[1] “In this description, I desire to convey certain actions of the venerable Otto VIII, bishop of the sacrosanct Babenberg church, to posterity. […] Such as the monasteries constructed by him and […] other outstanding monuments of his remarkable labor, I intend to transmit to the knowledge of future generations through a true account.“[1]
This sentence comes from the work Relatio de piis operibus Ottonis Episcopis Bambergensis written around 1140. Although the focus in this document is primarily on the memoria of bishop Otto I, who died only one year before and was canonized already in 1189, it provides an unique insight into the bishop’s work in his diocese.
[2] Otto was not only an imperial politician, monastic reformer, and missionary, but also exercised significant regional influence on Bamberg’s urban development and the shaping of its basic structures up to the early modern period, in his role as territorial ruler of his ecclesiastical principalities.[2] As a result of his formative interventions, Otto came to be regarded early on as the second founder of Bamberg. His missionary approach was characterized by intense building activity as well.
This is the context to show the multidimensional impact of architecture and its different levels of utilization and symbolism. Furthermore, the building activity of bishop Otto I proves as a linking element in the enforcement of his agency both in Bamberg, his further dispersed holdings and in the territories of his mission of the Pomoran and Lutic people.[3]

Figure 1: Oldest depiction of Otto in the manuscript Msc.Patr.76 of the Bamberg State Library, which was probably created during Otto’s lifetime, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Otto’s Influence on Bamberg
[3] With the founding of the diocese by emperor Henry II in 1007, Bamberg developed from a peripheral regional center to a central place in the Sacrum Imperium, namely the Holy Roman Empire.[4] Otto sought to expand on this path from 1102 onwards during his whole episcopate. The bishop brought to this position a broad knowledge of architecture and construction work, which he most likely had acquired while managing and supervising the building of Speyer Cathedral. He was able to demonstrate this knowledge in a variety of building activities in Bamberg.[5] Apparently Otto understood his extensive building activity in Bamberg as a way for steered settlement expansion and development.[6] The work of Stefan Pfaffenberger[7] provides therefore detailed insights into changes and the existence of early and high medieval urban structures.[8]
Perceiving Architecture
[4] Archaeological evidence of increased building activity during Otto´s episcopate was found within the different settlement quarters of Bamberg and in an ecclesiastical context at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. George.[9] It reflects the prosperous conditions of the High Middle Ages and likely to a certain extent Otto’s reception of building activity as well. The structural changes at St. Michael’s Monastery following an earthquake in 1117 are especially noteworthy. These renovations not only enabled the continuation of monastic life, but manifested the changes that Bishop Otto had enforced with the introduction of the Hirsau Reform in 1112. The archaeological features of a water pipe were in particular both an infrastructural improvement and an architectural sign of the ability to return to the intended isolation and thus to the strict adherence to the Benedictine rule.[10] Otto becoming active in this way was not out of the ordinary as he partly renewed the churches of St. Stephan, St. Jakob and St. Gangolf in Bamberg and furthermore founded several monasteries through which he also expressed claims to sovereignty in dispersed holdings of Bamberg in other dioceses.[11]
[5] These examples show how Otto deliberately utilized architecture to express both religious convictions and his political agenda. Likewise on his missionary journeys Bishop Otto relied on the physically perceptible. To achieve his goals, he not only drew on the symbolism of patrocinia, but was also visibly appropriating the missionized space by building probably 14 churches[12] and creating references to the aura of existing sacred spaces of the former pagan faith.[13] In this case, it is obvious that Otto assigned a special significance to material manifestation in general and especially to the role of church buildings as community facilities and administrative centers.[14]
Expansion of Urban Space
[6] In addition to structural renewals and the expansion of central spots Bishop Otto also pursued urbanistic intentions such as the acquisition of a “forum”[15] between the arms of the river Regnitz. This market formed the basis of the island settlement, the so-called Inselstadt, and ultimately connected the settlement-structures of the so-called Theuerstadt east of the Regnitz and the mountain area in the west for the first time.[16] Archaeological evidence of the high medieval settlement at the later Inselstadt has been provided by non-ferrous metal slags and pottery from the early 12th century.[17] This coincides with the time of Otto of Bamberg’s episcopate and illustrates the first results of his ambitions to expand the settlement. Even though building projects like a stone arch bridge were only carried out after Otto’s death, his planned promotion of urban development was a prerequisite for the feasibility of subsequent arrangements.[18] The construction of representative stone buildings[19], the improvement of streets with oak planks in the Sandgebiet and the development of a uniform plot structure[20], although only dating to the period after Otto’s episcopate, nonetheless fundamentally changing Bamberg’s appearance, were presumably still driven by Otto’s effort.

