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View of Bamberg's old town from above with the Regnitz River
©Nico Vincentini – stock.adobe.com

Studying in Bamberg

Bamberg offers you 7 degree programmes in English at 2 higher education institutions.

Bamberg is beautiful: built on seven hills like Rome, crisscrossed by water canals like Venice and shaped by the same master builders as Prague – but significantly smaller. Consequently, the old city is a UNESCO World Heritage site. At the same time, Bamberg is a young city with an increasing number of students and diverse leisure offerings like poetry slams, pro basketball, and brewery cellars, just to name a few.

Bamberg is a classic student town. Around 80,000 people live here and almost 12,000 students are enrolled at the Otto Friedrich University in Bamberg. The university is one of the oldest universities in Bavaria and its departments and institutes are spread throughout the city. Many of them are even located directly in the city centre, partly in listed buildings such as the Jesuitenkolleg. This not only ensures short distances and a reverential feeling of studying on hallowed grounds, but also a young, student flair in the city.

Especially in the old town you can feel the long history of the city. Here you can stroll through winding alleys and small shops and marvel at the warped half-timbered houses and architectural monuments such as the cathedral and the Old Town Hall. The river Regnitz, which divides in front of Bamberg's old town and then flows back together again, offers you recreation. Popular meeting places for young people are the parks on the riverbanks or the Bamberg bridges. The Untere Brücke (Lower Bridge) at the Old Town Hall stands out in particular. If you meet up with your friends there, you'll also have a great view of Little Venice, a fishing settlement from the Middle Ages whose little houses have their own boat moorings. You'll also find Bamberg's pub mile, Sandstraße, in the old town.

Life in Bamberg

80,000 residents

  • High-speed train connections

    In close vicinity

  • International airport

    Nuremberg airport in 47 km distance

  • Coast

    Mediterranean Sea in 520 km distance

  • Mountain range

    Franconian Jura in 20 km distance

  • Other countries

    Czech Republic in 90 km distance

  • Attractions within 100 km

    • Franconian Jura in 20 km distance

    • Bamberg Cathedral in close vicinity

    • Bamberg Symphony in close vicinity

2 higher education institutions in Bamberg

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Subject groups of degree programmes in Bamberg

There is a wide range of degree programmes in Bamberg. Here you can see the main subject groups. Currently, degree programmes in Bamberg are mainly offered in the subject group Teaching Degrees, followed by Language and Cultural Studies and Economic Sciences, Law. Find out more information here about the subject groups and degree programmes offered in Germany.
  • 0

    Agricultural and Forest Sciences

  • 30

    Humanities and Social Sciences

  • 17

    Mathematics, Natural Sciences

  • 8

    Art, Music, Design

  • 44

    Language and Cultural Studies

  • 8

    Medicine, Health Sciences

  • 32

    Economic Sciences, Law

  • 8

    Engineering Sciences

  • 63

    Teaching Degrees

People walking on a street between historic buildings in sunshine
©iStock.com/SimonDannhauer

After walking in the Old Town, you will understand why it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You should try it once: the traditional Bamberg Rauchbier (smoke beer). Be careful, the taste takes some getting used to.

The area around Sandstraße in Bamberg's old town is the setting for Bamberg's biggest folk festival, the Sandkerwa, which always takes place for five days in August. It is a special festival in many ways: most folk festivals take place in large squares, but the Sandkerwa is held in the middle of the winding alleys of the old town. And with the Fischerstechen, part of the attraction is even held on the water. Two people try to push each other off their boat into the water. Women are now also allowed to take part, but at the end the winner is still crowned king of the Fischerstecher.

But there are not only traditional events in Bamberg, but also modern attractions such as the Kontaktfestival, the Fête de la Musique, the international street and variety festival, the blues and jazz festival and much more.

And for a cosy get-together in summer, locals and guests meet on the beer cellars. You're wondering now how people can meet on top of cellars? It's because breweries used to cut tunnels into the rocks of the hills to keep their beer cool. And it is on these cellars that the popular Bamberg beer gardens, called Bierkeller, are located. If you like, you can bring your own food, but you must buy your drinks.

This tradition of beer cellars can be found throughout Franconia, especially in Upper Franconia, which includes Bamberg. The region has so many breweries that it is considered to have the highest density of breweries in the world. Even apart from breweries and beer cellars, Bamberg's surrounding countryside offers plenty of variety. Worthy of special mention is Franconian Switzerland, a hilly landscape known as a climber's paradise. You can climb more than 10,000 routes on more than 1,000 rocks and towers. Will you be able to get through them all during your studies?

A young woman walks through the city
A young woman walks through the cityJan von Allwörden / DAAD

You can find more information at study-in-germany.de

For more information on living and studying in Bamberg, visit the city portraits at study-in-germany.de