Traditionally called in English the Cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, this is Roman Catholic and one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe. It was constructed by order of the emperor Charlemagne, who was buried there after he died in 814. For 595 years, from 936 to 1531, the Palatine Chapel, the heart of the cathedral, was the church of coronation for thirty-one German kings and twelve queens.
The span and height of Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel were unsurpassed north of the Alps for over two hundred years. It suffered much damage in a Viking raid in 881 and was restored in 983. After Frederick Barbarossa canonized Charlemagne, in 1165, the chapel became a draw for pilgrims on a par with Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago. During WWII, the cathedral’s basic structure survived.
In 1978, Aachen Cathedral was one of the first 12 items to be listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The Palatine Chapel has a diameter of 14.46 metres. The metre-high railing of Carolingian bronze rails was cast 1200 years ago in a single piece according to Roman models. The original cupola mosaic was probably executed around 800 and known from Medieval sources depicted Christ as the triumphant lord of the world, surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists, with the twenty-four elders from the Apocalypse of John offering their crowns to him.
The Gothic choir has more than 1,000m² of glass conceived as a glass shrine for the holy relics of Aachen and the body of Charlemagne in a gold shrine. Follow the excellent brochure to see all the treasures in the church. The mosaics that cover everywhere in the church are spectacular.
