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My first visit was to the cathedral in Speyer, a few miles southwest of Heidelberg.
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"Dom" is German for "cathedral".
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The front of the Speyer Cathedral. Consruction was started in 1030 and it was consecrated in 1061.
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The front door is massive, even the little one that was open for visitors.
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A panaramic photo of the entryway. The door is to the right (not seen) and the top of the photo shows the ceiling above the front door.
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The big pipe organ is at the back of the main area...
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... and there's a smaller pipe organ at the side.
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A guided climb up to the top of one of the two towers was available, so up we went! This is the first stop, with giant frescos on the walls.
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From the first stop, you can look down and see the front entryway.
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A panarama of the frescos at the first level. The ceiling is at the top of the image. The ceiling is way up there, and keep in mind that this is only the first level!
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There were a lot of steps to get to the stop, but the view was worth it!
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In one direction, we can see a nuclear power plant in the distance. In another direction (not shown), a hillside was covered by solar panels.
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There are two slightly smaller towers in this direction.
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In this direction, we see the twin of the tower we are in.
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In the last direction, a view of the town.
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Zooming in on a couple of other churches in the distance.
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In the crypt under the church, it is very dim. This photo shows what it was really like. The following photos are lightened to make it easier to see the details.
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Some old books on display in the crypt.
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There were several sarcophagi on display in niches.
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I think this part of the crypt is directly below the alter in the main part of the cathedral.
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