Speyer in the context of "Speyer Cathedral"

Palatine German (Standard German: Pfälzisch [ˈp͡fɛlt͡sɪʃ] , endonym: Pälzisch) is a group of Rhine Franconian dialects spoken in the Upper Rhine Valley, roughly in the area between Zweibrücken, Kaiserslautern, Alzey, Worms, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Mannheim, Odenwald, Heidelberg, Speyer, Landau, Wörth am Rhein and the border to Alsace and Lorraine, in France, but also beyond.

The English term Palatine refers to the Palatinate region (German: Pfalz). Almost all traditional dialects of the Palatinate belong to the Palatine dialect group, but the Palatine speech area also extends to the west and east into neighboring regions (Saarland, Kurpfalz, southern Hesse). The main dialect divisions within Palatine German are Westpfälzisch (also called Hinterpfälzisch) and Vorderpfälzisch (also called Ostpfälzisch).

The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants from France founded the Ashkenazi Jewish community. The community survived under Charlemagne, but suffered during the Crusades. Accusations of well poisoning during the Black Death (1346–1353) led to mass slaughter of German Jews, while others fled in large numbers to Poland. The Jewish communities of the cities of Mainz, Speyer and Worms became the center of Jewish life during medieval times. "This was a golden age as area bishops protected the Jews, resulting in increased trade and prosperity."

The First Crusade began an era of persecution of Jews in Germany. Entire communities, like those of Trier, Worms, Mainz and Cologne, were slaughtered. The Hussite Wars became the signal for renewed persecution of Jews. The end of the 15th century was a period of religious hatred that ascribed to Jews all possible evils. With Napoleon's fall in 1815, growing nationalism resulted in increasing repression. From August to October 1819, pogroms that came to be known as the Hep-Hep riots took place throughout Germany. During this time, many German states stripped Jews of their civil rights. As a result, many German Jews began to emigrate.

The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (German: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, pronounced [metʁoˈpoːlʁeˌɡi̯oːn ˌʁaɪnˈnɛkaʁ]), often referred to as the Rhein-Neckar Triangle, is a polycentric metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the north and the Stuttgart Region to the south-east.

Rhine-Neckar has a population of some 2.4 million, with major cities including Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. Other cities include the former free imperial cities of Speyer and Worms. The metro area also encompasses parts of the Baden and Palatinate wine regions, the second largest vine region of the country (Deutsche Weinstraße), and territory from the three federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It has a strong local identity as a successor to the historical Electorate of the Palatinate state.

Conrad II (German: Konrad II, c. 990 – 4 June 1039), also known as Conrad the Elder and Conrad the Salic, was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms of Germany (from 1024), Italy (from 1026) and Burgundy (from 1033).

The son of Franconian count Henry of Speyer (also Henry of Worms) and Adelaide of Metz of the Matfriding dynasty, that had ruled the Duchy of Lorraine from 959 until 972, Conrad inherited the titles of count of Speyer and Worms during childhood after his father had died around the year 990. He extended his influence beyond his inherited lands, as he came into favour of the princes of the kingdom. When the imperial dynastic line was left without a successor after Emperor Henry II's death in 1024, on 4 September an assembly of the imperial princes appointed the 34-year-old Conrad king (Rex romanorum).