Speyer
Speyer (English formerly
Spires) is a
city in
Germany (
Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx. 50000 inhabitants, located on the
Rhine river. It lies 25 km south of
Ludwigshafen and
Mannheim. Its oldest known name was
Civitas Nemetum, named by a Teutonic tribe, the Nemeter, settling in this area. Around the year 500 the town gets the name
Spira, named after the stream
Speyerbach which estuary in the
Rhine river is here.
Archaeological data suggests that the site of the city was originally inhabited by
Celts around 500 BC. Under the Romans the city was known as Augusto Nemetum and during the Middle Ages it was a place of considerable importance, 29 imperial diets having been held within its walls.
*In
10 BC, the first
Roman military camp is established (situated between the city hall and the episcopal palace).
*In
346 a
bishop for the town is mentioned for the first time.
*In
496 or
506 the name "Spira" first occurs. (see
Spira (family name))
*In
1030, emperor
Conrad II starts the construction of
Speyer Cathedral, today one of the
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
*In
1076, emperor
Henry IV embarks from Speyer, his favourite town, for
Canossa.
*In
1096, during the
First Crusade, the Jewish community of Speyer was massacred.
*In 1294 the bishop lost most of his previous rights, and from now on Speyer is a free city of the
Holy Roman Empire.
*Between 1527 and
1689 Speyer is the seat of the Imperial Chamber Court (
Reichskammergericht).
*In
1526 at the
First Diet of Speyer, interim toleration of
Lutheran teaching and worship is decreed.
*In
1529 at the
Second Diet of Speyer, the Lutheran states of the empire protested against the anti-
Reformation resolutions (hence the term
Protestantism.)
*In
1689, the city is heavily damaged by French troops.
*Between
1792 and
1814 Speyer is under French jurisdiction.
*In 1816 Speyer becomes the seat of administration of the
Palatinate and of the government of the Rhine District of
Bavaria (later called the Bavarian Palatinate), and remains so until the end of World War Two.
*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 (later renamed
German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer).
*1990 2000th anniversary of Speyer.
*
Spira (family name)*
Johann Joachim Becher (1635-1682)
*
Anselm Feuerbach (1829-1880)
*
Karl Haas (1915-2005)
*
Henry Villard (1835-1900)
*
Hans Purrmann (1880-1966)
*
Christoph Bechmann (1971)
*
speyer.de the city website (partly in English)
*
museum.speyer.de Historical Museum of the Palatinate (in English)
*
dom-speyer.de website of Speyer Cathedral (in German)
*
Model Map of Medieval Speyer
