bishopric's library grew into one of the finest in medieval Germany, preserving manuscripts that scholars still consult today.