See Top Sights in Speyer, Germany

City of Salian Emperors: Kaiserdom and Museum of Palatinate History

Jul 13, 2008

Speyer, a city on the left bank of the Rhine, has a medieval old town and is most famous for its Imperial Cathedral, an ancient Jewish bath and two world-class museums.

Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate) is a mid-size German town of 50.000 and one of the oldest cities in Germany. Originally a Celtic settlement, it became a Roman military and trading town (100 BC). In the middle ages it was a free imperial city and the seat of the Imperial Chamber of Justice, the Holy Roman Empire's High Court. The towers of Speyer Cathedral - the Kaiserdom - can be seen from both mountain ranges along the Rhine Valley.

Speyer Cathedral

Speyer Cathedral is one of the most important Romanesque monuments from the time of the Holy Roman Empire. It was the largest church in the Occident when it was built. Romanesque architecture is the precursor of the Gothic style (that evolved starting in 1100). The foundation stone for the cathedral was placed as early as 1030 and it was consecrated in 1061.The basilica is the burial site of eight emperors and empresses. In 1981 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Today it serves as the Cathedral of Speyer diocese.

The mere size of the building with its four towers and two domes is awesome. Stepping into the nave the monumental, tripled-aisled vault impresses by the size of its columns, and by the different hues and shades of striped sandstone, which is found so abundantly in the Pfalz. The crypt below with the emperor graves has remained in its original state, its arches recall Moorish architecture.

The history of the cathedral is one of destruction followed by reconstruction. It mirrors the history of war and peace in the region. Soldiers of the French King Louis XIV burnt the church down to the walls in 1689 and scattered the ashes of the eight German emperors who had been interred there. Restored in 1772-1787, it was again destroyod in 1794.

Museum of Palatinate History and Technik Museum

Historisches Museum der Pfalz hosts world-class exhibits and has six remarkable permanent rooms. The wine exhibit features the oldest preserved and still sealed wine bottle from the 3rd century. The Cathedral Treasure includes burial objects given to the Salian kings. A highlight in the Early History of Palatine is the famous Golden Hat of Schifferstadt dating from 1300 B.C. Archeologists assume that the cone-shaped ceremonial headdress made of sheet gold and studded with sun and moon symbols was worn by Bronze Age oracle priests.

The Technik Museum's focus is transportation tehnology. One can easily spend an entire day wandering through its huge outdoor area. Visitors are encouraged to climb aboard classic cars, trains, and airplanes. Showpieces are a Boeing 747, a U-9 submarine and an Antonov AN22, the world's largest propeller-driven plane.

Around 1090 the Bishop of Speyer invited Jews to settle in town. The Mikwe ( ritual bath), first mentioned in 1126, has remained almost unchanged to this day and is still supplied with fresh groundwater. It is the oldest preserved Jewish bath in Europe, and has apparently been built by the masons who worked on the cathedral. Nearby are ruins of the former Speyer Synagogue. Speyer's Jewish Community was among the most important of the Empire and, in spite of pogroms, persecution and expulsion had considerable influence on the spiritual and cultural life of the town. The city of Speyer will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the pogroms of November 8, 1938 with the laying of a foundation stone for a new synagogue (November 2008).

Altpörtel (translated: high from Latin alta and "pörtel", the German diminutive from Latin porta=gate) has been Speyer’s western entrance gate and part of the town's fortification walls. It is one of Germany's oldest city gates and stands at the end of pictoresque Maximilianstrasse which leads up to the cathedral. For many years it served as a prison. The view from the tower (55m) is a must.

How to get to Speyer: Located at the Rhine it is an hour's drive south of Frankfurt Airport at the Autobahn A61 (near Heidelberg).

Jewish Bath, April 1- Oct. 31, Mon-Fri 10am -1pm, 2pm - 5pm, Sat-Sun 10-5 (note that it is a German custom in smaller towns to close for lunchtime)

The copyright of the article See Top Sights in Speyer, Germany in Germany Travel is owned by Christine Welter. Permission to republish See Top Sights in Speyer, Germany in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.