2,000 Years of Speyer in 20 Seconds

10 BCE – Speyer is founded as Noviomagus.
Around 614 – The name Spira is used for the first time.
1024 – Conrad II becomes King; crowned Emperor in 1027.
1030 – Construction of the Speyer Cathedral begins.
1076 – Emperor Henry IV departs from Speyer for the “Walk to Canossa”.
1084 – First Jewish families settle in Speyer; the first synagogue is built, followed later by the Mikveh near the cathedral.
16th century – Speyer becomes seat of the Imperial Chamber Court and hosts several Imperial Diets, including the Diet of 1529, where the famous Protestation occurs.
1689 – Speyer is nearly destroyed during the War of the Palatine Succession.
1816 – Speyer becomes district capital and seat of government for the Bavarian Rhine District.
1991 – The Technik Museum Speyer is founded, now home to a Boeing 747 and Europe’s largest space exhibition.

Jump to…

Cathedral	Jewish Courtyard, Trinity Church, Old town
- Surround	- Jewish Courtyard
- West	- Trinity Church
- South	- Old town
- East
- Heathen Wall
- North
- Inside
- Crypt

City walking tour

Surrounding the Cathedral

Statues of Konrad II, Henry III, Henry IV and Henry V

Conrad II, the first Salient Emperor with his wife Gisela. He started to build the cathedral in 1030
Henry III
Henry IV made the cathedral even bigger and also fought with Pope Gregor VII on the Investiture Controversy, his “Walk to Canossa”
Henry V was crowned emperor in 1111 and died 1125 without any children

Salient Kings

Pretzel

Ampel

Speyer and the English Crown

Matilda of England, wife of Henry V, moved to England after Henry V deaths, where she became the first queen of England. She became grand-mother of Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart)
Richard the Lionheart was held captive in Speyer in 1193

AI generated picture of Richard the Lionheart

Cathedral – West Side

Cathedral

Cathedral Facade

Constructed between 1854–58 based on plans by architect Heinrich Hübsch

Fassade

Evangelists

John is symbolized by an eagle
Matthew is symbolized by an angel
Luke is represented by an ox
Mark is depicted by a lion

Evangelisten

Five Patron Saints

St. Stephen
Archangel Michael
Holy Mother Mary
John the Baptist
Bernard of Clairvaux

Maria & Co

Pretzel Boy / Brezelbub

The “Pretzel Boy,” also known as “Pretzel Ferdinand”

Brezelbug

Deadly Sins

Todsünden - 1 Todsünden - 2 Todsünden - 3

Cathedral Bowl

Stone of Shame
Free Wine

Domnapf

Cathedral – South Side

Fire burn Marks from 1689

To the right of the fire ladder the burned stones can be seen (big fire of 1689)

Domnapf

Mount of Olives

Ölberg

East Towers

Cathedral – East Side

Oculus

At the Equinox, twice each year (20 March and 23 September), at sunrise, the sun shines through this window illuminating the cathedral in a magical light

Okulus

Drum Relief

Trommelrelief

Heathen Wall

According to legend, the giant Olp lived here :-)

Heidenmauer

Cathedral – North Side

Construction Phases

Domnordseite

Afra Chapel

Afrakapelle

Inside the Cathedral

Simple, but majestic

Dom Innen

Small holes across all walls

The cathedral was completely painted in the 19th century, to make it stick, thousands of holes were cut in the walls
Only after 1957 were most of the paintings removed (some of them can still be seen in the Kaisersaal)

Small holes

O clemens, o pia, o dulcis virgo Maria

O Dulcis

Crypt

The largest Romanesque columned hall crypt in Europe
Eight emperors and kings and a number of their wives are buried here:
- Conrad II (died 1039) and his wife Gisela (died 1043)
- Henry III (died 1056), son of Conrad II.
- Henry IV (died 1106), son of Henry III, and his wife Bertha (died 1087)
- Henry V (died 1125), son of Henry IV.
- Beatrice I (died 1184), second wife of Frederick Barbarossa and their daughter Agnes
- King Philipp of Swabia (died 1208), son of Frederick Barbarossa
- King Rudolph of Habsburg (died 1291)
- King Adolph of Nassau (died 1298)
- King Albert I of Germany (died 1308), son of Rudolph of Habsburg