Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French language, French: ''Spire,'' historical English language, English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer lies south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, and south-west of Heidelberg. Founded by the Ancient Rome, Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities. Speyer Cathedral, a number of other churches, and the Altpörtel (''old gate'') dominate the Speyer landscape. In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight Holy Roman Emperors and List of German monarchs, German kings. The city is famous for the 1529 Protestation at Speyer. One of the ShUM-cities which formed the cultural center of Jewish life in Europe during the Middle Ages, Speyer and its Jewish courtyard, Speyer, Jewish courtyard was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021.

History

The first known names were ''Noviomagus'' and ''Civitas Nemetum'', after the Teutonic tribe, Nemetes, settled in the area. The name ''Spira'' is first recorded in the 7th century, taken from ''villa Spira'', a Frankish settlement situated outside of ''Civitas Nemetum''.

Timeline

* In 10 BC, the first Ancient Rome, Roman military camp is established (situated between the town hall and the episcopal palace). * In AD 150, the town appears as Noviomagus on the world map of the Greek geographer Ptolemy. * In 346, a bishop for the town is mentioned for the first time. * 4th century, ''Civitas Nemetum'' appears on the Peutinger Map. * 5th century, ''Civitas Nemetum'' is destroyed. * 7th century, the town is re-established, and named ''Spira'' after a nearby Frankish settlement. * In 1030, emperor Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II starts the construction of Speyer Cathedral, today one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Also in the 11th century, the first city wall is built. * In 1076, emperor Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV embarks from Speyer, his favourite town, for Walk to Canossa, Canossa. * In 1084, establishment of the first Jewish community of Speyer, Jewish community in Speyer. * In 1096, as Count Emicho's Crusader army rages across the Rhineland slaughtering Jewish communities, Speyer's Bishop John, with the local leader Yekutiel ben Moses, manages to secure the community's members inside the episcopal palace and later leads them to even stronger fortifications outside the town. It was ruled that anyone harming a Jew would have his hands chopped off. * In 1294, the bishop loses most of his previous rights, and from now on Speyer is a Free Imperial Town of the Holy Roman Empire. * In 1349, the Jewish community of Speyer is wiped out. * Between 1527 and 1689, Speyer is the seat of the Reichskammergericht, Imperial Chamber Court. * In 1526, at the Diet of Speyer (1526) interim toleration of Lutheran teaching and worship is decreed. * In 1529, at the Diet of Speyer (1529) the Lutheran states of the empire protest against the anti-Protestant Reformation, Reformation resolutions (19 April 1529 Protestation at Speyer, hence the term Protestantism). * In 1635, Marshal of France Urbain de Maillé-Brézé, together with Jacques Nompar de Caumont, duc de La Force, conquers Heidelberg and Speyer at the head of the Army of Germany. * In 1689, the town is heavily damaged by French troops. * Between 1792 and 1814, Speyer is under French jurisdiction after the Battle of Speyer. * In 1816, Speyer becomes the seat of administration of the Palatinate (region), Palatinate and of the government of the Rhine District of Bavaria (later called the Bavarian Palatinate), and remains so until the end of World War II. * In 1861, Albert Edward was introduced to Alexandra by Crown Princess Victoria. * Between 1883 and 1904, the Gedächtniskirche (Speyer), Memorial Church is built in remembrance of the Protestation of 1529. * In 1947, the State Academy of Administrative Science is founded (later renamed German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer). * In 1990, Speyer celebrates its 2000th anniversary.

Main sights

* Speyer Cathedral, Cathedral * Old Gate (Speyer), Altpörtel – Old Town Gate * Gedächtniskirche (Speyer), Gedächtniskirche – Memorial church * Dreifaltigkeitskirche, Speyer, Dreifaltigkeitskirche – Trinity church * Jewish courtyard (''Judenhof Speyer'') – remnants of medieval synagogue and intact mikve, UNESCO World Heritage Site * Technikmuseum Speyer – Transportation Museum * Historical Museum of the Palatinate

Transportation

Speyer lies on the Schifferstadt-Wörth railway and offers hourly connections to Mannheim and Karlsruhe.

Mayors

Since 1923 the mayor was a Lord Mayor.

