page_title: Speyer Cathedral
section_title: Chapels
hierarchical_section_title: Speyer Cathedral / Features / Chapels
caption_attribution_description: English: Speyer Cathedral: double chapel (Doppelkapelle) of Saint Emmeram (Saint Martin) and Saint Catherine -upper level-, one of several chapels added to the sides of the cathedral. It contains some relics of the cathedral.
context_page_description: Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Mary, patron saint of Speyer and St. Stephen is generally known as the Kaiserdom zu Speyer. Pope Pius XI raised Speyer Cathedral to the rank of a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church in 1925.
  Begun in 1030 under Konrad II, with the east end and high vault of 1090–1103, the imposing triple-aisled vaulted basilica of red sandstone is the "culmination of a design which was extremely influential in the subsequent development of Romanesque architecture during the 11th and 12th centuries". As the burial site for Salian, Staufer and Habsburg emperors and kings the cathedral is regarded as a symbol of imperial power. With the Abbey of Cluny in ruins, it remains the largest Romanesque church. It is considered to be "a turning point in European architecture",
  one of the most important architectural monuments of its time and one of the finest Romanesque monuments.
context_section_description: On the southern side of the cathedral is the double chapel (Doppelkapelle) of Saint Emmeram (Saint Martin) and Saint Catherine. The concept of the double chapel was well established by the end of the 11th century, dating back to the time of Charlemagne and commonly used in imperial and Episcopal chapels. Construction of the one in Speyer already started around 1050. Saint Catherine's chapel was built on occasion of the birthday of Herny III's daughter on 25 November, named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. In 1961 the chapel was restored to its original state as a double chapel. The two chapels on top of each other are connected through an opening in the centre. Today, Saint Emmeram is a baptistery.
  On the northern side of the cathedral is the chapel of Saint Afra, named after an early Christian martyr. Henry IV had the chapel built in her honour because he was born on her commemoration day. Saint Afra's remains had been discovered in Augsburg around 1064. Henry IV was buried in the unconsecrated chapel from 1106 to 1111, when Pope Paschalis II revoked the ban, which had been in effect since 1088. During restoration works in 1971 a page of parchment was found in the chapel which is part of a Wulfila Bible written around 500. Today, the Saint Afra Chapel is a tabernacle.
  Initially there were five other chapels on the northern side of the cathedral: Saint Paul, Saint Agnes, Saint Bernhard, Saint Henry and Saint Mary. Saint Mary's chapel had been added on the northern side of the cathedral by Bishop Matthias von Rammung in 1475. Their ruins were already removed in the 18th century.
caption: Double chapel of Saint Emmeram and Saint Catherine, upper level with opening to the bottom
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