Bamberg - Curia Sti. Hippolyti

The former canonry court, Curia Sti. Hippolyti is a two and three-storey four-winged complex with a mansard roof, built on the Domberg in 1739 by Justus Heinrich Dientzenhofer according to a plan by the architect Balthasar Neumann during the reign of the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Franz Konrad von Stadion und Thannhausen.

Domberg is the historical centre of Bamberg and was the centre of the empire at the time of Emperor Henry II (1002/1014-24). The unique historical ensemble of former court, chapter and canonry buildings on Domplatz Square is dominated by the 1000-year-old cathedral.

The history of the settlement of Domberg dates back to the Bronze Age, but it only became important after the fortification of the Babenbergs with the castle "Castrum Babenberch", which gave Bamberg its name (it is mentioned in documents in 902). With the foundation of the bishopric in 1007, the construction of the cathedral (1002) and the expansion of the castle into a bishop's palace, Henry II laid the foundations for the further development of Bamberg.

With the demise of the monastic community of cathedral canons in the 13th century, numerous canonry courts sprang up along the walls and roads. The lavish collection of buildings, most of which still survive today, included the old court of the bishops and princely bishops with the remains of the palace building, the medieval and baroque canonry courts, the new residence of the prince-bishops and the magnificent chapter house in the cathedral.

The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. George, founded in 1002, dominates the unique historical ensemble of former court, chapter and canonry buildings on the Cathedral Square.

Canons' Courts or "Curiae"

The apartments for cathedral chaplains were called canonry courts or "curiae". Curiae were usually representative separate buildings.

At Domberg they were designed as separate, externally enclosed complexes and organized as adjoining three or four-sided courts. The largest courts still have a floor area of 3,000 square metres.

In the late Middle Ages, the cathedral courtyards covered most of the cathedral hill, and only in the modern period were some of them displaced by the buildings of the princely residences.

Each of Bamberg's cathedral curiae had its own chapel, which, at least in the early period, also gave its name to the court, and was rarely recognisable as a separate building but was integrated into the buildings. The oldest surviving chapel in the Laurentian Curia was built around 1200, with most of the buildings dating from the 15th-16th and 18th centuries:

Cathedral Square 1: Curia Sti. Hippolyti (18th century, private property)
Cathedral Square 2: Curia St. Sebastiani et Fabiani (18th century, archbishop's ordinariate)
Domplatz 3, Curia St. Laurentii (12th and 15th/16th century, archbishop's ordinariate)
Domstraße 2, Curia Sti. Blasii (16th century)
Domstraße 3, Curia Stm. Mariae et Chunegundis (15th century Baroque, cathedral rectory)
Domstraße 5, Curia St. Lamperti (18th century, cathedral rectory)
Domstraße 7, Curia Stae. Elisabethae (15th/16th century)
Domstraße 9, Curia Stm. Johannis et Pauli (15th century)
Domstraße 11, former Erthalshof (15th-18th centuries)
Domstraße 13, former Truchseßhöflein (16th century)
Obere Karolinenstraße 1/3, Curia Schönborniana (15th century)
Obere Karolinenstraße 4/6, Curia Stm. Philipp et Jacobi (16th/19th century; cathedral school)
Obere Karolinenstraße 5, Curia Sti. Pauli (18th century, archbishop's palace)
Obere Karolinenstraße 7, former Zobelhof (18th century)

With secularization, canons lost their curiae unless they owned them privately. 

The complex consists of four wings with mansard roofs that enclose the courtyard. The wing on the city side stands out in particular, which has one more storey, i.e. three storeys, in contrast to the other wings. This wing faces the cathedral square as a pavilion with a four-bay façade.

The other wings of the complex are two storeys, with the entrance facing the cathedral. The facades of the complex are plastered, with the individual wings articulated by corner pilasters and belt cornices. The windows are sharply arched and chamfered, with parapet screens with mirrors below the windows on the upper floors.

Curia Sti. Hippolyta is currently privately owned.