Speyer Cathedral. The Imperial Cathedral Basilica Of The Assumption And Saint Stephen. Dom Zu Unserer Lieben Frau In Speyer. Domus Sanctae Mariae Spirae.

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English: The Imperial Cathedral Basilica of The Assumption and Saint Stephen.

Deutsch: Dom Zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer.

English: Speyer Cathedral (Kaiser- und Mariendom zu Speyer) viewed from the South.

Deutsch: Südseite des Kaiser- und Mariendoms zu Speyer.

Русский: Шпайерский собор, вид с юга.

Photo: 31 August 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Image by Alfred Hutter.

Sole Creator and Copyright Holder: Alfred Hutter aka Gentry.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and Saint Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae (German: Dom zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer), in Speyer, Germany, is the Seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is Suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg.

The Cathedral, which is dedicated to Saint Mary, Patron Saint of Speyer ("Patrona Spirensis"), and Saint 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.

English: Speyer Cathedral (Kaiser- und Mariendom zu Speyer) viewed from the East.

Deutsch: Ostseite des Kaiser- und Mariendoms zu Speyer.

Photo: 10 April 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Sole Creator and Copyright Holder:

Alfred Hutter aka Gentry.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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. 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.

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".

Speyer Cathedral,

looking East.

Photo: 11 September 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Wofl.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1024, the Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II commissioned the construction of the Christian Western World's largest Church, which was also supposed to be his last resting place. Construction began in 1030 on the site of a former Basilica, which stood on an elevated plateau, right by the Rhine, but safe from High Water.

Along with Santiago de Compostela (begun 1075), Cluny Abbey (Cluny III, begun 1085), and Durham Cathedral (begun 1093), it was the most ambitious project of the time. The red sandstone for the building came from the mountains of the Palatine Forest and is thought to have been shipped down the channelled Speyerbach, a stream running from the mountains into the Rhine at Speyer.

Neither Conrad II, nor his son Henry III, were 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 laid next to him in 1056. The graves were placed in the Central Aisle, in front of the Altar.

Architectural details, in Speyer Cathedral,

of the Nave, and paintings by Schraudolph.

Photo: 31 October 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Joachim Köhler.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Nearly completed, the Cathedral was Consecrated in 1061. This phase of construction, called Speyer I, consists of a Westwerk, a Nave with two Aisles and an adjoining Transept. The Choir was flanked by two Towers. The original Apse was round, inside, but rectangular, on the outside. The Nave was covered with 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 to be the most stunning outcome of Early-Salian architecture and the "culmination of a design which was extremely influential in the subsequent development of Romanesque architecture during the 11th- and 12th-Centuries".

Around 1090, Conrad's grandson, Emperor Henry IV, conducted an ambitious reconstruction in order to enlarge the Cathedral. He had the Eastern Sections demolished and the foundations enforced to a depth of up to eight metres. Only the lower floors and the Crypt of Speyer I remained intact. The Nave was elevated by five metres and the flat wooden ceiling replaced with a Groin Vault of Square Bays, one of the outstanding achievements of Romanesque architecture.

Each Vault extends over two Bays of the Elevation. Every second Pier was enlarged by adding a broad Pilaster, or Dosseret [Definition from www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ is: A clearly defined block resting on the Capital of a Column and serving as an extra Impost in Byzantine and Romanesque architecture], which formed a system of Interior Buttressing. Engaged Shafts had appeared, around 1030, in buildings along the Loire (Saint Benoit-sur-Loire, Auxerre, Loches), from where the technique spread to Normandy and the Rhineland.

The new Westwerk,

by Heinrich Hübsch, 1854-1858.

Photo: 13 March 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lokilech.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The only other contemporary example of such a Bay System is in the Church of San Vincente, Cardona, Spain. The "Double-Bay System" of Speyer, functioning as a support for the stone Vaults, was copied in many monuments along the Rhine. The addition of Groin Vaults made the incorporation of Clerestory Windows possible, without weakening the structure.

"The result is an Interior of monumental power, albeit stark and prismatic when compared with contemporary French buildings, but one which conveys an impression of Roman gravitas, an impression singularly appropriate for a Ruler with the political pretensions of Henry IV."

