Speyer (formerly known as Spires in English) is a city in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx. 50,000 inhabitants, located beside the river Rhine. It lies 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Its oldest known name was Civitas Nemetum, named by a Teutonic tribe, the Nemetes, settling in this area. Around the year 500 Spira appears as the town's name in scriptures.
Speyer has a compact centre which is dominated by the Speyer Cathedral, ...
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Speyer (formerly known as Spires in English) is a city in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx. 50,000 inhabitants, located beside the river Rhine. It lies 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Its oldest known name was Civitas Nemetum, named by a Teutonic tribe, the Nemetes, settling in this area. Around the year 500 Spira appears as the town's name in scriptures.
Speyer has a compact centre which is dominated by the Speyer Cathedral, a number of churches and the Altpörtel (Old town gate). In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight German emperors and kings.
5,000-year-old finds from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages bear witness to permanent agricultural settlements at a Rhine ford in the area of present-day Speyer.
After the conquest of Gaul by the Romans the Rhine became part of the border of the Roman Empire. The Romans erected camps and forts along the river from the Alps down to the North Sea. One of these camps was at Speyer, built around 10 BC...
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