The Bamberg Horseman (German:Der Bamberger Reiter) is an early 13th-century stoneequestrian statue by an anonymousmedieval sculptor in thecathedral ofBamberg,Germany. It is the first of this kind sinceantiquity.
Dating probably from the time before the consecration of thecathedral's new building in 1237, but after 1225, it is located on a console at the north pillar of the St. George choir. It is not known whether this is the intended position of the statue, although the base appears to be original and the structure of the base would seem to dissuade moving.[1]
Being located in a church and showing a crowned yet unarmed man, it is believed that it represents a specific king, perhaps one who was a saint. A candidate isEmperor Henry II (973-1024) who is buried in the cathedral along withPope Clement II, but he would likely have been depicted withImperial Regalia. Another possibility is his brother-in-law, kingStephen I of Hungary (975-1038) who stops his horse and looks towards the tomb of Henry. Another theory favoursEmperor Frederick II, theHoly Roman Emperor at the time, who financed much of the rebuilding of the cathedral.[2] Yet another theory, supported by Hannes Möhring of theUniversity of Bayreuth, holds that the figure represents theMessiah according to theBook of Revelation (19:11–16).In 2014, an inventory of the statues in the cathedral gave rise to the theory that a project for a large sculptural screen for the eastern choir was begun and abandoned after only a few statues had been completed; two other unusual sculptures in the church fit into this proposal. According to the reconstruction, the horseman was supposed to be one of theThree Wise Men in a scene depicting the birth ofJesus, his upturned gaze following theStar of Bethlehem.[3][4]
It is considered the first monumental equestrian statue sinceclassical antiquity, and also one of the first to depict ahorse shoe. Beneath the horse's front hooves is one of the many sculptural representations of theGreen Man.Kathleen Basford, in her study of these figures, calls this Green Man the "dark counterpart" of the horseman.
Stefan George wrote a poem about the horseman.[5] His work influencedClaus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg,[6] the would-be assassin of Hitler who was a member of the cavalry unitBamberger Reiter- und Kavallerieregiment 17 (17th Cavalry Regiment).[7]
49°53′27″N10°52′58″E / 49.89083°N 10.88278°E /49.89083; 10.88278
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