This is both due to its monumental dimensions and due to the overwhelmingly beautiful interior and the crypt.
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 Hubsch (1854-1858). The 1957-1971 restoration of the cathedral was directed towards both securing the structure and recreating the original atmosphere of the interior.