In the course of these modifications, the Cathedral was equipped with an external Dwarf Gallery, an Arcaded Gallery recessed into the thickness of the walls, and which is a natural development of the Blind Arcade. Such Blind Arcades were used extensively as decorations, lining Internal and External Walls of many Romanesque Churches.

The Eastern Apse,

showing encircling Gallery.

Photo: 8 September 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Immanuel Giel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

At the East End of Speyer Cathedral, the Dwarf Gallery and the Blind Arcades were composed into "one of the most memorable pieces of Romanesque design". The Dwarf Gallery encircles the top of the Apse, underlining its rounded form, and runs all around the structure below the roof-line. This feature soon became a fundamental element in Romanesque Churches; it was adopted at Worms and Mainz Cathedrals and on the facades of many Churches in Italy.

"The Cathedral re-emerged in a more sculptural style, typical of the prime of the Romanesque period." "The Transept, the Square of the Choir, the Apse, the Central Tower and the Flanking Towers, were combined in a manner and size surpassing anything done before. All surfaces and edges rise without stages. The major elements within the combination remain independent . . . Speyer became a model for many other Church buildings, but was unsurpassed in its magnificence."

The expanded Cathedral, Speyer II, was completed in 1106, the year of Henry's IV death. With a length of 444 Roman feet (134 metres) and a width of 111 Roman feet (43 metres), it was one of the largest buildings of its time. The building became a political issue: The enlargement of the Cathedral in the small village of Speyer, with only around 500 inhabitants, was a blunt provocation for the Papacy.

English: Speyer Cathedral's

Dwarf Gallery.

Deutsch: Zwerggalerie am Speyerer Dom.

Photo: 15 September 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: TeKaBe.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Emperor not only laid claim to Secular, but also to Ecclesiastical, power, and, with the magnificence and splendour of this Cathedral, he underlined this bold demand. The purpose of the building, already a strong motive for Emperor Conrad, was the Emperor's "claim to a representative Imperial Roman architecture" in light of the continuing struggle with Pope Gregory VII. Thus, the Speyer Cathedral is also seen as a symbol of the Investiture Controversy. It was only five years after his death, that Henry IV's excommunication was revoked and his body was put to rest in his Cathedral in 1111.

In the following Centuries, the Cathedral remained relatively unchanged. In a drawing of 1610, a Gothic Chapel has been added to the Northern Aisle, and, in a drawing of around 1650, there is another Gothic Window in the Northern Side of the Westwerk. In a drawing of 1750, depicting the Cathedral with the destroyed middle section, the Gothic Window is absent.

The last Ruler was put to rest in the Cathedral in 1308, completing a list of eight Emperors and Kings and a number of their wives:
Conrad II (died 1039) and his wife, Gisela († 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 († 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.

Deutsch: Serie Bauwerke, Speyerer Dom.

English: Series Architecture, Speyer Cathedral.

Stamp Price/Ausgabepreis: 5 Mark.

First Day of Issue / Erstausgabetag: 11. September 1925.

Michel-Katalog-Nr: 367 (Deutsches Reich).

Photo: 22 August 2010.

Source: scanned by NobbiP.

Author: scanned by NobbiP.

(Wikimedia Commons)

(Note: all eight of these Rulers were Kings of Germany. However, in order to receive the Title of Holy Roman Emperor, they had be crowned by the Pope. When relations between the Pope and German Kings 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 "un-crowned".)

In addition to these Rulers, the Cathedral is the resting place of several of the Rulers' wives and many of Speyer's Bishops.

Speyer Cathedral,

Germany.

Photo: November 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Immanuel Giel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Although repeatedly occupied and ransacked, Town and Cathedral survived the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) with little damage. During the Nine Years' War (Palatinate War of Succession 1688–1697), the people of Speyer brought furniture and possessions into the Cathedral, stacking everything several metres high, hoping to save them from the French troops of Louis XIV marauding the town.

But, on 31 May 1689, the soldiers broke in, pillaged the Imperial Graves and set everything alight. On that day, almost the whole town of Speyer was burned down. In the heat of the fire, the Western part of the Nave collapsed and the Late-Gothic elements were destroyed.

