(Germ. Speyer), a town of Bavaria, capital of the Palatinate, on the left bank of the Rhine, at its confluence with the Speyerbach, 10 miles S.S.W. of Mainz. It is entered by five gates, and surrounded by walls, which enclose a large extent of ground, formerly covered with buildings, but now either entirely vacant or occupied only with gardens. The most remarkable edifice is the cathedral, which is one of the largest structures existing in the Romanesque style of architecture. The east end, which has two high pointed towers and a semicircular termination, is part of the original building founded by the Emperor Conrad in 1027. The rest of the building is all later than 1165; and a great part of it has been built since 1889, when it was partially destroyed by the French. Since 1816, when Spire came into the possession of Bavaria, much has been done to repair and restore the cathedral,

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It is hardly necessary to observe, that religion is here employed in its purely natural signification, as expressive of that attitude of mind and heart in which one has permanently before his contemplation the things that pertain to a higher state of existence. Spitalfields and in 1856 the three western towers were rebuilt. In the kings-choir, between the nave and choir of this church, is the burial-place of many of the German emperors. Of the house of Hohenstaufen, Conrad II., Henry III., IV., and V., and Philip, were interred here; also Rudolph of Hapsburg, Adolph of Nassau, and Albert I., the son of Rudolph. These graves were broken into, and their contents scattered by the French in 1689; but the bones were collected again by order of Charles VI., and monuments have been erected to Adolph of Nassau by his descendant the duke William, and to Rudolph by King Louis of Bavaria. The interior of the cathedral is also decorated with frescoes by German artists, some of which are the finest modern works in the country. In a hall of antiquities, to the north-east of the cathedral, are preserved many interesting Roman and medieval remains found in the Palatinate. Of the old Ritter, or imperial palace, only a single round wall is now preserved. It was in this building that the Diet was held in 1529, at which the Reformed princes gave in the Protest, from whence they obtained the name of Protestants. Spires contains, besides the cathedral, numerous Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, schools, hospitals, public offices, &c. Wax-candles and tobacco are manufactured here, and some trade is carried on. Spires is built on the site of the ancient Noviomagus; and it is one of the most ancient, as it long was one of the chief cities of Germany. At first it was a Roman military station, as a defence against the assaults of the Allemani, afterwards it was strongly fortified; and, from the time of Charlemagne onwards, it was for a long time the ordinary residence of the emperors of Germany, and the seat of the Diet. During this period its population amounted to 27,000; and its trade was very extensive; but in the seventeenth century it began to decline, and in 1689 was laid in ruins by the French. For many years it lay in ruins, and even when rebuilt it never recovered its former prosperity. A second time it was destroyed by the French in 1794; and it was not till after 1816 that it was restored. Pop. 9500.