Domnapf, Stone monument at Speyer Cathedral, Germany

The Domnapf is a flat, round sandstone basin nearly 2 m across, standing on an octagonal plinth of about 14 m² in the middle of the Domplatz, some 20 m west of the cathedral's main portal. Twenty sandstone columns, just over 1 m high, form a square around it. Stone reliefs of coats of arms decorate the outside, and a brass band with a Latin inscription rings the rim.

The Domnapf was probably built in 1294 and first documented in 1314; it was reshaped and given its Latin inscription in 1490. It marked the border between the Free Imperial City of Speyer and the prince-bishopric, serving as a place of asylum. French revolutionary troops removed it in 1794; after several relocations it returned to its original spot in 1989.

The sandstone bowl's Latin inscription of 1490, renewed in 1972, explains its use: when a newly elected bishop rode into the city with his retinue, he poured wine into it for the people. The last such filling under the prince-bishopric came in January 1611 for Philipp Christoph von Sötern; since 1930 the diocese has had it filled 15 times, including a Riesling from Frankweiler and Mußbach for the 2017 bicentenary.

The Domnapf stands in the middle of the Domplatz, about 20 m west of the cathedral's main portal, on an octagonal sandstone platform of roughly 14 m². A square of 20 sandstone columns, just over 1 m high, surrounds the platform at a distance of 10 m. The square is paved and level, so the bowl can be circled on foot; the nearby inn Zum Domnapf takes its name from it.

The Domnapf served an unusual function beyond mere decoration: when a new bishop took office, the basin was filled with wine and citizens could partake in it. This tradition was a visible gesture connecting church authority with ordinary people.