Speyer, Germany April 9, 2023

April 09, 2023

Speyer, Germany April 9, 2023

Today's included tour took us on a stroll through Speyer, Germany, home to the largest of the three Romanesque imperial cathedrals. It is believed that the Protestants earned their name here in 1529 after citizens and royalty drafted the "Protestation at Speyer," proclaiming their right to practice Christianity as they pleased. In 1689, Lous XIV's troops plundered Speyer and left it in ruins, but over many decades it has been artfully rebuilt.

Viking Idi with Train Passing Overhead

Jeff joined me today on the "Leisurely Tour," which is designed for slower walkers. I like the pace of this "gentle group," and I also like the small size of the group - we were just five souls with our guide, Marilies.

Marilies, Our Guide

We visited the cathedral, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Eight emperors are entombed in the cathedral.

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.
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 of these rulers were kings of Germany. However, to receive the title of Holy Roman Emperor, they had to be crowned by the pope. When relations between the pope and the German king were good, they were crowned "Imperator Romanum" or Holy Roman Emperor. When relations were strained, the popes refused to crown the king as emperor. So essentially, these were all eight Holy Roman Emperors, but four of them were "uncrowned".)

In front of the church is a huge "bowl" called the Domknapf (cathedral bowl). It formerly marked the boundary between the episcopal and municipal territories. Since its construction in the 14th century, it played a significant role in the execution of a prison sentence: whoever had broken a state law and fled to the cathedral bowl was protected from prosecution. Although the cathedral bowl no longer serves that purpose, a beloved Middle Ages custom continues to be observed. In the Middle Ages, each new bishop had to fill the bowl with wine upon his election as bishop. Today, on special religious occasions, the cathedral bowl is filled with wine. With a capacity of over 1500 liters, many citizens and guests are thereby able to enjoy a taste of the juice of the grape. Marilies told us that whenever the Archbishop comes to town.

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.

Begun in 1030 under Konrad 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. It is 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.

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".

Mount of Olives Sculpture

Originally, the cathedral was surrounded by numerous buildings. To the south, it was adjoined by a cloister with a sculpture of the Mount of Olives in its center. The sculpture of the Mount of Olives was destroyed in the great fire of 1689 and left in ruins after the rubble of the cloister was removed in 1820 in order to create some open space. Later it was fitted with a roof to prevent further deterioration. The sculptures were supplemented by a local sculptor, Gottfried Renn. You can see Jesus on his knees in prayer.

We wandered along the quaint streets throughout the village before having a bit of free time before meeting the shuttle bus that took us back to the main buses that returned us to our ship.