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 often called the Kaiserdom zu Speyer, meaning the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer. In 1925, Pope Pius XI honored the cathedral by raising it to the rank of a minor basilica in the Roman Catholic Church.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1030 under Conrad II. The east end and high vault were completed between 1090 and 1103. The cathedral is a large red sandstone church with three aisles and vaulted ceilings. It represents the 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 families, the cathedral symbolizes the power of the emperor. After the Abbey of Cluny was destroyed, it became the largest remaining Romanesque church and building. It is considered a turning point in European architecture and one of the most important and finest Romanesque monuments of its time.

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 started in 1030 on the site of a former basilica, located on a high plateau near the Rhine River but safe from flooding. Along with Santiago de Compostela (begun in 1075), Cluny Abbey (Cluny III, begun in 1085), and Durham Cathedral (begun in 1093), it was one of the most important projects of that time. The red sandstone used for the building 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, in front of the altar.

The cathedral was nearly completed and was consecrated (officially blessed) 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 one of the most impressive examples of early Salian architecture and the final result of a design that greatly influenced Romanesque architecture during the 11th and 12th centuries.

Around 1090, Emperor Henry IV, Conrad’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 intact. The nave was raised by five meters, and the flat wooden ceiling was replaced with a groin vault of square bays, one of the most important achievements of Romanesque architecture. Each vault spans two bays. Every second pier was enlarged 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 such a bay system is 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 clerestory windows without weakening the structure. The result was an interior with great power and a strong, simple appearance compared to French buildings of the time, but it conveyed a sense of Roman dignity, fitting for a ruler like Henry IV.

During these changes, the cathedral was given an external dwarf gallery, a decorated arcaded gallery built into the walls. This feature developed from blind arcades, which were used widely in Romanesque churches. At the east end of Speyer Cathedral, the dwarf gallery and blind arcades formed one of the most memorable pieces of Romanesque design. The dwarf gallery surrounds the top of the apse, emphasizing its rounded shape, and runs around the structure below the roofline. This 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 that surpassed anything built before. All surfaces and edges rose without stages. The major elements remained independent. Speyer became a model for many other churches but was unmatched in its grandeur.

The expanded cathedral, called Speyer II, was completed in 1106, the year of Henry IV’s death. With a length of 444 Roman feet (134 meters) and a width of 111 Roman feet (43 meters), it was one of the largest buildings of its time. The enlargement of the cathedral in the small village of Speyer, which had only about 500 people, was seen as a challenge to the papacy. The emperor claimed both secular and religious power, and the cathedral’s grandeur supported this claim. The purpose of the building, which was important to Conrad, was to show the emperor’s desire for an imperial Roman-style architecture, especially during his conflict with Pope Gregory VII. Thus, Speyer Cathedral is also seen as a symbol of the Investiture Controversy. Five years after Henry IV’s death, his excommunication was lifted, and his body was buried in the cathedral in 1111.

In the following centuries, the cathedral changed little. In a drawing from 1610, a Gothic chapel was added to the northern aisle. In a drawing from around 1650, another Gothic window was added to the northern side of the Westwerk. In a drawing from 1750, the latter window was no longer shown, possibly because 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)

Features

Over many centuries, crypts changed from small rooms into large, partially underground halls with detailed designs. These became common in Italy and Germany, sometimes built under parts of the church called the transepts and chancel. The Speyer Cathedral's crypt, completed in 1041, is the largest Romanesque hall crypt in Europe. It covers 850 square meters (9,149 square feet) and is about 7 meters tall. Forty-two groin-vaults are supported by twenty round columns with simple cushion-shaped tops. The sandstone blocks used are colored yellow and rust, a style typical of the Salian and Staufer periods. This color pattern also influenced the 19th-century cathedral facade. The design is very clear because of the precise shaping of the base moldings, cushion capitals, and the strong system of arches that cross the hall.

On the southern side of the cathedral is the double chapel (Doppelkapelle) of Saint Emmeram (Saint Martin) and Saint Catherine. This type of chapel was common by the end of the 11th century, dating back to Charlemagne’s time and often used in chapels for emperors and bishops. Construction of the Speyer double chapel began 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 double-chapel form. The two chapels are stacked on top of each other and connected by a central opening. 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 her commemoration day. Saint Afra’s remains were found in Augsburg around 1064. From 1106 to 1111, Henry IV was buried in the chapel, which was not yet blessed. Pope Paschalis II lifted a ban in 1111 that had been in place since 1088. During restoration in 1971, a piece of parchment from a Wulfila Bible, written around 500, was discovered in the chapel. 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 by Bishop Matthias von Rammung in 1475. Their ruins were removed in the 18th century.

The cathedral’s set of bells includes nine total. The four largest were cast in 1822 by Peter Lindemann (Zweibrücken), and the five smaller ones in 1963 by Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling (Heidelberg). All are housed in the cathedral’s belfry, located in the western dome. In Germany, bells are numbered from largest to smallest, with Bell 1 always being the 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 full hours.

• Total length: 134 meters (from the entrance steps to the east apse wall)
• External width of the nave (with aisles): 37.62 meters (from wall to wall)
• Internal width of the nave: 14 meters
• Height of the nave at the vaults’ peak: 33 meters
• Height of the eastern spires: 71.20 meters
• Height of the western spires: 65.60 meters
• Crypt dimensions: east-west 35 meters, north-south 46 meters; height between 6.2 and 6.5 meters

Surroundings

Originally, the cathedral was surrounded by many buildings. To the south, there was a cloister with a sculptural group called the Mount of Olives in its center. To the north, the bishop's residence stood. Nearby were other buildings, such as the chapter house, rectory, archives, St. Nikolaus Chapel, and town fortifications. Most of these buildings were destroyed after the French Revolution. The outline of the former cloister can still be seen as part of the pavement today.

The sculpture of the Mount of Olives was destroyed in a fire in 1689. After the cloister was removed in 1820 to make space, the ruins were left exposed. Later, a roof was added to protect the sculptures from further damage. A local sculptor named Gottfried Renn helped restore the sculptures. Inside the Mount of Olives is a chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael.

At the western end of the cathedral, there is a large bowl called Domnapf, which means "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 drink to his health.

The Heidentürmchen is a remnant of the medieval town's fortifications. It includes a tower and a section of the wall, located slightly to the 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 display Roman artifacts found nearby. It was designed in the Neo-Classical style but became too small for its purpose. Later, cannons from 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

• A postage stamp from the year 1924
• A postage stamp from 1961 that celebrates the 900th anniversary of Speyer Cathedral