Figure 2: Visualization of the spatial extent of verifiable building activities under Otto of Bamberg, based on the locations given in the doctoral thesis by A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 210-217. Further informations about Otto´s castles (“munitiones”) were taken from Ed. O. Holder-Egger, Relatio de piis operibus Ottonis Episcopis Bambergensis, MGH SS 15/2 (Hannover 1888) 1164. Other references to chapels (“capellam”) from the Relatio were not included due to the largely unclear external impact. Map creation by L. Funke with QGIS based on Mapzen Global Terrain, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The visual Impact of architectural Manifestations
[7] In summary, the ambitious actions that Otto of Bamberg carried out had a lasting effect on the infrastructural and urban development of the city. Bamberg was further overlooked by the churches and monasteries, which found distinct expression in Otto’s passion for erecting new towers visible from great distances.[21] While the written sources focused strongly on Otto’s involvement in these individual prestigious buildings[22], the archaeological findings not only provide the ability to assess and classify these mostly idealizing depictions but also demonstrate the far-reaching effects of his actions on the structures and development in the profane space. This insight is primarily based on numerous, but often small-scale rescue excavations, that offer over time the possibility of drawing macro level conclusions. Awareness of this is becoming increasingly important as the number of rescue excavations that need to be put to scientific use continues to grow.[23]
[8] Comparing Otto’s building activities in Bamberg and his construction of missionary churches in Pomerania implies that Otto of Bamberg was well aware of the impact of architectural manifestations on the enforcement and consolidation of political as well as religious claims. Unlike his unsuccessful predecessor in the Pomeranian mission, Bernhard of Spain, who encouraged him to pursue a new approach, Otto integrated the construction of churches into his mission strategy.[24] The physical manifestation of the new religion was a central instrument of his actions. The church buildings functioned as places of ecclesiastical worship and were perceivable landmarks in the sphere of the newly Christianized.[25] As bishop, Otto held both religious and secular rule in his diocese of Bamberg, where he used his secular position with similar means of architectural appropriation to consolidate and expand the city.
Indeed, even beyond in neighboring dioceses, mainly in the territory of today’s Bavaria he acted as founder and renovator of distant monasteries.[26] In his time Otto of Bamberg was not alone in using visuality and architecture, as religious building activities were a central aspect of a bishop’s reputation. In a religious perception these building activities ensured his salvation and were an indicator of his charity, piety and his praise of God.[27] Therefore, the relatio, cited at the beginning, and Otto’s biographers – which later proved crucial for his canonization – emphasized the churches monasteries and other monuments built by Otto.[28]
Otto nevertheless stands out in terms of the scope of his activities. He clearly used the interconnections of religious and political effectiveness as well as administrative and infrastructure requirements through his building activity more extensively and successfully than almost anyone else in his time. The actual remains of buildings, initiated or realized by Otto along with urban developments visible in the archaeological record, are witnesses of this agency till the present day – in Pomerania as well as in Bamberg.
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[1] „In hac descriptione, qua venerandi Ottonis octavi sacrosanctae Babenbergensis ecclesiae episcopi quaedam acta posteris insinuare desidero. [U]t cenobia ab ipso constructa et […] aliaque eximii laboris sui egregia monimenta ad noticiam posterorum vera relatione transmittam.” – Translation by the author, for the transcription and edition see Ed. O. Holder-Egger, Relatio de piis operibus Ottonis Episcopis Bambergensis, MGH SS 15/2 (Hannover 1888) 1156.
[2] Otto’s actions in world affairs at the time cf. H. Flachenecker, Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Person und Persönlichkeit, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Eds.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Historische und archäologische Forschungen zu Mission und Kulturverhältnissen des 12. Jahrhunderts im Südwesten der Ostsee, Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 23–32, 25f. Otto is thus one of the few people of the High Middle Ages to whom a pictorial representation was dedicated during his lifetime. See Figure 1.
[3] On the concept of the second founder cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Bamberg zu Beginn des 12. Jahrhunderts – das Zeitalter Bischof Ottos I. aus archäologischer Sicht, in: M. Rębkowski – S. Rosik (Eds.), Biskup Otton z Bambergu i jego świat (Wrocław 2018) 157–186, 157.
There has been various research on the activities of Otto as an architect for instance A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001).
Furthermore H. Flachenecker, Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Person und Persönlichkeit, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Eds.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Historische und archäologische Forschungen zu Mission und Kulturverhältnissen des 12. Jahrhunderts im Südwesten der Ostsee, Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 23–32, 26ff.
The theory of Agency has only recently applied to historical research. For several case studies addressing this methodological approach cf. I. Epurescu-Pascovici, Human agency in medieval society, 1100-1450 (Woodbridge 2021).
For more information on the topic of different functions of architecture in the Middle Ages cf. M. Untermann, Abbild, Symbol, Repräsentation – Funktionen mittelalterlicher Architektur?, in: O. Wagener (Eds.), Symbole der Macht? Aspekte mittelalterlicher und frühneuzeitlicher Architektur, Beihefte zur Mediävistik 17 (2012) 15–32.
