Aachen Cathedral has great historical, religious and cultural significance for Germany. The Palace Chapel of Aachen Cathedral was built by Charlemagne in the early 9th century. He is buried here, and for 595 years the coronation ceremony of the Holy Roman emperors was held here.
Almost no Carolingian monuments have survived to this day. Thus, Aachen Cathedral and its Chapel is one of the most important attractions of the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe. This cathedral was the first German masterpiece to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
Architecture of Aachen Cathedral
Aachen was the capital of the Kingdom of the Franks. Charlemagne invited artisans, architects, musicians, poets and anyone who could contribute to the development of culture in his country. This age went down in history as the "Carolingian Renaissance".
The most obvious symbol of this revival was the Aachen Cathedral, or its oldest part, which is called the Palace Chapel (sometimes called the Palatine Chapel). It was built by the architect Odon of Metz (a town in France). Despite Odon was a European architect, the Palace Chapel was built in strict accordance with all the canons of byzantine architecture. The model was taken from the Basilica of San Vitale, which was built by the byzantine emperor Justinian in Ravenna. In this way, Charlemagne wanted to realize his claim to succession to the Roman emperors.
The construction of the Palace Chapel was begun in 796, and in 805 Pope Leo III consecrated it. The Chapel is octagonal in shape. Now its height reaches 31 meters, but in Charles’s time it was lower. The dome was added later. The plan was based on a system of measures where the diameter of the bypass gallery corresponds to its height.
Under Charlemagne, the Chapel was part of his palace (Pfalzkapelle), but the palace itself has not survived to this day. In 814, Emperor Charles I the Great died and was buried in the Chapel of Aachen Cathedral. His body was placed to the gilded sarcophagus, which was made by order of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. In Aachen Cathedral, the Holy Roman emperors were crowned on the throne of Charlemagne for 595 years, from 936 to 1531.
The Chapel was decorated with Italian marble. Antique columns were brought here from Ravenna. Smalt for mosaics was brought from Byzantium. In 1719, the interior of the Chapel was remodeled in the style of Baroque, but in 1879 the Italian master Antonio Salvati completely restored the Byzantine mosaic panels how they originally looked. The main entrance to the Palace Chapel, as in the 8th century, is the Wolf Gate.
Between 1353 and 1414, choirs and other chapels were added around the Palace Chapel. All of them were built in the Gothic style. In the choirs of Aachen Cathedral, you can admire the huge stained glass windows. Among the stained glass windows is a medallion of the Virgin Mary, which was made in 1524 by the master Jan Bildernider (Jan Bieldernider). The tower of Aachen Cathedral with a height of 74 meters was built in 1884.
Aachen Cathedral - a place of pilgrimage
In 900, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the West in Rome. He made a lot for spreading Christianity in the conquered lands. Thus, his influence in the Western world grew significantly, and he was able to obtain from Jerusalem and Constantinople Christian shrines, which are now stored in the Aachen Cathedral. Thanks to this, Aachen became as much a center of pilgrimage for Catholics as Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostella.
Among the Christian shrines in the cathedral is the shroud of the Infant Christ, in which he was wrapped after his birth in Bethlehem. Here is the belt and armband of Jesus Christ, which he wore when he carried his cross along the Via Dolorosa and was crucified on Calvary. The cathedral contains the undergarment of the Virgin Mary, in which she gave birth to Jesus Christ, as well as the cloth on which John the Baptist was executed, and his head on a platter was presented to Queen Salome.
Every 7 years, these relics are shown to the public. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come to Aachen Cathedral at this time. They fill the entire square near the cathedral. Previously, people even climbed on the roofs of the surrounding houses. One day, one of the roofs broke and collapsed. Since then, all the buildings around the cathedral have flat roofs of special strength.
