Speyer and a little protestant history

On the fourth day of the cruise our ship docked in Speyer, Germany.  After letting all the passengers off the boat, the ship sailed down the Rhine to Worms where it would pick us up in the afternoon.

A glimpse of the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St. Stephen.

Here's something you may not know about Speyer.  In 1517 Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses and nailed them to the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg.  These theses challenged abuses in the Roman Catholic Church.  In 1521 the Diet of Worms or Edict of Worms convened and condemned Martin Luther as a heretic, banned his teachings, and criminalized any actions supporting Luther or his belief--actions that were punishable by death.

In 1526 the Diet of Speyer placed the anti-Lutheran ban on hold until a national general council could be held.  In 1529 a second Diet of Speyer convened where a Letter of Protest was signed by six princes and 14 representatives of Free Imperial Cities demanding religious freedom and self-determination of individual imperial states thus giving this religious revolution its name, "Protestantism."

A section of the city wall and gate.

The Imperial Cathedral of Speyer is one of the world's largest Romanesque cathedrals and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was built between 1030 and 1061.  The four tours represent the four seasons.  It was meant to impress with its size, pomp and majesty.  Four emperors, four kings, and three empresses are buried inside.

Mount of Olives sculpture.

The large bowl outside the cathedral is known as Domnapf.  It is tradition that when a new bishop is elected he fills the bowl with 1500 liters of wine so that the city people can drink to his health.  It was most recently filled in 2011 to celebrate the 950th anniversary of the cathedral.

You know I can't pass a beautiful door.

The inside was simple and beautiful.

The stations of the cross were painted along each side of the central aisle.

When we came out of the cathedral a horse was there getting professional pictures done.

This was on his hip.  Nice clipping job!

During the rest of our time we wandered through town and did a little shopping.

Clock tower and one of the medieval city gates.

City Hall was flying the flag of Israel to show its support.

Speyer had a large Jewish population starting in 1084 when the bishop invited them to settle here.  The bishop offered rights and protections that were unprecedented in Europe at that time.  Nearly all of the Speyer Jewish people were murdered during WWII.

We also visited the Gedachtniskirche der Protestation or Memorial Church of the Protestation.

The controversial (Catholic vs. Protestants) church was constructed in 1893-1904 in memory of the protest that took place at the Diet of Speyer  in 1529.  There is a memorial to Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders on the inside.  Unfortunately we were unable to go inside.

We got back on the ship in Worms and then sailed on down the river to Rudesheim enjoying some beautiful castles along the way.

Irv and I got off the boat and went into town to explore it on our own.

We'd been in search of a travel bug since the trip began and Irv identified a cache that was supposed to have a couple inside.  We climbed up the hill alongside several vineyards.  Irv found the cache, but no travel bug inside.

You can't tell by these photos, but it was almost dark by the time we got up there.

On the way back to the boat we passed the St. Jakobus Catholic Church.

It dates back to the 10th century, was damaged in WWII and rebuilt between 1947 and 1956.

These doors are truly spectacular.

One thing we noticed in Germany is that they trim the sycamore trees in the fall.  Apparently it keeps them from growing too large.  I wish my dad was around to explain it better.

Then it was back on the ship for a glass blowing demonstration by a local artisan.

Next stop Koblenz!