Speyer Cathedral Germany

The Speyer Cathedral is the largest Cathedral in Europe. It is built on the bank of the Rhine River. It was founded by Konrad II in 1030 and inaugurated in 1061. Konrad II wanted to build the Cathedral to honor a city of his choice with the largest church of its time. This cathedral is one of the most important Romanesque monuments from the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The architecture is inspired by a combination of Eastern and Western influences. The cathedral is laid out in the form of a Latin Cross; it has four towers and two domes. A dwarf gallery runs around the nave and transept just below the roof. The transept is a masterpiece of unity and balance. In line with prevailing practice at the time, there were neither building plans nor detailed drawings. Every morning the architect would simply draw in the sand the next section to be built. To be on the safe side, all the dimensions were tripled; and this is how the cathedral ended up with eight-meter thick walls, making it virtually indestructible and ensuring its long life.

It is the first structure to be built with a gallery, which goes around the whole build

Under the auspices of Konrad’s grandson, Emperor Henry IV, the eastern sections were demolished about 1090. The cathedral re-emerged in a more sculptural style typical of the prime of the Romanesque period. In the course of these modifications the dwarf gallery, which runs all around the structure and is distinctive of Speyer Cathedral, was created in a previously unknown style. The addition of groin vaults to the formerly flat-roofed nave was one of the most ambitious building projects of these days.The cathedral was left relatively unchanged until the end of the 17th century. During the Palatinate War of Succession, French troops pillaged artworks and set fire to the cathedral (1689). The effects were devastating to the western part of the nave and the late Gothic elements were destroyed by the fire. In the years after its destruction, only the eastern part of the church was lastingly secured and used for services. It was not until 1778 that the cathedral was restored after the reconstruction of the Romanesque nave and the erection of a Baroque west end under the direction of Franz I. M. Neumann. In 1794, the cathedral was again ravaged by French revolutionary troops.After the Palatinate was passed to Bavaria in 1816, the Bavarian kings ordered the renovation and ornamentation of the cathedral. The Bavarian King, Ludwig I commissioned the painting of the interior. From 1846-1853 painters of The School of Johann Schraudolph and Joseph Schwarzmann decorated the entire interior with Nazarene style frescoes. However, only the cycle of 24 scenes from the life of the Virgin in the nave is preserved. The neo-Romanesque west end was constructed under the direction of Heinrich Hübsch (1854-1858). The 1957-1971 restoration of the cathedral was directed towards both securing the structure and recreating the original atmosphere of the interior. In the course of these works, the major part of the 19th century decoration was removed. The current restoration aims at maintaining and preserving the edifice.

I am comparing The Speyer Cathedral to the Cathedral at Worms. They are both amazing churches with a lot of the same building techniques such as the Latin cross floor plan, the use of roman arches, the towers, nave, transept and large transept tower.

The Speyer Cathedral is the largest Romanesque church still standing today. In 1981 the UNESCO added it to their list of World Cultural Heritage Monuments. This cathedral became the model for hundreds of early medieval churches. This cathedral and medieval imperialism are linked to each other. In the Crypt, the most beautiful crypt in the world, Salian Emperors an

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