Twin towns – sister cities

Speyer is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Spalding, Lincolnshire, Spalding, United Kingdom, since 1956 * Chartres, France, since 1959 * Kursk, Russia, since 1989 * Ravenna, Italy, since 1989 * Gniezno, Poland, since 1992 * Yavne, Israel, since 1998 * Rusizi District, Rwanda, since 1982/2001 * Ningde, China, since 2013

Notable people

Born before 1900

* Samuel of Speyer (after 1096–death unknown), Exeget of Torah and Midrash * Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (1140–1217), scribe and philosopher * Julian of Speyer (before 1225– ~ 1250), medieval choir master, composer and poet from the Order of the Franciscans * Gabriel Biel (~ 1415–1495), scholastic philosopher * Dietrich Gresemund (1477–1512), author * Georg von Speyer (1500–1540), conquistador * Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1588–1635), Reichsgraf of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg * Johann Joachim Becher (1635–1682), German physician, alchemist, precursor of chemistry, scholar and adventurer * Moritz Georg Weidmann (1658–1693), publisher and bookseller * Adolf von Dalberg (1678–1737), Prince of Fulda * Simha of Speyer (13th century) German rabbi and tosafist. He was one of the leading signatories of the Takkanot Shum. * Philipp Hieronymus Brinckmann (1709–1760), landscape and historical painters as well as copper cutters * Johann Martin Bernatz (1802–1878), landscape painter * Anselm Feuerbach (1829–1880), German painter * Carl Jakob Adolf Christian Gerhardt (1832–1902), German physician * Henry Villard (1835–1900), German-American journalist * Hermann von Stengel (1837–1919), Bavarian Administrative Officer * Wilhelm Meyer (philologist) (1845–1917), classical philologist, mediavist and librarian * Karl Heinrich Emil Becker (1879–1940), general of the artillery, ballist and defense scientist * Hans Purrmann (1880–1966), painter, graphic artist, art writer and collector * Hermann Detzner (1882–1970), leader of the German Schutztruppe in German New Guinea * Karl-Adolf Hollidt (1891–1985), Army officer (Generaloberst) and war criminal * George Waldbott (1898–1982), German-American physician

Born after 1900

* George John Dasch (1903–1992), WWII spy who foiled terrorist attacks in the U.S. by Nazi Germany *Jakob Brendel (1907–1964), wrestler * Karl Haas (1913–2005), German-American music educator and radio presenter * Helmut Bantz (1921–2004), gymnast * Alfred Cahn (1922–2016), German musician and composer * Edgar E. Stern (born 1926), clinical social worker and author of ''The Peppermint Train: Journey to a German-Jewish Childhood'' * Gabriel Kney (born 1929), Canadian organ builder * Karl Hochreither (1933–2018), German organist and musicologist * Volker Straus (1936–2002) German tonmeister * Jürgen Brecht (born 1940), fencer * Wolf Frobenius (1940–2011), musicologist * Gerhard Vollmer (born 1943), physicist and philosopher * Jürgen Creutzmann (born 1945), politician (Free Democratic Party (Germany), FDP) * Hans-Joachim Lang (born 1951), journalist, Germanist, historian and honorary professor * Axel Schimpf (born 1952), Vice Admiral of the German Navy * Eberhard Bosslet (born 1953), artist * Kay Friedmann (born 1963), footballer * Markus Kranz (born 1969), football player * Christoph Bechmann (born 1971), German field-hockey player * Anke Vondung (born 1972), opera singer * Ralf Schmitt (born 1977), football player * Simone Weiler (born 1978), swimmer * Jochen Kühner (born 1980), rower * Martin Kühner (born 1980), rower * Matthias Langkamp (born 1984), football player * Christian Reif (born 1984), long jumper * David McCray (born 1986), basketball player * Florian Krebs (born 1988), football player * Sebastian Langkamp (born 1988), footballer * Lars Stindl (born 1988), German footballer * Elias Harris (born 1989), German international basketball player * Jonas Marz (born 1989), footballer * Gianluca Korte (born 1990), footballer * Raffael Korte (born 1990), footballer

Notes

External links

speyer.de
the town website (partly in English)
museum.speyer.de
Historical Museum of the Palatinate
dom-speyer.de
website of Speyer Cathedral
Explore the ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture

Model Map of Medieval Speyer

Speyer, its cathedral and the library of its chapter

Technical (Transport) Museum

www.speyer.de: living history in past times

www.speyer-tour.de: Guided tours through Speyer

{{Authority control Speyer, 1792 disestablishments History of the Palatinate (region) States and territories established in 1294 Palatinate (region)