Speyer, Cathedral, Germany

Near Heidelburg is Speyer, where the Cathedral at Speyer is a UNESCO World Heritage site. See whc.unesco.org/en/list/168. Any new Bishop, we were told, was expected to fill that large fount with wine, and the burghers (we thought it was all the town) emptied it in themselves. See also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speyer_Cathedral.

The tradition of pilgrimage gets passing attention now, but there used to be medieval pilgrims walking thousands of miles through here or from here. One route - in its entirety - was from Germany (or even Scandinavia) to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain. Here is a statue of Jakob Spilger, that kind of pilgrim. See www.campus-germany.de/english/4.22.3.885, for more on the statue of Jakob Spilger.






Jakob Spilger, Pilgrim, Speyer, Germany

















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Speyer itself is 17th century in look, with its wide streets. We were told that planners in those days would level most of a town in order to recreate it. Like now.

In 1084, the Bishop of Speyer awarded by charter land and privileges in a specific location to the Jews in the area, to bring them in and foster the growth and prestige of the new town. See the Medieval Sourcebook at www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1084landjews for information on Grant, Bishop of Speyer 1084.

Wine font, Speyer Cathedral, Germany

We were told that a huge font n front of the church was filled with wine each fall, for community celebrating.

Here is a different one with a little man on top. Need to check photo. See www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Germany/photo148491. More history, overview: www.speyer.de/de/tourist/geschichte?switch_language=en