Speyer Cathedral

The magnificent Romanesque imperial cathedral in Speyer is the town’s best-known and most prominent landmark.

Built by emperors, the cathedral was a symbol of their power and served as their final resting place. Construction began around 1030 under the Salian Emperor Conrad II and the church was consecrated in 1061. Speyer’s imperial cathedral, laid out in the form of a Latin cross, is one of Germany’s largest and most important Romanesque buildings. The Salian emperors chose it tobe their burial site. Its huge triple-naved vaulted basilica is the central element of a design that greatly influenced Romanesque architecture in the 11th and 12th centuries. The hallmarks of the cathedral are the balanced distribution of its dimensions to the east and the west and the symmetrical layout of the structure, consisting of a nave and transept with four towers on the corners.