In the great fire, the Prince-Bishops of Speyer lost their Residence and a plan was considered to build a new one, in the style of a Baroque Château, in place of the Cathedral. Because of the hostility of the people of Speyer towards the Bishop, it was decided to build a Palace in Bruchsal.

Speyer Cathedral, seen from the South-West.

Picture taken from Diakonissen Hospital,

about 1 km distance.

Photo: 1 May 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Sundar1.

(Wikimedia Commons)

For almost a Century, only the Eastern part of the Cathedral was secured and used for services. Under the direction of Franz Ignaz M. Neumann, the son of renowned Baroque architect Balthasar Neumann, the building was restored from 1748 to 1772. The Romanesque Nave was reconstructed, but the Westwerk was rebuilt in the Baroque style on its remaining lower section. The funds were not sufficient to rebuild the whole Cathedral in the style of the time.

In 1792, Speyer was again occupied, this time by French Revolutionary troops, and once more the Cathedral was pillaged. During the Napoleonic Wars (1803 to 1815), the Cathedral was used as a stable and storage facility for fodder and other material. In 1806, the French had in mind to tear the building down and use it as a quarry, which was only prevented by the Bishop of Mainz, Joseph Ludwig Colmar. After Napoleon's victories over the Prussian and Russian armies, in the Battles of Grossgörschen and Lützen in 1813, around 4,000 wounded soldiers came to Speyer. After the Battle of Leipzig, there were even more and the Cathedral was needed as an Army Hospital.

As a result of the Congress of Vienna (1815), Speyer and the Palatinate passed to Bavaria. At the behest of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Johann von Schraudolph and Joseph Schwarzmann decorated the Interior Walls of the Cathedral with Nazarene-Style frescoes (1846–1853).

Deutsch: Ausmalung im Speyerer Dom, 2 Monumentalfresken von Johann Schraudolph

umgeben von Dekorationsmalerei von Joseph Schwarzmann. Mutwillig zerstört 1960.

English: Frescoes, Speyer Cathedral, Germany.

Date: 1850.

Source: Own scan from own old colour print, 1930. Paintings from 1850.

Author: Johann Schraudolph (+1879) and Joseph Schwarzmann (+1890).

(Wikimedia Commons)

From 1854 to 1858, Ludwig's successor, King Maximilian II, had the Baroque Westwerk replaced by a Neo-Romanesque Westwerk, with the two tall Towers and the Octagonal Dome resembling those that were lost, thus restoring the Cathedral's overall Romanesque appearance. The roofs were lowered and covered with copper. Only the Gothic Sacristy kept its slate roof. Eduard Rottmanner was Organist at the Church from 1839-1843.

In designing the façade of the Westwerk, Heinrich Hübsch, an architect of Early-Historicism, created a Neo-Romanesque design, which drew on features of the original Westwerk and those of several other Romanesque buildings: Scaling the windows differently and introducing a Gable on the facade; a row of statues over the main Portal; and polychrome stonework in sandstone yellow and rust.

These restorations coincided with the development of Romanticism and German nationalism, during which many buildings were restored in the Romanesque and Gothic Style of the Holy Roman Empire. The Speyer Cathedral was elevated to the level of a national monument.

Deutsch: de:Salve Regina, Marienstatue im Dom von Speyer.

English: Marian statue, Speyer Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: 10 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Maulaff.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Interior decorations and the new Westwerk were considered a major feat in the 19th-Century. King Ludwig I of Bavaria was of the opinion that nothing greater had been created than these paintings. Yet, by the start of the 20th-Century, the mood had changed. In 1916, Georg Dehio, a German art historian, was convinced that among all the misfortunes to befall Speyer Cathedral, the alterations of the 19th-Century were not the smallest.

The graves of the Emperors and Kings were originally placed in the Central Aisle, in front of the Altar. In the course of the Centuries, knowledge of the exact location was lost. In a big excavation campaign, in 1900, the graves were discovered and opened and the identity of the Rulers was established. Some of the contents, e.g. clothing, can be seen at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, near the Cathedral. The restored coffins were relocated into a newly-constructed Crypt, open to the public, under the High Altar in, 1906.

