Speyer - Cathedral

Founded by the Romans, Speyer gained importance, when the Salian dynasty entered the political stage with Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II. He commissioned the construction of of this church, known as the "Imperial Cathedral of Speyer". The cathedral was completed 1106, the year Conrad´s grandson Henry IV died. The cathedral is the burial site for the Salian emperors, so we will meet Conrad II, his son, grandson and some of their Staufer and Habsburg collegues again.

Actually the cathedral was planned by Conrad II as the largest cathedral worldwide as a display of his imperial power, that was - before the "Investiture Controversy" - secular and ecclesiastical.

There has always been a competition between Speyer and Cluny about the "largest church of Christendom". As Cluny is a ruin since the French Revolution, the "Imperial Cathedral of Speyer" is the largest romanesque church - undisputed worldwide. The church, here seen from the north, is 444 Roman feet (134 meters) long and 111 Roman feet (33 meters) wide.

When the construction of the cathedral started, Speyer had a population of about 500. Bishop Walther (1006–1031) called Speyer a "vaccina" in a letter, what could be translated "one-horse town", though the word "vacca" means "cow", not "horse".

The cathedral was built on a solid rock, overlooking the river Rhine. The area around the rock was often flooded and always a little swampy. So while the cathedral is stable, the "Gasthaus zum Halbmond" in the foreground seems a bit slanted.

As the history of the cathedral is really complex, I add the Wikipedia-links here:

english:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speyer_Cathedral
french:
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath%C3%A9drale_Notre-Dame-de-l%27A...
german:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speyerer_Dom

"Europaeische Stiftung Kaiserdom zu Speyer" has a very good website, but only in German:
www.dom-speyer.de/index.html