page_title: History of Speyer
section_title: The Salian dynasty, the imperial cathedral and urban expansion
hierarchical_section_title: History of Speyer / The Salian dynasty, the imperial cathedral and urban expansion
caption_attribution_description: Description: cathedral of Speyer, Germany around the year 1061 Source: own work Date: November 2005 Author: --Immanuel Giel 08:26, 3 November 2005 (UTC) Other versions: none
context_page_description: The history of Speyer begins with the establishment of a Roman camp in 10 BCE, making it one of Germany's oldest cities. Its name evolved from Spira, first mentioned in 614. As of 1294 a Free Imperial City, the town became renowned for its Romanesque cathedral, its vibrant Jewish community, its seat of the Imperial Chamber Court, for 50 diets that took place within its walls, most notably 1526 and 1529, and last but not least, for the Protestation at Speyer. For several centuries from the Middle Ages into the early modern period, Speyer was one of the main centres of gravity of the Holy Roman Empire.
context_section_description: The year 1024 marked a decisive event in the history of the town. On 4 September 1024, near Oppenheim, Conrad II, a Salian from the county of Speyergau, was elected King of Germany. The Salians placed the town in the centre of imperial politics and made it the spiritual centre of the Salian kingdom. They started a patronage of town and church which would be continued by the House of Hohenstaufen. When Conrad and his wife Gisela were not travelling, they usually lived at nearby Limburg Abbey in Speyergau and often visited Speyer. In his “Chronicle of the Free Imperial City of Speyer”, the city scribe Christoph Lehmann (1568–1638), remarked: “Dieweil Conrad viel und offt zu Speyer im königlichen palatio gewohnt hat man ihne Cunradum den Speyerer genannt” (Because Conrad often spent much time at the royal palace in Speyer he was called Conrad the Speyerer).
  After he had been crowned emperor, in 1027, Conrad commissioned the construction of the Speyer Cathedral on the site of a former smaller cathedral. Work commenced in 1030, according to some sources in 1027. It is assumed that the Speyerbach was channelled to bring building materials from the Palatine Forest (sandstone and wood).
  The construction of a cathedral with dimensions unknown up to date underlined the increasing importance of Speyer and was the decisive impetus for the further development of the town. The construction, spanning several decades, brought many craftsmen, merchants and artists. Conrad invited experienced master-builders, such as Regimbald of Dillingen from St. Gallen, Bishop Benno II of Osnabrück and Bishop Otto of Bamberg. The crypt was consecrated in 1041, the main altar in 1046 and the cathedral in 1061. It was the largest church of its time and, in its monumentality and significance, symbolized imperial power and Christianity. It became the primary church and mausoleum of the Salian dynasty and the burial place of eight German emperors and kings. 
  With the Abbey of Cluny in ruins, the Speyer Cathedral remains the largest Romanesque church to this very day.
  At the northeastern corner of the cathedral a palace (Pfalz) was added for the bishop and visiting royalty, completed around 1044/45. It had become a custom in Carolingian times that bishops expanded their residences in order to host kings or emperors on tour. The palace was 74 metres long, 16 metres wide and had three floors with heights of 6 metres each. It had its own chapel and was linked to the northeastern corner of the cathedral. The dimensions and elaborate architectural design were exceptional for profane buildings in the Salian era.
  A cloister and a number of buildings for the chapter and church administration were added on the southern side of the cathedral. Altogether, cathedral and additions presented a representative assembly of stately buildings with nothing comparable in the Salian empire.
  The extensive construction works drew many people to Speyer and expansions of the town became necessary. A new layout of streets developed that still exists today: three streets fanning out from the cathedral to the northwest, to the west and to the southwest. With its unusual width of up to 50 m the street going west from the cathedral became the “Via Triumphalis” (triumphal way), eventually with a length of 650 m (today Maximilianstrasse). Although the street has partially been narrowed, the original width is still visible on both ends, most notably between the cathedral and Alte Münz.
  The first expansion of the town was by about 50 ha and the walls were completed around 1080. To the north, just east of today's train station, the suburb of Altspeyer including the Jewish quarter also had been walled.
  Under the reign of the Salians three abbeys were established as endowments (see Stift): St. John's (later St. Guido) on the Weidenberg, a minor elevation between Speyer and the suburb of Altspeyer, St. Germain on the Germansberg, another small elevation outside of the town walls to the south and All-Saints within the city walls in the southern part of the town.
  Conrad II died 4 June 1039 and was 
caption: Cathedral profile northern side, Phase 1 (1061)
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