rict (see Salian emperors), was elected king of Germany, drawing Speyer into the centre of imperial politics and making it the spiritual centre of the Salian kingdom.
Nothing more could express this importance than the construction of the cathedral. The laying of the foundation stone was the decisive impetus for the further development of the town. The cathedral was consecrated in 1061 although only completed in 1111. It was the largest church of its time and, in its monumentality and significance, symbolized Imperial power and Christianity. It became the burial place of eight German Emperors and Kings. With the Abbey of Cluny in ruins, the Speyer Cathedral remains the largest Romanesque church to this very day.
A number of events, decisions and meetings in the following centuries underlined the significance of Speyer in the history of medieval Europe: Henry IV�s departure for Canossa in 1077, the preachings of Bernard of Clairvaux and the beginning of the Second Crusade at Christmas 1141, the extradition of Richard the Lionheart to Henry VI in 1193 or Frederick II�s first journey through Germany in the year 1213.
In 1294 the Emperor granted Speyer the rights of free imperial city, ending the rule of the bishops.
In the shadows of these historical events, the first recorded Jewish community emerged in Speyer at the instigation of the bishop. It is quite possible that Jews already settled in Speyer in pre-Christian times. In 1084 Bishop Rudiger Huzmann invited Jews to move to Speyer and settled them in the former suburb of Altspeyer (the area of today's train station) which he had surrounded by a wall for their protection. Along with this invitation the bishop granted the Jews rights and privileges which went well beyond contemporary practice. They were confirmed by Emperor Henry IV in 1090 and became an example for Jews' privileges in many cities of the empire. A Jewish quarter soon also developed next to the bishops� district near the
