Speyer
Speyer is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer lies south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, and south-west of Heidelberg. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities.
Speyer Cathedral, a number of other churches and the Altpörtel dominate the Speyer landscape. In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight Holy Roman Emperors and German kings.
The city is famous for the 1529 Protestation at Speyer.
History
The first known names were Noviomagus and Civitas Nemetum, after the Teutonic tribe, Nemetes, settled in the area. The name Spira is first recorded in the 7th century, taken from villa Spira, a Frankish settlement situated outside of Civitas Nemetum.Timeline
- In 10 BC, the first Roman military camp is established.
- In AD 150, the town appears as Noviomagus on the world map of the Greek geographer Ptolemy.
- In 346, a bishop for the town is mentioned for the first time.
- 4th century, Civitas Nemetum appears on the Peutinger Map.
- 5th century, Civitas Nemetum is destroyed.
- 7th century, the town is re-established, and named Spira after a nearby Frankish settlement.
- In 1030, emperor Conrad II starts the construction of Speyer Cathedral, today one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Also in the 11th century, the first city wall is built.
- In 1076, emperor Henry IV embarks from Speyer, his favourite town, for Canossa.
- In 1084, establishment of the first Jewish community in Speyer.
- In 1096, as Count Emicho's Crusader army rages across the Rhineland slaughtering Jewish communities, Speyer's Bishop John, with the local leader Yekutiel ben Moses, manages to secure the community's members inside the episcopal palace and later leads them to even stronger fortifications outside the town. It was ruled that anyone harming a Jew would have his hands chopped off.
- In 1294, the bishop loses most of his previous rights, and from now on Speyer is a Free Imperial Town of the Holy Roman Empire.
- In 1349, the Jewish community of Speyer is wiped out.
- Between 1527 and 1689, Speyer is the seat of the Imperial Chamber Court.
- In 1526, at the Diet of Speyer interim toleration of Lutheran teaching and worship is decreed.
- In 1529, at the Diet of Speyer the Lutheran states of the empire protest against the anti-Reformation resolutions.
- In 1635, Marshal of France Urbain de Maillé-Brézé, together with Jacques Nompar de Caumont, duc de La Force, conquers Heidelberg and Speyer at the head of the Army of Germany.
- In 1689, the town is heavily damaged by French troops.
- Between 1792 and 1814, Speyer is under French jurisdiction after the Battle of Speyer.
- In 1816, Speyer becomes the seat of administration of the Palatinate and of the government of the Rhine District of Bavaria, and remains so until the end of World War II.
- Between 1883 and 1904, the Memorial Church is built in remembrance of the Protestation of 1529.
- In 1947, the State Academy of Administrative Science is founded.
- In 1990, Speyer celebrates its 2000th anniversary.
Main sights
- Cathedral
- Altpörtel – Old Town Gate
- Gedächtniskirche – Memorial church
- Dreifaltigkeitskirche – Trinity church
- Jewish courtyard – remnants of medieval synagogue and intact mikve
- Technikmuseum Speyer – Transportation Museum
- Historical Museum of the Palatinate
Transportation
Mayors
Since 1923 the mayor was a Lord Mayor.Twin towns – sister cities
Speyer is twinned with:- Spalding, United Kingdom, since 1956
- Chartres, France, since 1959
- Kursk, Russia, since 1989
- Ravenna, Italy, since 1989
- Gniezno, Poland, since 1992
- Yavne, Israel, since 1998
- Rusizi District, Rwanda, since 1982/2001
- Ningde, China, since 2013
Notable natives
Born before 1900
- Samuel of Speyer, Exeget of Torah and Midrash
- Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg, scribe and philosopher
- Julian of Speyer, medieval choir master, composer and poet from the Order of the Franciscans
- Gabriel Biel, scholastic philosopher
- Dietrich Gresemund, author
- Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, Reichsgraf of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg
- Johann Joachim Becher, German physician, alchemist, precursor of chemistry, scholar and adventurer
- Moritz Georg Weidmann, publisher and bookseller
- Adolf von Dalberg, Prince of Fulda
- Simha of Speyer German rabbi and tosafist. He was one of the leading signatories of the Takkanot Shum.
- Philipp Hieronymus Brinckmann, landscape and historical painters as well as copper cutters
- Johann Martin Bernatz, landscape painter
- Anselm Feuerbach, German painter
- Carl Jakob Adolf Christian Gerhardt, German physician
- Henry Villard, German-American journalist
- Hermann von Stengel, Bavarian Administrative Officer
- Wilhelm Meyer , classical philologist, mediavist and librarian
- Karl Heinrich Emil Becker, general of the artillery, ballist and defense scientist
- Hans Purrmann, painter, graphic artist, art writer and collector
- Hermann Detzner, leader of the German Schutztruppe in German New Guinea
- Karl-Adolf Hollidt, Army officer and war criminal
- George Waldbott, German-American physician
Born after 1900
- Jakob Brendel, wrestler
- Karl Haas, German-American music educator and radio presenter
- Helmut Bantz, gymnast
- Alfred Cahn, German musician and composer
- Edgar E. Stern, clinical social worker and author of The Peppermint Train: Journey to a German-Jewish Childhood
- Gabriel Kney, Canadian organ builder
- Karl Hochreither, German organist and musicologist
- Volker Straus German tonmeister
- Jürgen Brecht, fencer
- Gerhard Vollmer, physicist and philosopher
- Jürgen Creutzmann, politician
- Hans-Joachim Lang, journalist, Germanist, historian and honorary professor
- Axel Schimpf, Vice Admiral of the German Navy
- Eberhard Bosslet, artist
- Kay Friedmann, footballer
- Markus Kranz, football player
- Christoph Bechmann, German field-hockey player
- Anke Vondung, opera singer
- Ralf Schmitt, football player
- Simone Weiler, swimmer
- Jochen Kühner, rower
- Martin Kühner, rower
- Matthias Langkamp, football player
- Christian Reif, long jumper
- David McCray, basketball player
- Florian Krebs, football player
- Sebastian Langkamp, footballer
- Lars Stindl, German footballer
- Elias Harris, German international basketball player
- Jonas Marz, footballer
- Gianluca Korte, footballer
- Raffael Korte, footballer