The restoration of the Cathedral, beginning in 1957, "was directed towards both securing the structure and recreating the original atmosphere of the Interior". Some of the plaster and 19th-Century paintings on the walls was removed. Only the cycle of twenty-four scenes, from the Life of The Virgin, between the windows of the Nave have been preserved. Gables, which had been removed from the Transept and Choir during the Baroque era, were replaced, using etchings and examples in related buildings. Changes in The Crossing were also undone, but enforcements, from the Baroque, were left in place for structural reasons. Also, the Baroque Style Curved Roof, on the Eastern Dome, remained.

Speyer Cathedral Nave,

Germany.

Photo: 18 January 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Maclovely.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Speyer Cathedral has maintained the overall form and dimensions of the 11th-Century structure and, despite substantial losses to the original fabric and successive restorations, presents a complete and unified Romanesque building. The design broadly follows the Plan that was established at Saint Michael's Church, in Hildesheim, and set the standard that was to be generally adopted in the Rhineland.

This comprised a High-Vaulted Nave with Aisles, with a Domed Crossing towards the East, which terminated in an Apsidal Chancel. The horizontal orientation already points to the development of the Gothic architecture. The Western End terminates in an elaborate structure known as a "Westwerk", including the main Portal, a feature typical of many Romanesque Churches.

Other German Romanesque Churches, such as Worms Cathedral, have an Apse at both ends. Externally, the silhouette of the building is balanced by two pairs of tall Towers, which frame the Nave, at the Western End, and the Chancel, at the Eastern End, and form a sculptural mass with the Dome at each end, creating an "equilibrium between the Eastern and Western blocks".

Romanesque Capitals,

Speyer Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: 27 November 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: AnRo0002.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The exterior appearance of the Cathedral is unified by the regularity of the size of its openings. Speyer has the earliest example in Germany of a Colonnaded Dwarf Gallery that goes around the entire building, just below the roof-line. The same type of Gallery also adorns the Eastern and Western Domes. The openings in the Gallery match the size of the paired windows in the Towers. The Domes are both octagonal, the roof of the Eastern one being slightly ovoid. The Towers are surmounted by "Rhenish Helm" Spires. The Nave, Towers and Domes are all roofed with copper, which has weathered to pale green, in contrast to the pinkish red of the building stone, and the polychrome of the Westwerk.

Internally, the Nave is of two open stages with simple semi-circular Romanesque openings. The Arcade has Piers of a simple form, each with a wide attached Shaft, the alternate Shafts carrying a stone Arch of the High Vault. The Square Bays, thus formed, are Groin Vaulted and plastered. Although most of the plasterwork of the 19th-Century has been removed from wall surfaces, the wide expanse of masonry between the Arcade and the Clerestory contains a series of colourful murals depicting the Life of The Virgin.

Currently, the Cathedral is undergoing fundamental restorations, which will last, approximately, until 2015, and cost around twenty-six million Euros. Also, the frescoes, by Schraudolph, which were removed in the 1950s, are being restored and are to be displayed in the "Kaisersaal" of the Cathedral.

Deutsch: Kapitelle im Speyrer Dom.

English: Column Capitals in Speyer Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: 3 October 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: AnRo0002.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In April 1981, Speyer Cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) justified the inclusion: "The Cathedral of Speyer, with those of Worms and Mayence (Mainz), is a major monument of Romanesque art in the German Empire. It is, by virtue of its proportions, the largest and the most important; by virtue of the history to which it is linked – the Salic Emperors made it their place of burial." ICOMOS also cites the building as important in demonstrating the evolution in attitudes towards restoration since the 17th-Century, both in Germany and the world.

Over the Centuries, Crypts developed from tiny Chambers into large semi-subterranean, and very articulated, Hall Crypts, which became standard forms in Italy and Germany, sometimes extending under the Transepts, as well as the Chancel.

