Speyer Cathedral, officially called the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St. Stephen, is a historic religious building in Speyer, Germany. It is the main church for the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is connected to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Mary, the patron saint of Speyer, and St. Stephen. It is commonly known as the Kaiserdom zu Speyer, or the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer. In 1925, Pope Pius XI raised Speyer Cathedral to the rank of a minor basilica in the Roman Catholic Church.

Construction began in 1030 under Conrad II, with the east end and high vault completed between 1090 and 1103. The cathedral is a large, red sandstone church with three rows of pillars and a high, vaulted ceiling. It is considered the final result of a design that greatly influenced the development of Romanesque architecture in the 11th and 12th centuries. As the burial place for many emperors and kings from the Salian, Staufer, and Habsburg dynasties, the cathedral symbolizes imperial power. It is the largest remaining Romanesque church in Europe, and it is seen as a key moment in European architecture. It is one of the most important and finest examples of Romanesque design.

In 1981, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a major example of Romanesque art in the German Empire.

History and architecture

In 1025, Emperor Conrad II ordered the building of the largest church in the Christian Western world in Speyer. This church was also meant to be his final resting place. Construction began in 1030 on the site of an old basilica located on a high plateau near the Rhine River, where it was safe from flooding. Along with Santiago de Compostela (begun in 1075), Cluny Abbey (Cluny III, begun in 1085), and Durham Cathedral (begun in 1093), Speyer Cathedral was one of the most ambitious building projects of the time. The red sandstone used for the cathedral came from the Palatine Forest mountains and was likely transported down the Speyerbach stream, which flows into the Rhine at Speyer. Neither Conrad II nor his son, Henry III, lived to see the cathedral completed. Conrad II died in 1039 and was buried in the cathedral while it was still under construction. Henry III was buried next to him in 1056. Their graves were placed in the central aisle of the cathedral, in front of the altar.

The cathedral was nearly completed and was consecrated in 1061. This first phase of construction, called Speyer I, included a Westwerk, a nave with two aisles, and an adjoining transept. The choir was flanked by two towers. The original apse was round on the inside but rectangular on the outside. The nave had a flat wooden ceiling, but the aisles were vaulted, making the cathedral the second largest vaulted building north of the Alps (after Aachen Cathedral). It is considered the most impressive example of early Salian architecture and the "final stage of a design that greatly influenced the development of Romanesque architecture during the 11th and 12th centuries."

Around 1090, Emperor Henry IV, Conrad II’s grandson, began a major reconstruction to enlarge the cathedral. He demolished the eastern sections and reinforced the foundations to a depth of up to eight meters. Only the lower floors and the crypt of Speyer I remained unchanged. The nave was raised by five meters, and the flat wooden ceiling was replaced with a groin vault made of square bays, a major achievement in Romanesque architecture. Each vault covered two bays. Every second pier was widened by adding a broad pilaster or dosseret, creating a system of interior support. Engaged shafts, which appeared around 1030 in buildings along the Loire River (such as Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Auxerre, and Loches), spread to Normandy and the Rhineland.

The only other example of this bay system at the time was in the Church of Sant Vicenç in Cardona, Spain. The "double-bay system" of Speyer, which supported the stone vaults, was copied in many Romanesque churches along the Rhine. The addition of groin vaults allowed for the inclusion of clerestory windows without weakening the structure. "The result is an interior of great power, though simple and angular compared to French buildings of the time, but one that gives a sense of Roman dignity, fitting for a ruler like Henry IV with strong political ambitions."

During these changes, the cathedral was given an external dwarf gallery, a decorated arcaded gallery built into the walls. This was a natural development of the blind arcade, which was widely used in Romanesque churches. At the east end of the cathedral, the dwarf gallery and blind arcades formed "one of the most memorable pieces of Romanesque design." The dwarf gallery surrounded the top of the apse, highlighting its rounded shape, and ran around the structure below the roofline. This feature became a key element in Romanesque churches and was later used at Worms Cathedral, Mainz Cathedral, and on the façades of many Italian churches. "The cathedral re-emerged in a more sculptural style typical of the prime of the Romanesque period." The transept, choir square, apse, central tower, and flanking towers were combined in a way and size never seen before. All surfaces and edges rose smoothly without steps. The major parts of the design remained independent. Speyer became a model for many churches but was unmatched in its grandeur.

The expanded cathedral, called Speyer II, was completed in 1106, the year of Henry IV’s death. It was 444 Roman feet long (134 meters) and 111 Roman feet wide (43 meters), making it one of the largest buildings of its time. The cathedral’s expansion became a political issue. The emperor’s decision to build such a large structure in the small village of Speyer, which had only about 500 people, was seen as a challenge to the papacy. By building this grand cathedral, Henry IV claimed both secular and religious authority, emphasizing his desire to be associated with the Roman Empire. This made the cathedral a symbol of the Investiture Controversy, a conflict between the emperor and the pope. Five years after Henry IV’s death, his excommunication was lifted, and his body was finally buried in the cathedral in 1111.

For centuries after its completion, the cathedral changed little. In a drawing from 1610, a Gothic chapel was added to the northern aisle, and in a drawing from around 1650, a Gothic window appeared on the northern side of the Westwerk. In a drawing from 1750, the latter window was missing, showing that the middle section of the cathedral had been destroyed.

The last ruler to be buried in the cathedral was in 1308, completing a list of eight emperors and kings and several of their wives:
– 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

(Note: All eight rulers were kings of Germany. To become Holy Roman Emperor, they needed to be crowned by the pope. When relations with the pope were good, they were crowned "Imperator Romanum" or Holy Roman Emperor. When relations were poor, the pope refused to crown them. Thus, these were all Holy Roman Emperors, but four were never crowned.)

