English: The Town of Bamberg has been inscribed on the World Heritage List concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1993. Inscription on this list confirms the outstanding universal value of a cultural or natural property which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity. Bamberg is an outstanding and representative example of an early medieval town in central Europe, both in its plan and its many well-preserved ecclesiastical and secular buildings.
During its period of greatest prosperity, from the 12th century onwards, the architecture of Bamberg strongly influenced northern Germany and Hungary. In the late 18th century it was the center of the enlightenment in southern Germany, with such an eminent philosopher as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and the writer and composer E.T.A. Hoffmann living there.