Cathedral Speyer Germany World Heritage
The imperial Cathedral of Speyer the foundation of which is in the form of a latin cross is one of the largest and most significant Romanesque edifices in Germany It was built by the emperors and designated as their last resting place as a symbol of their power Construction began around 1030 under the Salic Emperor Konrad II and it was consecrated in 1061 Under Heinrich IV renovations and extensions were undertaken The cathedral of Speyer is the first known structure to be built with a gallery which goes around the whole building The system of arcatures added during these renovations was also a first in architectural history The town fire of 1689 destroyed a large part of the nave but in 1758 restorations were started and by 1778 it had been restored to its original state The Bavarian King Ludwig I commissioned the painting of the interior From 1846 53 painters of the school of Johannes Schraudolph and Josef Schwarzmann completed the work in late Nazarene style From 1854 58 the west facing front section of the cathedral was rebuilt by Heinrich Hübsch in new Romanesque style During restoration in the 1950s most of the19th century painting was removed revealing the impressive architecture In 1980 the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage program The imperial Cathedral of St Mary and St Steven is the seat of Speyer s diocese and a papal basilica
Size: 2975px × 3855px
Photo credit: © Photoedition / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: cathedral, church, emperor, german, germany, heritage, history, romanesque, speyer, travel, unesco, world
