With the tombs of Henry II and his spouse Cunigunde, the cathedral contains the remains of the only imperial couple that was canonized.

With the tomb of Pope Clement II (1005–1047) it also contains the only papal grave in Germany, and north of the Alps.

It contains many works of art, including the marble tomb of the founder and his wife, the Empress Kunigunde, considered a masterpiece of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and carved between 1499 and 1513.

This statue, possibly depicting the Hungarian king Stephen I, most likely dates to the period from 1225 to 1237 and is the first of its kind since antiquity.

His favourite dwelling was at Bamberg and he gave that property (probably in spring 1000) to his wife Kunigunde as a wedding gift.

In 1002, Heinrich was elected King of Germany and he started to conduct his government business from Bamberg, giving the town various privileges (mint, tolls, market rights).

Henry was pious, he and his wife had no children to leave the property to and the eastern border of his kingdom still lacked a diocese.

King Heinrich (he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor only in 1014) became a canon of the cathedral chapter.

With the destruction of the tomb of Pope Benedict V at Hamburg at the beginning of the 19th century, this became the only papal grave in Germany.

[1]: 204 The wealth of the cathedral chapter and the generosity of the House of Andechs-Merania resulted in a large, "splendid"[1]: 204  building (see description below).

A second wave followed after the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648–53 under Bishop Melchior Otto Voit von Salzburg.

The tomb of Heinrich and Kunigunde was moved, the rood screens were demolished and new high altars set up in both choirs.

The Baroque alterations were removed in a "purification" in 1828–37 ordered in 1826 by Ludwig I of Bavaria, who saw the cathedral as a national monument.

Of the figures adorning the southern choir screen, the first three apostles pairs are attributed to the stonemasons who made the Gnadenpforte (see below).

To the left and right are Gothic (late 14th century) choir stalls, richly carved.

[1]: 207–8  This sandstone base, fitted with various bronze plates showing scenes from the life of Jesus, was made in 1974/5 by Klaus Backmund [de].

[1]: 208 [3]: 20 The southern transept contains a large Nativity altar made of basswood by the artist Veit Stoss in 1520–3.

It was originally intended for a church in Nuremberg (Karmeliterkloster) but after Reformation came to that city in 1524 the council refused to allow it to be set up.

[1]: 208 [3]: 15 The nave, which connects the eastern and western choir and accounts for about a third of the overall length of the church, contains the imperial tomb, the Bamberger Reiter, an early 19th-century pulpit and the organ.

Kunigunde's skull was previously kept in a cabinet in the eastern choir, behind the so-called Sonnenloch which gave access to the outside of the cathedral.

It was made by sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider from polished Solnhofen limestone and marble from the Franconian Jura.

The carvings round the sides, reflecting the influence of Renaissance art, tell of various episodes in the lives of the imperial couple: The Empress walks across red-hot ploughshares to prove her innocence after being accused of adultery, the payment of the workers who built St. Stephan [de], the Emperor being cured by Saint Benedict, the Emperor's death and the weighing of his soul by the archangel Michael.

He may also have been involved in the creation of figures on the eastern choir screen (Mary and Elisabeth) and possibly of the Last Judgment of the Fürstenportal.

The Adamspforte and Marienpforte (or Gnadenpforte) leading into the eastern towers are each guarded by a carved Romanesque lion, a weathered remainder of Heinrich's original cathedral.

The former portal sports figures (replicas) of St. Stephen, Kunigunde, Heinrich II, St. Peter and Adam and Eve.

Figures cowering in the corners are interpreted to be bishop Ekbert (left), a cleric possibly cathedral provost Poppo of Andechs-Merania (right) and a crusader in the centre, maybe based on one "frater Wortwinus", architect of the 1229–31 work.

It accesses the northern side aisle and was started by late Romanesque artisans (prophets and apostles) but finished by early Gothic workers (Last Judgment in the tympanum).

It was inspired by the style the Cistercians had brought from France to southern Germany, as at Ebrach Abbey.

[1]: 205 The tomb of Pope Clement II (1005–47) is made from silver-grey marble with carved reliefs from the first half of the 13th century on all four sides: the four Cardinal virtues, death of the pope and St. Michael, rivers of Paradise, and John the Baptist (or possibly Christ sitting in judgment over the world).

Originally known as Hofplatz or Burgplatz, after secularization the square was renamed Karolinenplatz in honour of the then Queen of Bavaria, Karoline.