We had another good breakfast buffet. We left Trier about 10. It was
cold and raining. The TomTom took us back the way we came instead of
the route we thought we were going. It got us to Worms when it said
that it would. Maybe it changed because of construction or the
weather. It was a holiday in Germany….the day after Pentecost.
We parked in a city parking building. We were as bit nervous about how
to get the car out of the parking building, how to use the machine to
pay, and would the gate go up and let us out….but it worked ok! It
was still drizzling. It was dreary, sad day to see such a beautiful
place.
We found a small Italian restaurant for lunch, There weren’t
many customers, and we were able to use Italian to order. We shared a
salad and pizza.
Then we went down the street to the Worms Cathedral.
It was rather tucked in among a lot buildings. It was hard to get a
picture of the whole building. The cathedral was rather dark with
interesting nave arches and blind triforium arches. It also had a
chancel at both ends.
There is evidence of a church on
this site in the beginning of the 7th century. In the Carolingian
period there is written evidence for reconstruction work in 851 and
after a fire in 872. The immediate predecessor of today cathedral was
built by Bishop Barchard (1000-25) and was consecrated in the presence
of Henry II in 1018. A new Staufer church was built in the 12th
century. It had been dated from a period 1171-1220/30. The date was
changed when some construction timber was recovered when the interior
was being renovated in 1979/80. On account of the dendrochronological
dating it was clear that in the years between 1132 and 1137 the choir
and the transept were already higher than the base of the vaulting. For
this reason it was decided that this new cathedral was built between
1125 and 1181. May 31 1689 Worms suffered total destruction. The
cathedral was on fire and partly burns down. Again there was
reconstruction. In 1738 the high altar was built to plans of Balthasar Neumann
. In 1794 French revolutionary troops occupied Worms and burnt down the
Baroque
bishop’s residence, and used
the cathedral as a stable and barn,
stole the bells and broke all the coats of arms in the windows. Again
between 1892 and 1933 the entire cathedral was renovated. On Feb. 21,
1944 there was destruction of old city center and roof of cathedral in
an
air raid. The interior was again restored between 1979 and 1982.
There is no front door or backdoor to the Worm's Cathedral. It was
necessary to enter the church by the south portal, which brings
the visitor into the south aisle. The interior walls are red
sandstone. The interior was similar to
Maria
Laach with the apse at both ends. The East end was square on the
exterior but rounded on the interior above the altar. The two windows in
the apse are illuminated by a "tunnel" from the windows to the outside
front window. The Altar is extremely Baroque, as designed by Balthasar Neumann
. It is gilded wood and marble and is so large that there is no room for
a transept. It features St. Peter and Paul with two angels pointing at
the Madonna and Child who seem to be coming right at you.
The
west end which also is in the shape of an apse includes a good example
of Romanesque features including rose windows, zigzag arcades, and rich
molding. We visited the 14th century Chapel of St. Nicholas
on the south
side, with its Gothic font, relief of three virgin martyrs, and new
stained-glass windows
After
we successfully extricated our car with the needed cash, our Tom-Tom led
us from Worms to our hotel in Speyer. It was a small private hotel,
Hotel Golden Engle. We had a nice large room with a sitting area. The
bathroom was rather old fashioned, without a shower, just a big tub and
a portable shower head. The hotel was located at the opposite end of
the old city from the Cathedral. We walked to the cathedral. It looked
just like the model.
The present cathedral is not
the first church to be built on this site. Both a Merovingian
and a
Carolingian cathedral are historically documented. Conrad II, who was
crowned Emperor in Rome in 1027, wanted to build the largest cathedral
in the world in Speyer. Conrad died before Speyer Cathedral was
finished. Henry III (1039-56) continued the work, and it was consecrated
in 1061. Henry IV (1056-1107) redesigned it much like present version
in east end.
Speyer Cathedral had its share of fires – 1159, 1450, and 1689
by invading French troops. The west end was torn down between 1752 and
1759 and was rebuilt twenty years later. For economic reasons, the plans
for the west end were changed. Again the cathedral was destroyed by
French troops in 1794. In 1805 there was a move to completely demolish
the cathedral and replace it with a park dedicated to Napoleon.
However, the cathedral was saved but it was in such bad shape that it
could not be used as a church. In 1822, after some makeshift
reconstruction, the church was reconsecrated. The Romanesque west
end with its porch and three towers were built from 1854 to 1858.The
cathedral was completely restored between 1957 and 1961.