[4] About written and archaeological evidence of this development cf. T. Gunzelmann – S. Pfaffenberger, Die Stadt Kaiser Heinrichs II. – Bamberg im 11. Jahrhundert, in: P. Ruderich – T. Gunzelmann (Eds.), Die Kunstdenkmäler von Bayern. Stadt Bamberg 1 – Stadtdenkmal und Stadtlandschaft (Bamberg 2012) 186–192.
[5] For more information on Ottos career cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Aspekte der Stadtentwicklung Bambergs im frühen und hohen Mittelalter aus archäologischer Sicht, Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Bamberg 36 (Büchenbach 2020), 46.
Furthermore, on his influence at Speyer Cathedral see A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 24–27.
For his impact on Bamberg Cathedral, see generally N. Lohwasser, Archäologische Forschungen zum Heinrichsdom – Fakten und Rätsel, in: C. Rolker (Eds.), Kaiser Heinrich II. Herrschaft, Handschriften und Heiligkeit im Mittelalter, Bamberger interdisziplinäre Mittelalterstudien Vorträge und Vorlesungen 10 (Bamberg 2024) 73–94.
[6] cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Aspekte der Stadtentwicklung Bambergs im frühen und hohen Mittelalter aus archäologischer Sicht, Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Bamberg 36 (Büchenbach 2020) 46 f.
[7] Stefan Pfaffenberger is the current city employed archeologist of Bamberg. Represented in this book with a detailed contribution.
[8] Further information on the state of Bamberg’s urban development in the late 11th century cf. T. Gunzelmann – S. Pfaffenberger, Die Stadt Kaiser Heinrichs II. – Bamberg im 11. Jahrhundert, in: P. Ruderich – T. Gunzelmann (Eds.), Die Kunstdenkmäler von Bayern. Stadt Bamberg 1 – Stadtdenkmal und Stadtlandschaft (Bamberg 2012) 182–211, 204–211.
[9] For more detailed information on the repair and extension the Bamberg Cathedral see N. Lohwasser, Archäologische Forschungen zum Heinrichsdom – Fakten und Rätsel, in: C. Rolker (Eds.), Kaiser Heinrich II. Herrschaft, Handschriften und Heiligkeit im Mittelalter, Bamberger interdisziplinäre Mittelalterstudien Vorträge und Vorlesungen 10 (Bamberg 2024) 73–94, 77–80.
For information about the settlement structure, see also S. Pfaffenberger, Bamberg zu Beginn des 12. Jahrhunderts – das Zeitalter Bischof Ottos I. aus archäologischer Sicht, in: M. Rębkowski – S. Rosik (Eds.), Biskup Otton z Bambergu i jego świat (Wrocław 2018) 157f.
[10] For further information S. Pfaffenberger, Aspekte der Stadtentwicklung Bambergs im frühen und hohen Mittelalter aus archäologischer Sicht, Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Bamberg 36 (Büchenbach 2020) 131.
The connection to the Hirsau Reform was also established directly in architectural references of the church building. Cf. A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 90f.
[11] This policy of founding monasteries to secure power with a combination of administration and symbolic-architectural visibility can be clearly recognized in Otto’s work. Cf. A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 16ff.
Summarizing ibid., 209.
[12] With reference to the allocation of mainly St. Peter, St. James and St. Mary patrocinia by Otto: H. Flachenecker, Bischof Otto von Bamberg und die Christianisierung der Pommern. Zu den Missionsaufgaben eines Bischofs im Hochmittelalter, in: C. Stiegemann – Kroker. Martin – W. Walter (Eds.), Credo – Christianisierung Europas im Mittelalter. Band 1: Essays (Petersberg 2013) 417–426, 422.
[13] cf. the Vita from Prüfening Abbey in Ed. L. Weinrich – J. Strzelczyk, Heiligenleben zur deutsch-slawischen Geschichte. Adalbert von Prag und Otto von Bamberg, Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe 23 (Darmstadt 2017) 165.
[14] Specifically on the relationships between the individual church buildings as landscape markers and administrative centers cf. U. Müller, Von Oldenburg nach Lübeck – Mission, Glaubenswandel und die Institutionalisierung des Christentums vom 10. bis 13. Jahrhundert, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Eds.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Historische und archäologische Forschungen zu Mission und Kulturverhältnissen des 12. Jahrhunderts im Südwesten der Ostsee, Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 211–232, 228 f. For a map of his verifiable building activity see Figure 2.
[15] Ed. O. Holder-Egger, Relatio de piis operibus Ottonis Episcopis Bambergensis, MGH SS 15/2 (Hannover 1888) 1164.
