What is St Michael's Church, Bamberg?
[[Image:Bamberg Sankt Michael BW 12.JPG|thumb|The front of Michaelskirche]] '''St. Michael's Church''', also known as the '''Michaelskirche''' ('''Church of St Michael'''), is a [[church]] in [[Bamberg]]. It was built in the 12th century. It stands on the top of a very high [[hill]] overlooking the town of Bamberg. It can be seen from nearly all directions. Bamberg is built on seven hills, each with a building at the top. The hill on which the St Michael’s Church stands is the highest one. An old, [[cobble]]d [[road]] with some ancient [[house]]s leads from the cathedral up to the church. Not far beyond the church are [[field]]s and [[forest|woods]]. The church is built in the [[Romanesque]] style. It used to be the church of a [[Benedictine]] [[monastery]]. The monastery was [[secularization|secularized]] in [[1803]]. There is now an [[almshouse]] there as well as a [[museum]] and municipal [[art]] collections. ==History== [[Image:St Michael vom Rosengarten aus.jpg|thumb|left|View of Michaelskirche seen from the Rose Garden by the Neue Residenz, opposite the cathedral]] Emperor Heinrich II (Henry II) was the founder of the Bishopric of Bamberg. The first bishop of Bamberg was Eberhard, who founded the abbey of St Michael. It belonged to the bishop. The abbot had to obey the bishop. The [[monk]]s who came to live there came from the towns of [[Amorbach]] and [[Fulda]]. In the [[12th century]] the abbey flourished. This was the time of Bishop Otto of Bamberg. The abbey started to become more independent of the bishop. The abbey went through hard times during the wars around [[1525]]. In the [[17th century|17th]] and [[18th century|18th centuries]] it went through better times again. When the bishops lost their political power in [[1803]] the abbey started to belong to the town. The people asked for the almshouses in the town to be moved to the St Michael abbey. There is still a home for old people there today.[[File:Saint Michael Church, Bamberg Germany.jpg|thumb|Church of Saint Michael in Bamberg Germany]]