Speyer Cathedral

Speyer Cathedral was begun in 1030 as a statement of scale, and something close to the original survives: red sandstone, four towers and a nave whose vaults were among the most ambitious of their century. The interior is almost empty of decoration, which is the point. Nothing distracts from the rhythm of arcades running away from you towards the apse. Below lies the largest Romanesque crypt in Europe, a low forest of red and yellow striped arches over imperial tombs. Outside, the eastern end faces open parkland rather than city streets, so the building can be walked around and seen whole, which is rare for a church of this size.

History

In 1025 Conrad II ordered what was to be the largest church in the Christian West and his own resting place, and building began in 1030 on a plateau by the Rhine safe from floods, in red sandstone shipped from the Palatinate Forest; Conrad was buried in the unfinished church in 1039 and his son Henry III beside him in 1056, and the nearly completed cathedral was consecrated in 1061. Around 1090 Henry IV pulled down the eastern parts, deepened the foundations to as much as eight metres, raised the nave by five metres and replaced its flat wooden ceiling with groin vaults, one of the great achievements of Romanesque architecture, the east end and high vault dating from 1090-1103. As the burial place of Salian, Staufer and Habsburg rulers it is known as the Imperial Cathedral, and Pope Pius XI made it a minor basilica in 1925 (Wikipedia, Speyer Cathedral).

Highlights

• The nave - bare sandstone arcades and groin vaults, the eleventh century undiluted.
• The crypt - striped red and yellow arches over the tombs of emperors and kings.
• The tower gallery - a climb to a viewing level with the roofscape and the Rhine plain beyond.
• The Domgarten - lawns and old trees behind the apse, the best place to see the east end whole.

When to go

Open year round with free entry to the nave, so a wet day works as well as a fine one. Crypt and tower keep shorter hours and close during services, and the tower does not open in bad weather. Late afternoon light hits the red sandstone of the east end best, seen from the park behind the building.

Good to know

The austerity that makes the building great also makes it monotonous for anyone hoping for stained glass or carving. Much of what you see is nineteenth century restoration rather than original fabric. The town around it is pleasant but small and exhausted within an hour or two. Services can close the crypt without much notice.

Nearby

The medieval Jewish courtyard with its ritual bath, the Palatinate wine road, and Worms upriver.

Key facts