Aachen Cathedral of Germany: History and Architecture

After the Bruhl experience we double checked the timings of Aachen Cathedral.

It is hard to describe a cathedral particularly when it is a large and grand one like the Aachen Cathedral. Moreover it was a palace church of Charles the Great, so the grandeur is breathtaking! During the Second World War most of the buildings and churches the city of Aachen got destroyed bombings. Yet, what remains doesn’t fail to impress.

Aachen Cathedral History

There is a reason why I wanted to visit Aachen cathedral. Besides being inscribed to the prestigious list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1978, its history was hard to ignore. I had my calling there.

Before you proceed do read: Wolfstur, the Great Bronze Portal of Aachen This is right at the entrance of Aachener Dom Cathedral.
Aachen Cathedral Germany

Palatine Chapel

Charles the Great (Charlemagne) built the Palatine Chapel in 792. This later was renovated many times, yet even today, in its present form has that good ‘old’ feel. This is all that remains today of Charlemagne’s extensive palace complex in Aachen.

Emperor Charlemagne´s Palatine Chapel constitutes the nucleus of the Cathedral of Aachen. The construction of the chapel between 793 and 813 symbolizes the unification of the West. The octagonal core was enlarged much later in the middle ages. This, I read, is one of the most historically important sites in all of Christianity.

Charlemagne’s Remains in Cathedral

In 814, Charlemagne was buried here.

One interesting bit of story among the many I read about this cathedral is: “When he died in 814, Charlemagne’s remains were placed in a vault in the cathedral. In 1000, Otto III had Charlemagne’s vault opened. Otto of Lomello, one of the courtiers who accompanied him, recorded the event, which is reported in the Chronicle of Novalesia, written about 1026.

The account reads:

“So we went in to Charles. He did not lie, as the dead otherwise do, but sat as if he were living. He was crowned with a golden crown and held in his gloved hands a sceptre; the fingernails had penetrated through the gloves and stuck out. Above him was a canopy of limestone and marble. Entering, we broke through this.

Upon our entrance, a strong smell struck us. Kneeling, we gave Emperor Charles our homage, and put in order the damage that had been done. Emperor Charles had not lost any of his members to decay, except only the tip of his nose.

Emperor Otto replaced this with gold, took a tooth from Charles’s mouth, walled up the entrance to the chamber, and withdrew again.”

Other names of the Cathedral

The Cathedral has several names: Aachener Dom, the Palatinate Cathedral, Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen during the Middle Ages and the Minster. It is also referred to as the Imperial Cathedral.

The grey exteriors don’t give the slightest clue of the splendor inside. Do read: Grand Interiors of Aachen Cathedral.

The Cathedral Courtyard with the Carolingian Westwork,
on which a tower was set in the 19th century.

Aachen Cathedral Architecture

Main feature of Aachen Cathedral architecture is the octagonal dome, 32m high. It is octagonal because Charlemagne placed special significance on the number eight. His main reasons were spiritually related. The numeral 8 appears frequently in the Holy Bible. It was charged with symbolism in the Christian world during medieval times.

Yet another simple fact was that an octagon can be made by drawing two intersecting squares within a circle. This too was spiritually linked to the fact that the circle represents God’s eternity while the square represents the secular world. The 4 corners represent the 4 directions to heaven and the 4 characteristics of man.

Interesting, isn’t it?!

Facade of Aachen Cathedral

No entrance charges, but you need to pay one euro for photography, which I gladly paid. The cathedral is huge and I found it difficult to capture it all in one single frame. Finally crossing the road at its rear, after lot of tries I got this above frame. A small lower part of the cathedral is missing in the frame.

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Aachen Cathedral Germany History and Architecture

The Garden of Augustusburg Castle, Bruhl, Germany
Augustusburg Castle, Bruhl, Germany

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