Tour | Dom zu Speyer

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Tour

Click on the arrows to navigate through the different stations of the round tour.

Tour guide with visitors

Welcome at the Speyer cathedral

In the name of the Cathedral Chapter we warmly welcome you to the Speyer Cathedral.

The westwork

The westwork

The westwork receives visitors to the cathedral approaching from the main street, the “via triumphalis”. It prepares the visitor for their entrance into the actual body of the church and for the presence of God.

The altar

The altar

Under the crossing lies the main altar, over which a great dome – the sky – opens.

The crossing

The crossing

Observed from a great height, the Cathedral forms a giant cross. The point at which the nave and the transept intersect is the center of this cross – the crossing.

Marian devotion

Marian devotion

For centuries, pilgrims have come here to pray before the statue of Mary. Amongst these individuals was Pope John Paul II, who visited Speyer in 1987.

The nave aisles

The nave aisles

While the nave design harkens back to the reconstruction of the cathedral during the high Romanesque period, the nave aisles display the essential features of the first, early Romanesque construction: uniform arched arcades fronted by half columns that support the vaults, combine to form a completely symmetrical spatial alignment over 71 meters long.

Patrona Spirensis

Patrona Spirensis

Mary is the main patroness of the Speyer Cathedral. Every year on the 15th of August, the Assumption of Mary, the cathedral’s patron festival is celebrated. The medieval sacred image of the mother of God was destroyed in the course of the French Revolution. In 1930, on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the founding of the cathedral, Pope Pius XI donated a new statue.

The vaulting

The vaulting

The completion of the vaulting over the nave towards the end of the 11th century marked the largest span width achieved since antiquity. In order to accommodate the weight of the groined vault roof, the supporting columns were reinforced by a massive three-quarter column, separated by an intermediate capital. Here in the cathedral one can see evidence of an extraordinary organization system, the so-called „bound system”. A bay across the main nave corresponds to two bays in the nave aisles, creating a link between nave and nave aisles.

The nave

The nave

The nave is the space for the community of believers, who celebrate mass and visit the cathedral to say their personal prayers. On both sides twelve arches separate the nave from two nave aisles. These arches represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, together symbolizing the people of God, who congregate here. In the spaces between the pillars, one can see frescoes depicting the life of Mary.

The original westwork

The original westwork

The westwork is not preserved in its original form as it was partially destroyed, then reconstructed in a baroque style, and lastly rebuilt in a Neo-Romanesque style. In the Middle Ages, this part of the structure was much more simply designed. West as a cardinal direction was associated with evil, and the thick external wall with only small windows, was supposed to hold this evil at bay.

The chancel

The chancel

The Bishop celebrates Mass for the high holidays of the Christian year at the main altar under the crossing dome. Since the middle ages, the altar located in the eastern part of the nave, just before the crossing is dedicated to the Holy Cross. The Bishop, the cathedral parish, and the Cathedral Chapter celebrate mass here on Sundays and various holidays.

The coronation of Mary

The coronation of Mary

In the 19th century, the vaulting over the apse was embellished with a fresco portraying the coronation of Mary. Taken down in 1957, the fresco can today be seen in the Emperors' Hall.

The apse

The apse

The entire structure of the Speyer cathedral is aligned to the east, in the direction of the rising sun, the symbol of the resurrection. The easternmost extremity of the cathedral ends with the semicircular Apse.

Imperial Hall and Observation Platform

Imperial Hall and Observation Platform

After a comprehensive restructuring concluded in October 2012, the Imperial Hall was for the first time open to a broad public. It houses a permanent exhibition of the painter Johann Baptist Schraudolph’s monumental frescos. These works depict scenes from the lives of various saints, who are of great significance for the cathedral.

The main organ

The main organ

On the 18th of September 2011, the new main organ was consecrated by Bishop Dr. Karl-Heinz Wiesemann.

The main organ

The main organ

From the eastern end of the Cathedral one can look down the nave and see the main organ. This instrument has 87 registers (5496 pipes) spread out over four fingerboards and a pedalboard. In the second northern arcade of the nave, there is a second organ that functions both as choir organ and organ for meantone works.

The emperors' tombs

The emperors' tombs

The Speyer Cathedral is the burial place of a number of ruling dynasties, and by extension a symbol of the medieval Empire. Starting from the crypt, heading west through an entranceway, one can reach the burial places. This part of the cathedral took on its present form between 1900 and 1906, when it was newly designed and an arched ceiling installed.

The crypt

The crypt

The crypt originates from the cathedral’s earliest phase of construction, and remains today the largest Romanesque hall crypt in existence. The entire complex, in its symmetry, organization and coordinated partitions, is symbolic of divine order.

St Afra chapel

St Afra chapel

Located on the northern side of the building, the St. Afra Chapel is not open to sightseeing. This chapel, which also serves as a sacrament chapel, is reserved for those who wish to pray in silence.

St Katharina chapel

St Katharina chapel

Together with the St Martin Chapel, the St Catherine Chapel makes up half of a double chapel; while the former functions as a baptistery the St Catherine chapel functions as a reliquary chapel, where relics are honoured and preserved. The chapel can be accessed via the southern transept.

St Martin chapel

St Martin chapel

The baptistery of St Martin, with a commemorative stone honouring the canonized Edith Stein, is accessible from the southern nave aisle. This baptistery is amongst the oldest parts of the Cathedral.

The observation platform

The observation platform

The oberservation Ppatform is located on the southwest tower at a height of roughly 60 meters. From this vantage point one is afforded a uniquely breathtaking view over the city of Speyer, the Anterior Palatinate, the Rhine and neighbouring Baden. On days with good sight, one can see for more than 50 kilometers.

Ground plot

Ground plot

Tolling of the bells
The westwork
The nave
The nave aisles
Patrona Spirensis
The crossing
The apse
The chapels
The crypt and the emperors tombs
The main organ
The imperial hall and the observation platform

Soundfiles

1. The

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bells of the Speyer Cathedral are located in the front central tower. The chiming of the bells calls the faithful to church services and sounds during mass when consecration takes place.

Pope John Paul II

5. Excerpt of a Download einer Datei

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speech given by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his visiting the Speyer Cathedral in 1987.

Sound Sample of the Main Organ

10.

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Sound Sample of the main organ: Charles Hubert Hastings Parry‘s “Elegy” played by cathedral organist Markus Eichenlaub.

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