Speyer

Speyer
/shpuy"euhrdd/, n.
a city in SW Germany, on the Rhine. 44,100. Also called Spires.

* * *

also spelled  Speier , English  Spires 
 city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. Speyer is a port on the left bank of the Rhine River at the mouth of the Speyer River, south of Ludwigshafen. An ancient Celtic settlement, about 100 BC it became a Roman military and trading town, Noviomagus, and later became known as Nemetes after the local inhabitants (Nemetae); it was destroyed about AD 450 during the barbarian invasions. Rebuilt and created a bishopric in the 7th century, it was a free imperial city from 1294 to 1797 and was the seat of the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber of Justice), the Holy Roman Empire's high court, from 1527 to 1689.

      Fifty imperial diets (assemblies) were held in Speyer, and at one such diet in 1529, Martin Luther (Luther, Martin)'s followers protested against the majority's decision to rescind the concessions made to the Lutherans in 1526. The word Protestant originated from this incident. Destroyed by French troops (1689) during the War of the Grand Alliance (Grand Alliance, War of the), Speyer was incorporated into the French Republic in 1797, passed to Bavaria in 1815, and was the capital of the Bavarian (Rhenish) Palatinate from 1816 to 1945.

      Speyer is an important regional retail centre, and tourism is a leading industry. The city contains electrotechnical industries and an oil refinery. Manufactures include metal, machinery, ships, aircraft, textiles, and chemicals.

      The medieval city is surrounded by modern industrial and residential areas. The bridge across the Rhine, destroyed in 1945, was rebuilt (1956). Historic remains in the city include the Altpörtal (“old gate”) with a 13th-century gate tower, the subterranean Jewish Baths (early 12th century), and the Baroque Trinity Church (1701–17). The city's Romanesque cathedral, founded in 1030 by the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II, contains a unique crypt and the tombs of eight German emperors and kings and three empresses. Gutted in 1689 and rebuilt several times, it was consecrated in 1961 after its most recent restoration. In 1981 the cathedral, one of the largest and most important Romanesque structures, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Speyer also has a technology museum and a sea-life centre. Pop. (2003 est.) 50,247.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • SPEYER — (Fr. Spire; Eng. sometimes Spires), city in the Rhenish Palatinate, Germany. Although local traditions, largely legendary, speak of Jewish settlement in Speyer in Roman times, Jews probably first came to the city in the early 11th century.… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Speyer — • Diocese in Bavaria Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Speyer     Speyer     † Catholic Ency …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • SPEYER — SPEYER, German and American family of international bankers and philanthropists. Progenitor of the family was MICHAEL ISAAC SPEYER (d. 1692) who, on his marriage in 1644, established residence in the Frankfurt ghetto and became community head.… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Speyer [2] — Speyer (Speier), Hauptstadt des bayr. Regbez. Pfalz, ehedem freie Reichsstadt, an der Mündung des Speyerbachs in den Rhein, Knotenpunkt der pfälzischen Eisenbahnlinien Schifferstadt Germersheim, S. Heidelberg und S. Geinsheim, 103 m ü. M., hat… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Speyer [1] — Speyer (Speier), 1) sonst Bisthum, 28 QM., 55,000 Ew., 300,000 Gulden Cinkünfte. Durch den Revolutionskrieg kamen 121/2 QM. auf dem linken Rheinufer an Frankreich, später an Baiern,[532] der Rest auf dem rechten, mit der Residenz Bruchsel, 1802… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Speyer [1] — Speyer (Speier), ehemals reichsunmittelbares Bistum im oberrheinischen Kreis, umfaßte im 18. Jahrh. 1542 qkm (28 QM.) mit 55,000 Einw. Der Bischof, Suffragan des Erzbistums Mainz, saß im Reichsfürstenrat auf der geistlichen Bank zwischen den… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Speyer [2] — Speyer, Johann von S., s. Spira …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Speyer — (Speier), Hauptstadt des bayr. Reg. Bez. Pfalz und Bezirksstadt, l. am Rhein, (1900) 20.921 (1905: 21.857) E., berühmter Dom (1030 61 erbaut, 1689 und 1794 von den Franzosen zerstört, 1845 58 erneuert, mit Gräbern deutscher Kaiser und Kaiserinnen …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Speyer — Speyer, s. Speier …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Speyer — Wappen Deutschlandkarte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Speyer — Infobox German Location Art = Stadt image photo = Speyer main street and cathedral from the old gate.jpg image caption = Main street in Speyer with the Speyer Cathedral in the background Wappen = Wappen Speyer.jpg lat deg = 49 |lat min = 19 |lat… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”