Speyer, Germany

Rathaus and Cathedral

Our first German city, Speyer was founded by the Romans in 80 BC as a military camp. In 980 AD it became part of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire lasted for 1000 years until the time of Napoleon. In the city is the largest Romanesque church in the world, capable of holding 15000 people. This cathedral was host to the first and second diets of Speyer. These diets decided that the followers of Luther and other protestants could co-exist with Catholics, allowing multiple religions within the Empire.  Inside the crypt of the cathedral are the graves of several kings and emperors from the first Salian emperor Conrad II 1039 to King Rudolf, the first Hapsburg king in 1291.

From the church we walked down the main street seeing the first Rathaus, the mint house of the empire, and the clock tower of the city walls. From the tower I had a beautiful view of the city. I returned to the Cathedral to see the interior and the crypt, lucky me also had an organ concert.

Altar and Baptismal Font in the Crypt

In the afternoon was our home hosted visit with Regina. We had coffee, cake, and wine, discussing a variety of topics like the school system, children, and traveling. After her children left, she started taking English lessons and hosting is one of the ways to improve her English. We were appreciative, since none of our group of six spoke German.

That night we were entertained by a local acapella group "Stimmalarm".