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Speyer Cathedral

Speyer Cathedral
The Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen
Dom zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer
Speyer---Cathedral---East-View---(Gentry).jpg
Location Speyer
Country Germany
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website Website of the Cathedral
History
Founded 1030
Founder(s) Konrad II
Consecrated 1061
Architecture
Functional status Cathedral
Heritage designation UNESCO World Heritage Site
Style Romanesque
Administration
Diocese Diocese of Speyer
Clergy
Bishop(s) Karl-Heinz Wiesemann
Type Cultural
Criteria ii
Designated 1981 (5th session)
Reference no. 168
State Party Germany
Region Europe and North America

The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae (German: Dom zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer) in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Mary, patron saint of Speyer ("Patrona Spirensis") and St. Stephen is generally known as Kaiserdom zu Speyer (Imperial Cathedral of 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".


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