Speyer

Speyer

Speyer: Maximilianstraße with cathedral in the background

Coat of arms
Speyer
Coordinates: 49°19′10″N 8°25′52″E / 49.31944°N 8.43111°E / 49.31944; 8.43111Coordinates: 49°19′10″N 8°25′52″E / 49.31944°N 8.43111°E / 49.31944; 8.43111
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District Urban district
Government
  Lord Mayor Hansjörg Eger (CDU)
Area
  Total 42.58 km2 (16.44 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
  Total 49,740
  Density 1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 67346
Dialling codes 06232
Vehicle registration SP
Website www.speyer.de

Speyer (also spelled Speier and formerly known as Spires in English) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities. The first known names were Noviomagus and Civitas Nemetum, after the Teutonic tribe, Nemetes, settled in the area. Around the year 500 the name Spira first appeared in written documents. Spire, Spira, and Espira are still names used for Speyer in the French, Italian, and Spanish languages.

Speyer is dominated by the Speyer Cathedral, a number of churches and the Altpörtel (old gate). In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight Holy Roman emperors and German kings.

History

Imperial Town of Speyer
Reichsstadt Speyer
Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire

1294–1792
Capital Speyer
Government Republic
Historical era Middle Ages
  Founded ca 10 BC
   Gained Reichsfreiheit 1294
  Speyer Diet confirms Edict of Worms 19 April 1529
  Protestation at Speyer 20 April 1529
  Town razed by France 1688
  Annexed by France 1792
   Annexed to Bavaria 1816 1792
  Rhenish Palatinate merged into Rheinland-Pfalz 10 August 1946
Main article: History of Speyer
Main street in Speyer with the Speyer Cathedral in the background

Timeline

Main sights

Twin towns – sister cities

Speyer is twinned with:[2]

Notable natives

See also

Notes

  1. "Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31. Dezember 2013". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2014.
  2. "Städtepartnerschaften" (official web site) (in German). Stadt Speyer. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
  3. "International collaboration". gmiezno.eu. Gniezno. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  4. "Ningde (China)" (official web site) (in German). Stadt Speyer. Retrieved 2015-01-16.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Speyer.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Speyer.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 31, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.