The monumental Crypt of Speyer Cathedral, consecrated in 1041, is the largest Romanesque Columned-Hall Crypt in Europe. Forty-two Groin-Vaults are supported on twenty Cylindrical Columns with simple Cushion Capitals. The sandstone blocks alternate in colour between yellow and rust, a typical design of the Salian and Staufer eras, and providing the context of the colour-scheme of the 19th-Century facade. The "architectural clarity is quite exceptional, a result of the precise execution of the base mouldings and the Cushion Capitals, together with the emphatic system of Transverse Arches."

Wall paintings in Speyer Cathedral,

Germany.

Photo: 16 September 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Hermann Luyken.

(Wikimedia Commons)

On the Southern side of the Cathedral, is the Double Chapel (Doppelkapelle) of Saint Emmeram (Saint Martin) and Saint Catherine. The concept of the Double Chapel was well established by the end of the 11th-Century, dating back to the time of Charlemagne and commonly used in Imperial and Episcopal Chapels.

Construction of the Double Chapel in Speyer started around 1050. Saint Catherine's Chapel was built on occasion of the birthday of Henry III's daughter on 25 November, named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. In 1961, the Chapel was restored to its original state as a Double Chapel. The two Chapels, on top of each other, are connected through an opening in the centre. Today, Saint Emmeram is a Baptistery.

On the Northern side of the Cathedral, is the Chapel of Saint Afra, named after an Early-Christian Martyr. Henry IV had the Chapel built in her honour because he was born on her Commemoration Day. Saint Afra's remains had been discovered in Augsburg around 1064. Henry IV was buried in the un-Consecrated Chapel, from 1106 to 1111, when Pope Paschalis II revoked the ban, which had been in effect since 1088. During restoration work in 1971, a page of parchment was found in the Chapel, which is part of a Wulfila Bible written around 500 A.D. Today, the Saint Afra Chapel is a Tabernacle.

The Mount of Olives sculpture,

Speyer Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: 29 August 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Immanuel Giel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Initially, there were five other Chapels on the Northern side of the Cathedral: Saint Paul; Saint Agnes; Saint Bernhard; Saint Henry; and Saint Mary. Saint Mary's Chapel had been added on the Northern side of the Cathedral, by Bishop Matthias von Rammung, in 1475. Their ruins were already removed in the 18th-Century.

The chime of the Cathedral is composed of nine Bells, of which the largest four were cast in 1822 by Peter Lindemann (Zweibrücken), and the five smaller ones, in 1963, by Freidrich Wilhem Schilling (Heidelberg). They are all contained in the "Belfry", in the Western Dome.

The Bells are named:
1 Maximilianus Josephus (Emperor Bell);
2 Friderica Wilhelmina Carolina;
3 Ludovicus Carolus;
4 Matthaeus de Chandelle;
5 Saint Mary's Bell;
6 Saint Joseph's Bell;
7 Saint Anne's Bell;
8 Saint Pirmin's Bell;
9 Otto.

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 centre. On the Northern side, was the Palatial Bishop's residence. Other buildings nearby, for example, were the Chapter House, Rectory, Archives, Saint Nikolaus Chapel, Town fortifications, etc. Most of the buildings disappeared after the French Revolution. The outline of the former Cloister can be seen as a Pavement.

Deutsch: Domnapf, Speyrer Dom.

English: The Cathedral Bowl, Speyer Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: November 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Immanuel Giel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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 the Speyer sculptor, Gottfried Renn. Inside the sculpture is a Chapel dedicated to The Archangel Michael.

In the square, at the Western End of the Cathedral, is a large Bowl, known as Domnapf (literally "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.

The Hall was built, to the North of the Cathedral, to house the Roman findings in the Cathedral area. It was erected in the Neo-Classical Style and turned out to be too small for the intended purpose. Later, some Cannons, captured in the Franco-Prussian War, of 1870-1871, were displayed. Today, it is a Memorial for the Fallen of the two World Wars.

English: The statue of Our Lady, Patroness of Speyer,

crossing the Rhine, 1930.

Deutsch: Patrona Spirensis, Speyer, Einholung über den Rhein, 1930,

Date: 2009, own scan from own old paper from 1930.

Source: Own work.

Author: Joachim Specht.

(Wikimedia Commons)