Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Speyer (Germany). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Speyer Cathedral, Technik Museum Speyer, and Historisches Museum der Pfalz. Also, be sure to include Trinity Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate).
Table of Contents
Speyer Cathedral
Also known as: Speyerer Dom
11th-century Romanesque cathedral. Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Mary, patron saint of Speyer and St. Stephen is generally known as the Kaiserdom zu Speyer. Pope Pius XI raised Speyer Cathedral to the rank of a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church in 1925.
Begun in 1030 under Konrad II, with the east end and high vault of 1090–1103, the imposing triple-aisled vaulted basilica of red sandstone is the "culmination of a design which was extremely influential in the subsequent development of Romanesque architecture during the 11th and 12th centuries". As the burial site for Salian, Staufer and Habsburg emperors and kings the cathedral is regarded as a symbol of imperial power. With the Abbey of Cluny in ruins, it remains the largest Romanesque church. It is considered to be "a turning point in European architecture", one of the most important architectural monuments of its time and one of the finest Romanesque monuments.
In 1981, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites as "a major monument of Romanesque art in the German Empire".[1]
Address: Domplatz 1a, 67346 Speyer
Technik Museum Speyer
Also known as: Technik-Museum Speyer
Museum in Germany. The Technik Museum Speyer is a technology museum in Speyer, Germany.[2]
Address: Am Technik Museum 1, 67346 Speyer
Historisches Museum der Pfalz
Museum in Germany. The Historical Museum of the Palatinate is a museum in the city of Speyer in the Palatinate region of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is situated across the square from the Speyer Cathedral. The museum's focus is on the History of the Palatinate; it has a collection of about 1 million artifacts, the oldest being an approximately 190,000-year-old hand axe. The museum is among the most important in Germany, and is known for its special exhibitions. With over 200,000 visitors per year it is one of the major attractions of Speyer.
The museum was established in 1869 and the collections of the Historical Society of the Palatinate, the former Rhine District, and the City of Speyer were combined. The building at the present site was built in 1910 by architect Gabriel von Seidl; a modern annex was added in 1990. The museum is a trust borne by the City of Speyer, the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer, the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Historical Society of the Palatinate, and the Bezirksverband Palz (County Association).[3]
Address: Domplatz 4, 67346 Speyer
Trinity Church
The Dreifaltigkeitskirche is a late Baroque, Protestant parish church in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 1988 it has been a cultural asset worthy of protection within the meaning of Article 1 of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.[4]
Address: Grosse Himmelsgasse 4, 67346 Speyer
Gedächtniskirche der Protestation
Gothic revival architecture. The Gedächtniskirche der Protestation is a United Protestant church of both Lutheran and Reformed confessions in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany that commemorates the Protestation at Speyer in defense of the evangelical faith, specifically Lutheranism. Built between 1893 and 1904, the church was constructed in memory of the protest that took place at the Diet of Speyer by the Protestant rulers of the Holy Roman Empire in 1529. The tower is the tallest bell tower in the whole Palatinate at 100 metres.[5]
Address: Bartholomäus-Weltz-Platz 5, 67346 Speyer
Jewish courtyard
Also known as: Judenhof Speyer
Historical landmark in Germany. Speyer in Germany was the hometown of one of the most important Jewish communities in Middle Ages in northern Europe. Bishop Hutzmann and Salic emperor Henry IV encouraged Jewish refugees from Mainz to the foundation of a Jewish community by facilitating them.
This community existed until the beginning of the 16th century. The exact time and circumstances of the destruction are unknown.
The Jewish courtyard was the central area of the Jewish quarter in Speyer and consisted of the synagogues for men and women as well as the Mikvah, for ritual washing.
The first documented mention of this Mikvah was in 1126 and its subterranean components have been nearly unmodified for centuries.[6]
Address: Kleine Pfaffengasse 20/21, 67346 Speyer
Old Gate
Also known as: Altpörtel
Historical landmark in Germany. The Old Gate is the medieval west city gate of Speyer, and is one of the original 68 towers in the old walls and gates. Today it is one of the largest and most architecturally significant of the remaining city gates in Germany.[7]
Museum SchPIRA
The Museum Schpira is a museum in the Rhineland-Palatinate city of Speyer.
