Speyer Cathedral

Finally I visited a UNESCO site in Germany! The Speyer cathedral wasn't the site I had in mind to be the first but it was totally worth it! The cathedral is amazing, the historic center is very beautiful and I had an extraordinary meal with German sausages and German beer! 

Speyer Cathedral

This postcard was sent by Uwe

The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speye rand is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg.

Speyer Cathedral

The cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Mary, patron saint of Speyer ("Patrona Spirensis") and St. Stephen is generally known as Kaiserdom zu Speyer (Imperial Cathedral of Speyer). Pope Pius XI raised Speyer Cathedral to the rank of a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church in 1925.

Speyer Cathedral

Begun in 1030 under Conrad II, with the east end and high vault of 1090-1103, the imposing triple-aisled vaulted basilica of red sandstone is the "culmination of a design which was extremely influential in the subsequent development of Romanesque architecture during the 11th and 12th centuries". As the burial site for Salian, Staufer and Habsburg emperors and kings the cathedral is regarded as a symbol of imperial power. 

Speyer with the Cathedral in the background

With the Abbey of Cluny in ruins, it remains the largest Romanesque church. It is considered to be "a turning point in European architecture", one of the most important architectural monuments of its time and one of the finest Romanesque monuments.

Domnapf and Cathedral's main door

In the square at the western end of the cathedral is a large bowl known as Domnapf (lit.: 'cathedral bowl') It formerly marked the boundary between the episcopal and municipal territories. Each new bishop on his election had to fill the bowl with wine, while the burghers emptied it to his health.

Speyer Cathedral

This postcard of a Postcrossing meeting in Speyer was sent by Niklot

In 1981, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites as "a major monument of Romanesque art in the German Empire". - in: wikipedia

Speyer Cathedral

This postcard was sent by Rüdiger