Speyer

Speyer (older spelling ; ), historically known in English as Spires, 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 Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities. Speyer Cathedral, a number of other churches, and the ("old gate") dominate the Speyer landscape. In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight Holy Roman Emperors and 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 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 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 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 embarks from Speyer, his favourite town, for Canossa.
In 1084, establishment of the first 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 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-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 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 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
Cathedral
Altpörtel – Old Town Gate
Gedächtniskirche – Memorial church
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.
Speyer Airfield (German: Flugplatz Speyer) (ICAO: EDRY) is a general aviation airfield located 4 km south of the central business district of the city of Speyer.
Mayors
Since 1923 the mayor was a Lord Mayor.
Twin towns – sister cities
Speyer is twinned with:
Spalding, United Kingdom, since 1956; discontinued 2021
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
Chichester, United Kingdom, since 2023
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
Margarete Freudenthal-Sallis (ca.1893-1984), German-Jewish sociologist of the changing role of women in home economics
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 (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
See also
Technikmuseum Speyer
German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer
Speyer line
History of the Jews in Speyer
Shapiro
Notes
Further reading
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
City overview and photos
1792 disestablishments
History of the Palatinate (region)
States and territories established in 1294
Palatinate (region)