In addition to these rulers, the cathedral is the resting place of several of their wives and many bishops of Speyer.

Although the cathedral was attacked and damaged several times, it survived the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) with little harm. During the Nine Years’ War (Palatinate War of Succession, 1688–1697), the people of Speyer moved furniture and belongings into the cathedral, stacking them high to protect them from French soldiers under Louis XIV. However, on May 31, 1689, the soldiers broke in, looted the imperial graves, and set everything on fire. That day, most of Speyer burned down, and the western part of the nave collapsed, destroying late Gothic elements.

In the fire, the Prince-Bishops of Speyer lost their residence, and a plan was considered to build a

Features

Over many centuries, crypts changed from small rooms into large, partly underground halls with many detailed parts. These became common in Italy and Germany, sometimes built under parts of the church like the transepts and chancel. The large crypt of Speyer Cathedral, completed in 1041, is the biggest Romanesque hall crypt in Europe. It covers 850 square meters (9,149 square feet) and is about 7 meters tall. Forty-two vaulted ceilings are supported by twenty round columns with simple rounded tops. The stone blocks used in the walls alternate between yellow and rust colors, a style common during the Salian and Staufer periods. This color pattern influenced the design of the cathedral’s 19th-century facade. The design is very clear, achieved through careful work on the base moldings, cushion capitals, and the system of arches that span the hall.

On the southern side of the cathedral is the double chapel (Doppelkapelle) of Saint Emmeram (Saint Martin) and Saint Catherine. The idea of building two chapels side by side was already common by the end of the 11th century, starting during Charlemagne’s time and often used in imperial and bishop chapels. The chapel in Speyer began construction around 1050. Saint Catherine’s chapel was built to celebrate the birthday of Henry III’s daughter on November 25, named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. In 1961, the chapel was restored to its original form as a double chapel. The two chapels are stacked on top of each other and connected by an opening in the center. Today, Saint Emmeram’s chapel is used as a baptistery.

On the northern side is the chapel of Saint Afra, named after an early Christian martyr. Henry IV built the chapel in her honor because he was born on the day her memory is celebrated. Saint Afra’s remains were found in Augsburg around 1064. Henry IV was buried in the chapel from 1106 to 1111, after Pope Paschalis II lifted a ban that had been in place since 1088. During restoration in 1971, a piece of parchment was found in the chapel. It is part of a Wulfila Bible written around 500 AD. Today, the Saint Afra Chapel is used as a tabernacle.

Originally, five other chapels stood on the northern side: Saint Paul, Saint Agnes, Saint Bernard, Saint Henry, and Saint Mary. Saint Mary’s chapel was added to the northern side by Bishop Matthias von Rammung in 1475. Their ruins were removed in the 18th century.

The cathedral’s bell tower holds nine bells. The four largest were made in 1822 by Peter Lindemann (Zweibrücken), and the five smaller ones were made in 1963 by Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling (Heidelberg). All the bells are in the western dome of the cathedral. In Germany, bells are numbered from largest to smallest, with Bell 1 always being the largest (tenor or bourdon). The four largest bells also ring as clock bells: bells 4 and 3 alternate every quarter hour, while bells 2 and 1 ring in sequence to mark each full hour.

• Total length: 134 meters (from the entrance steps to the east apse wall)
• External width of the nave (including aisles): 37.62 meters (from one exterior wall to the other)
• Internal width of the nave: 14 meters
• Height of the nave at the vault’s highest point: 33 meters
• Height of the eastern spires: 71.20 meters
• Height of the western spires: 65.60 meters
• Crypt dimensions: 35 meters long (east-west), 46 meters wide (north-south); height ranges from 6.2 meters to 6.5 meters

Surroundings

Originally, the cathedral was surrounded by many buildings. To the south, there was a cloister with a Mount of Olives sculptural group in its center. On the northern side was the bishop's residence. Other nearby buildings included the chapter house, rectory, archives, St. Nikolaus Chapel, and town fortifications. Most of these buildings disappeared after the French Revolution. The outline of the former cloister can still be seen as pavement.

The sculpture of the Mount of Olives was destroyed in a fire in 1689. It was left in ruins after the cloister’s rubble was removed in 1820 to create open space. Later, a roof was added to protect the sculpture from further damage. A local sculptor, Gottfried Renn, added new parts to the sculpture. Inside the Mount of Olives is a chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael.

In the square at the western end of the cathedral is a large bowl called Domnapf (lit.: "cathedral bowl"). It once marked the boundary between the bishop’s area and the city. Every new bishop had to fill the bowl with wine, and the citizens would empty it as a toast to the bishop.

The Heidentürmchen is a part of the medieval town fortifications, including a tower and a section of the wall. It is located slightly east of the cathedral. It once stood near the Rhine, at the edge of a plateau, next to a marshy area called "heath."

The Hall was built to the north of the cathedral to store Roman artifacts found in the area. It was designed in the Neo-Classical style but became too small for its purpose. Later, cannons captured during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 were displayed there. Today, it serves as a memorial for people who died in the two world wars.

• Features of Speyer Cathedral and its surroundings
• Polychrome arches in the crypt
• The Mount of Olives
• Domnapf
• Antikenhalle
• Dwarf gallery

German Postage Stamps featuring Speyer cathedral

• Postal stamp from 1924
• Postal stamp from 1961 that celebrates the 900th anniversary of Speyer Cathedral