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Muhlturmstrasse 26, Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate, 67346, Germany
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Weihnachtsmarkt
Portable bread ovens
Speyer, Bauernmarkt impressions (2007)
Speyer, Cathedral, detail of the southern door
Speyer is a town that is twinned with Spalding in the U.K - I fail to see why.
Speyer is a delightful little town, with beautiful architecture, culture, art and and ambience of sophistication.
Spalding is a place where people spend time wondering why they have extra fingers compared to the norm, sleeping with their relatives and bashing each other over the head with cabbages.
Hardly a twin !
If you don’t have the time or just are not the person to take a guided tour, it is very easy to guide yourself through Speyer’s fascinating old town. Tourist office has done everything to make this easy for you.
First of all, you should go to the tourist office and get yourself the map “Treffpunkt Speyer” (photo 4, left one). Haha, you maybe did already realize that I am quite enthusiastic about Speyer and the way, the people care about the visitors – but this map is something extra special. It lists the sights to see, the hotels with prices and rooms, the restaurants, cafes and wine pubs with seating, opening hours and prices (and of course shows their location on the map), the guided tours, the “park and ride” system and stations, the yearly festivities and so on. The map concept is fantastic, one of the best I ever saw for any town. And it is free, of course ! (This is Speyer, remember ?). Well, you have your map now, and can start to walk around or maybe have a cup of coffee first and decide what you want to see and where to walk.
Once you are on your way, you will see countless signs in the city, which guide you. First, the ones as in photo 1 are located at all of the major “crossroads” and points. They have a map, showing you where you are (with a little red dot) and how far it is to your next point of interest, which are also marked on the map.
Then, at every house, church, museum etc of interest, little tags tell about the history of the place or its importance, who has lived here, when it was built, etc. They are pale blue with white writing and can’t be missed, as seen in photos 2 and 3.
In between, you have again countless places to stop for a while, for a nice cup of coffee or tea or for a sip of wine or beer.
Update April 5, 2007:
I just found out that Speyer's website offers some brochures for download, including a city map. So you can even better prepare your visit from home. This includes a 32 pages brochure "Treffpunkt Speyer" (meeting point Speyer), a more extended version of the one I showed you here on photo 4.
Speyer - downloads
(new URL as of Jan 08).
So – what are you waiting for ? Speyer is prepared to greet you, to meet you and to show you its magic.
Maybe I gave you reasons enough to visit this fascinating town, but there are even more to come ! If you like typical festivals, and if you are flexible in your time, you should try and come during one of these wonderful festivals, Speyer is helding throughout the year.
(I have not seen any, as I only re-discovered the town in September 2006, but 2007 will see me on almost every of these :-))
Frühjahrsmesse (spring fair), 2nd and 3rd weekend of April (April 9-19, 2009):
This is a mixture between fun fair (with several rides for kids) and exhibition of local products.
Frühlingsfest (spring fair), May 2 - 3, 2009:
Shops are open on Sunday, delicious food is served on streets and in restaurants.
Brezelfest (pretzel festival), July 10 - 14, 2009:
This one is.. what else… dedicated to the famous pretzel. It is also a mixture of fun fair and pretzel sampling, together with all the delicious food, Speyer provides.
Siedlerfest (settlers' festival), July 31 - August 2, 2009:
Festival at Heinrich-Lang Platz.
Kaisertafel (Emperor’s Table), August 7 - 9, 2009:
This is a festival, held by Speyer’s restaurants and hotels community. A long table is set on Maximilianstraße, yes, from the Cathedral down to the Altpörtel and you can sample all the delicious food served by the various restaurants.
Spectaculum (Medieval festival), August 29 - 30, 2009:
This is one of the many Medieval festivals, held throughout Germany since some time.
Altstadtfest (old town festival), September 11-12, 2009:
This is a mixture of sampling delicious food and walking through Speyer’s old districts (north of Maximilianstraße). All the atmosphere has a historical touch to it, and it is said to be the best festival, Speyer offers. Bauernmarkt (farmers’ market), September 19 - 20, 2009:
Well, this should also be one of Speyer’s best – a market where local farmers offer their goods. Believe me, I grew up in the region, and potatos, berries, apples and other fruit and vegetables is the best !! I've been there with my colleague from India in 2007 and he couldn't stop buying goods - me neither. The photos show some impressions of this market, and on my Rheinland-Pfalzpage, I have written about all the shops I loved at this market.
Christmas Market, November 23, 2009 – Januar 6, 2010:
Well, more than a typical Christmas Market, as it also has all kinds of local traditional artwork, a lot of attractions for kids (including kids’ Christmas baking).
Speyer's website lists all upcoming festivals and markets, but in German only:
Speyer festivals 2009
On our walk through Speyer we spotted this car – a beautiful old Cadillac obviously done up for a wedding. Unlike in Britain, where some ribbons and a few flowers would be used to decorate the car, this one had a whole bouquet adorning its bonnet. Looking across at the Rathaus (Town Hall) we could see the wedding party posing for photos by the front entrance.
A little later, on our way back down Maximilianstraße from the cathedral, we heard a loud hooting of car horns, and turned to see the happy couple now parading through the town in their red Cadillac, waving happily to all the shoppers and tourists. What a lovely custom!
Inside the so-called "Wilhelmsbau" you may see a very big collection of hats, helmets and uniforms of the last 4 centuries and in my opinion this one is the most beautiful and special one, simply as I wonder how someone could work as a guard and carry such a heavy helmet at the same time.
It is really impressive anyway and maybe ment and carried only for special parades and events.
this helmet was used at the prussian court between 1871 and 1918.
In the museum you may also see a member of these guards on an old painting or photo behind the exhibit - just click on my picture.
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