[16] More general information on urban development and urbanization in the 12th century cf. D. Nicholas, Lords, Markets, Communities. The Urban Revolution of the Twelfth Century, in: T. F. X. Noble – J. H. van Engen (Hrsg.), European transformations. The long twelfth century, Notre Dame conferences in medieval studies (Notre Dame 2012) 229–232.
[17] On the various features and finds from the excavations at Maximiliansplatz 14 and Hellerstraße 13 cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Aspekte der Stadtentwicklung Bambergs im frühen und hohen Mittelalter aus archäologischer Sicht, Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Bamberg 36 (Büchenbach 2020) 213–217.
[18] cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Bamberg zu Beginn des 12. Jahrhunderts – das Zeitalter Bischof Ottos I. aus archäologischer Sicht, in: M. Rębkowski – S. Rosik (Eds.), Biskup Otton z Bambergu i jego świat (Wrocław 2018) 157–186, 168–170.
Further reading cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Aspekte der Stadtentwicklung Bambergs im frühen und hohen Mittelalter aus archäologischer Sicht, Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Bamberg 36 (Büchenbach 2020) 194–223.
In recognition of Otto’s influence Cf. ibid. 294.
[19] About secular stone buildings, see, for example Karolinenstraße 17 (1187 dendrochronologically dated) or Karolinenstraße 8 in S. Pfaffenberger, Aspekte der Stadtentwicklung Bambergs im frühen und hohen Mittelalter aus archäologischer Sicht, Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Bamberg 36 (Büchenbach 2020) 170–178.
[20] cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Bamberg zu Beginn des 12. Jahrhunderts – das Zeitalter Bischof Ottos I. aus archäologischer Sicht, in: M. Rębkowski – S. Rosik (Eds.), Biskup Otton z Bambergu i jego świat (Wrocław 2018) 157–186, 171 f. Further information on excavations in Obere Königstraße cf. S. Pfaffenberger, Aspekte der Stadtentwicklung Bambergs im frühen und hohen Mittelalter aus archäologischer Sicht. Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Bamberg 36 (Büchenbach 2020) 250–262.
[21] Explicit mentions of the building and renewal of church towers can be found in the Vita of Prüfening Abbey. (Ed. L. Weinrich – J. Strzelczyk, Heiligenleben zur deutsch-slawischen Geschichte. Adalbert von Prag und Otto von Bamberg, Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe 23 (Darmstadt 2017) 139–141).
The interpretation of the towers as a distinguishing feature of Otto’s building activity can be found in A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 196 f.
[22] Due to “genre-immanent intentions”. Cf. H. Flachenecker, Bischof Otto von Bamberg und die Christianisierung der Pommern. Zu den Missionsaufgaben eines Bischofs im Hochmittelalter, in: C. Stiegemann – Kroker. Martin – W. Walter (Eds.), Credo – Christianisierung Europas im Mittelalter. Band 1: Essays (Petersberg 2013) 417–426, 417.
[23] Further information on the opportunities and challenges of „urban archaeology“ cf. P. Belford – J. Bouwmeester, Introduction. issues, principles and practice, in: P. Belford – J. Bouwmeester (Eds.), Managing archaeology in dynamic urban centres (Leiden 2020) 8–14.
[24] cf. S. Rosik, Die Strategie und Praxis der Mission Bischof Ottos von Bamberg in Pommern, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Eds.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Historische und archäologische Forschungen zu Mission und Kulturverhältnissen des 12. Jahrhunderts im Südwesten der Ostsee, Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 33–38, 34.
[25] For more information on Otto’s missionary strategy in Pomerania cf. F. Biermann – W. Wenzel, Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern – die Missionsreisen und ihre Wirkung im archäologischen Bild, in: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Eds.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Historische und archäologische Forschungen zu Mission und Kulturverhältnissen des 12. Jahrhunderts im Südwesten der Ostsee, Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 97–148, 101 f.
[26] An illustration of the far-reaching founding and building activity is covered by A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 13.
[27] Fundamental on this topic worked W. Giese, Zur Bautätigkeit von Bischöfen und Äbten des 10. bis 12. Jahrhunderts, Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 1982/38, 388–438.
See also A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 19–22.
The emphasis on Otto’s building and founding activities as a religious act with the aim of caritas is found above all in the Vitae. Cf. H. Flachenecker, Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Person und Persönlichkeit. In: F. Biermann – F. Ruchhöft (Eds.), Bischof Otto von Bamberg in Pommern. Historische und archäologische Forschungen zu Mission und Kulturverhältnissen des 12. Jahrhunderts im Südwesten der Ostsee, Studien zur Archäologie Europas 30 (Bonn 2017) 23–32, 27 f.
[28] For a summary of the biographers and Vitae, see A. Fink, Romanische Klosterkirchen des Heiligen Bischofs Otto von Bamberg (1102 – 1139) (Petersberg 2001) 23f.








