Speyer

Speyer can be recognized from the distance because of the nicely grouped belfreys of the Kaiserdom. The town stands on the left bank of the Rhein and is in such an exposed position that few buildings have escaped damage by war over the years.Since the Edict of Worms (1521) was never enacted, it was in 1529 that the Imperial Diet met again in Speyer to confirm the declarations, which caused the Lutherans to make a solemn protest. The name Protestant derives, of course, from that action. The Kaiserdom, founded by Konrad II in 1030 and remodelled 1082-1125 by the emperors Heinrich IV and Heinrich V, is a Romanesque basilica with four towers and two domes. An elegant dwarf gallery runs around the nave and transept just below the roof. Finely carved capitals show a wide variety of motifs on the east side (park side) of the apse. The transept, raised and with ogive vaulting, is a masterpiece of unity and balance. The crypt is the finest and largest Romanesque crypt in Germany. The 13th century tombstone of Rudolf vonHabsburg [1291] stands at the entrance to the impressive vault of the German Holy Roman Emperors (Konrad II [1039], Heinrich III [1056], Heinrich IV [1106], Heinrich V [1125]). The Kaiserdom has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981.