Address: Kleine Pfaffengasse 20, 67346 Speyer
Feuerbachhaus
The Feuerbachhaus is a museum dedicated to the Feuerbach family, located at 9 Allerheiligenstrasse in Speyer. The property has a baroque garden and borders the old city wall. The archaeologist Joseph Anselm Feuerbach lived there with his family for 10 years. His son, the important painter Anselm Feuerbach, was born in this house.
Address: Allerheiligenstraße 9, 67346 Speyer
Stadtarchiv Speyer
Government office in Germany. The Stadtarchiv Speyer is the oldest municipal archive of the Palatinate.
The earliest document, which is kept in the city archives of Speyer, is a document of emperor Friedrich I of 1182, in which the privileges granted by emperor Heinrich V to the town of Speyer in 1111 were confirmed and extended. The tradition of the archive dates back to the late 13th century, when Speyer became a Free Imperial Town of the Holy Roman Empire in 1294.
Now it is one of the oldest offices in Speyer. In addition to a large number of historically important documents and archives, it also offers today a large collection of photo and newspaper collections,[8]
Address: Kulturelles Erbe, Speyer
Ölberg
Wayside shrine
Heidentürmchen
City gate
Address: Schiller weg, Speyer
Museum Wilhelmsbau
Museum
Address: 1 Am Technik-Museum, Speyer
Retscher
The Retscher is the ruin of a Gothic townhouse in the historic old town of Speyer. It is located right next to the Holy Trinity Church.
The firebombing of Speyer in 1689 left hardly any remains of secular buildings. From the bishop's palace next to the cathedral only a stump of a stair tower is left, from the council yard a Gothic archway remained, in the facade of the Heiliggeistkirche Gothic window arches of a residential house were uncovered during a renovation, in the Spitalgasse a Renaissance stair tower can still be found.
The only medieval secular building in the town preserved in significant remains is the ruin of the Retscher. It is a former patrician house of the 13th century, named after the builder Retschelinus (mentioned in 1241). The late baptist window openings with profiled cloverleaf arches are remarkable.
On October 27, 1495, the Retscher came into the possession of the city of Speyer. The sellers were the cathedral chaplain Johann Kranich of Kirchheim, together with his brother Heinrich, his base Praexedis and Matthias von Rammung as the authorized representative of his brother-in-law Albrecht V. Göler of Ravensburg.
From 1628 to 1648 it was used as a prayer hall for the Lutheran congregation. After the Palatine War of Succession, the Holy Trinity Church was built next to the burnt-out ruin.
The name "Retscher Church" for the memorial church built in the 19th century refers to the tradition of the location - originally it was even to be built on this site - especially since at the time it was believed that the Imperial Diet of 1529, at which the Protestation in Speyer took place, had taken place in the Retscher.
Boeing 747-230 Schleswig-Holstein
Landesarchiv Speyer
The Landesarchiv Speyer is a German state archive responsible for the supervision of public authorities, public institutions and municipalities in Rheinhessen-Pfalz.
Its archives includes approximately 25,000 documents and 33,000 maps. One of its oldest archives includes a copy of the monastery of Weissenburg from the 9th century, as well as holdings from the era of the Holy Roman Empire. The archives are accessible to the general public.[9]
Address: 9 Otto-Mayer-Straße, Speyer
Qian Jin
Spaceshuttle BURAN
Historisches Rathaus Speyer
City hall
Address: Maximilianstr. 12, Speyer
St. Bernhard
St. Bernard's Catholic Peace Church in Speyer, usually referred to as St. Bernard's Church, was built between 1953 and 1954 and inaugurated as a peace church in the presence of French and German bishops, as it was intended to serve as a symbol of reconciliation between Germany and France.
The Friedenskirche, which is now a listed building, was built on a partial site in the southeast of the old Speyer cemetery on Hirschgraben 3.
Address: Hirschgraben 3, 67346 Speyer