We really
liked the inside of the Speyer cathedral, which was very plain. It
had a real sense of being a huge cathedral. It was light inside even though
it was very cloudy and raining outside. As I was taking a
picture a lady walked in front of the camera. She apologized and
we found out that she was from Arizona and had lived in D.C. Next, we
went to the book store. The young man at the desk was from
Pennsylvania and had gone to college at Mount Saint Mary’s in Emmitsburg in Maryland, the brother college of
my wife's college. We talked a long time. We walked around the
cathedral and found a smoky café where we had a drink…they even had Jim
Beam.
Since it was a holiday none of the stores were open. We walked
back to the hotel to eat in their restaurant as it had a good
recommendation in Fromers, but it was closed, so we walked back to the
old town and found a charming restaurant , Zur Alten Munz. For a
starter we had Tomato/Mozzarella. I had Rauberspiess (several
types of meat on a skewer). It had a lot of fat meat. My wife had
bratwurst, potatoes and sauerkraut . This was our least favorite meal of
the trip even though it was a nice setting. It was still drizzling as we
walked home.
Then we went down the street to the Worms Cathedral.
It was rather tucked in among a lot buildings. It was hard to get a
picture of the whole building. The cathedral was rather dark with
interesting nave arches and blind triforium arches. It also had a
chancel at both ends. 
It had been dated from a period 1171-1220/30. The date was
changed when some construction timber was recovered when the interior
was being renovated in 1979/80. On account of the dendrochronological
dating it was clear that in the years between 1132 and 1137 the choir
and the transept were already higher than the base of the vaulting. For
this reason it was decided that this new cathedral was built between
1125 and 1181. May 31 1689 Worms suffered total destruction. The
cathedral was on fire and partly burns down. Again there was
reconstruction. In 1738 the high altar was built to plans of Balthasar Neumann
. In 1794 French revolutionary troops occupied Worms and burnt down the
Baroque
bishop’s residence, and used
the cathedral as a stable and barn,
stole the bells and broke all the coats of arms in the windows. Again
between 1892 and 1933 the entire cathedral was renovated. On Feb. 21,
1944 there was destruction of old city center and roof of cathedral in
an
air raid. The interior was again restored between 1979 and 1982. 
Maria
Laach with the apse at both ends. The East end was square on the
exterior but rounded on the interior above the altar. The two windows in
the apse are illuminated by a "tunnel" from the windows to the outside
front window. The Altar is extremely Baroque, as designed by Balthasar Neumann
. It is gilded wood and marble and is so large that there is no room for
a transept. It features St. Peter and Paul with two angels pointing at
the Madonna and Child who seem to be coming right at you.
he
west end which also is in the shape of an apse includes a good example
of Romanesque features including rose windows, zigzag arcades, and rich
molding. We visited the 14th century Chapel of St. Nicholas
on the south
side, with its Gothic font, relief of three virgin martyrs, and new
stained-glass windows
and a
Carolingian cathedral are historically documented. Conrad II, who was
crowned Emperor in Rome in 1027, wanted to build the largest cathedral
in the world in Speyer. Conrad died before Speyer Cathedral was
finished. Henry III (1039-56) continued the work, and it was consecrated
in 1061. Henry IV (1056-1107) redesigned it much like present version
in east end. 
the cathedral and replace it with a park dedicated to Napoleon.
However, the cathedral was saved but it was in such bad shape that it
could not be used as a church. In 1822, after some makeshift
reconstruction, the church was reconsecrated. The Romanesque west
end with its porch and three towers were built from 1854 to 1858.The
cathedral was completely restored between 1957 and 1961. 
hough
it was very cloudy and raining outside. As I was taking a
picture a lady walked in front of the camera. She apologized and
we found out that she was from Arizona and had lived in D.C. Next, we
went to the book store. The young man at the desk was from
Pennsylvania and had gone to college at Mount Saint Mary’s in Emmitsburg in Maryland, the brother college of
my wife's college. We talked a long time. We walked around the
cathedral and found a smoky café where we had a drink…they even had Jim
Beam.
old town and found a charming restaurant , Zur Alten Munz. For a
starter we had Tomato/Mozzarella. I had Rauberspiess (several
types of meat on a skewer). It had a lot of fat meat. My wife had
bratwurst, potatoes and sauerkraut . This was our least favorite meal of
the trip even though it was a nice setting. It was still drizzling as we
walked home.