Aachen Cathedral

200m
220yds

Aachen Cathedral

  

Aachen Cathedral

Aachen Cathedral (

One of the oldest cathedral buildings in Europe, it was constructed as the royal chapel of the Palace of Aachen of Emperor Charlemagne, who was buried there in 814. From 936 to 1531, the original Palatine Chapel saw the coronation of thirty-one German kings and twelve queens. Later, much expanded, it was a minster and collegiate church, becoming a cathedral briefly from 1803 to 1825, and again in 1930 when the Diocese of Aachen was revived.^[1] In 1978, Aachen Cathedral was one of the first 12 sites to be listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, because of its exceptional artistry, architecture, and central importance in the history of the Holy Roman Empire.^[2]

The cathedral mostly uses two distinct architectural styles. First, the core of the cathedral is the Carolingian-Romanesque Palatine Chapel, which was modeled after the Basilica of San Vitale at Ravenna and is notably small in comparison to the later additions. Secondly, the choir was constructed in the Gothic style.^[3][4] There are portions that show Ottonian style, such as the area around the throne,^[4] and some areas were not completed until the 19th century, in revivalist styles.

History

Charlemagne began the construction of the Palatine Chapel around 796,^[5] along with the rest of the palace structures.^[6] The construction is credited to Odo of Metz. The exact date of completion is unclear; however, a letter from Alcuin, in 798, states that it was nearing completion, and in 805, Pope Leo III consecrated the finished chapel.^[7] A foundry was brought to Aachen near the end of the 8th century and was utilized to cast multiple bronze pieces, from doors and the railings, to the horse and bear statues.^{[8][nb 1]} Charlemagne was buried in the chapel in 814.^[1] It suffered a large amount of damage in a Viking raid in 881, and was restored in 983.

Following Charlemagne's

During

The

The Palatine chapel consisted of a high octagonal room with a two-story circuit below. The inner octagon, with a diameter of 14.46 metres (47.4 ft),[7] is made up of strong piers, on which an octagonal cloister vault lies, covering the central room. Around this inner octagon is a sixteen sided circuit of low groin vaults, supporting a high gallery above. This upper story was known as the Hochmünster (high church). The arched openings of the lower story are only about half as high as those of the Hochmünster, as a result of which the lower story looks stocky and bulky. The two floors are separated from each other by an expansive cornice. The high altar and Imperial throne are located on the upper circuit of the Palatine chapel in an octagonal side room, covered by a barrel vault lying on an angle. This area was connected to the palace by a passage. Above the arches of the gallery, an octagonal drum with window openings rises, on top of which is the cupola. On the east end was a small apse that protruded and was, in later years, replaced by the choir. Opposite of this, was the tiered entrance to the rest of the now defunct palace, Westwork.^[7] Light is brought in by a three tiered system of circular arched windows. The corners of the octagonal dome are joined with the walls with a system of paired pilasters with corinthian capitals.^[7]

The upper gallery openings are divided by a grid of columns. These columns are ancient and come from

The exterior walls of the Carolingian octagon, made of quarry stone, are largely unjointed and lack further ornamentation. The only exception is that the projections of the pillars of the cupola are crowned by antique capitals. Above the Carolingian masonry, there is a Romanesque series of arches above a late Roman gable. The Octagon is crowned by unusual baroque vents.

Aachen Cathedral was plastered red in the time of Charlemagne, according to the most recent findings of the Rheinish Office for Monuments. This plaster was made longer-lasting through the addition of crushed red brick. The colour was probably also a reference to the imperial associations of the work.^[11]

Geometry

The question of which geometric concepts and basic dimensions lie at the basis of the chapel's construction is not entirely clear even today. Works of earlier cathedral architects mostly followed either the

• 
  Ground plan & cross-sections
• 
  Aachen Cathedral 1520, depicted by Albrecht Dürer
• 
  Bronze model near the main entrance

Westwork

The

The bronze leaves attached to this porch, the Wolfstür (Wolf's Door), weigh 43

There were multiple sculptures, made of bronze, including an equestrian piece probably meant as a parallel of a statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome.

The upper level is characterised by an exceptionally fine brick western wall. Inside, it bulges outward, while the outside bulges inwards, so that the Carolingian west wall can be seen as a convex-concave bulge. Before the construction of the porch in the 18th century, the Carolingian west facade, when seen from the Narthex, was particularly evocative: a large niche, topped by a semicircular arch in the western upper level corresponded to the semicircle of the barrel vault of the lower level.

Today, the western wall is broken up by the large western window. The large window frame dates from the Gothic period and replaced a smaller window from Carolingian times, which was probably structured as a mullion (a double arch with a column in the centre). The modern window was designed by Ewald Mataré in 1956. Mataré's design imitates, however abstractly, the structure of the Carolingian bronze gate inside the dome. Bronze and unprocessed quartz form the window itself.

The function of the upstairs part of the west facade is not entirely clear. The right of baptism (long reserved for the Collegiate Church of Mary) was at a

Between 1355 and 1414, on the initiative of the Marienstift and the mayor of Aachen Gerhard Chorus (1285–1367), a Gothic choir was built to the east of the Octagon. Before this there must have been a rectangular Carolingian choir.

The Gothic choir measures 25m in length, 13m wide and 32m high. Its external wall is broken, as much as possible, by windows – the surface area of the glass is more than 1,000m² and led to the name Glashaus (glass house). This was conceived as a glass reliquary for the holy relics of Aachen and for the body of Charlemagne. The design is arranged on the model of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, likewise a space for important relics and a royal palace chapel. For protection of the vault of the choir, iron rods were built in at the time of construction, to counter the lateral force on the narrow stone supports and to allow as much space as possible between them for window space.

• 
  Karlsschrein (between 1182 and 1215)
• 
  Tomb of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (r.996-1002)
• 
  Eagle lectern with bat, 15th century
• 
  Marienschrein (1238), among the Aachen reliquaries.
• 
  Ambon of Henry II on the south wall of the first choir bay

Side chapels

Gathered around the octagon are several side chapels. Clockwise from the southeast, they are:

• In the southeast, the Matthiaskapelle (Chapel of
  St Matthew
  ), which was built in the late 14th century, at the same time as the choir which is next to it.
• Adjoining the Chapel of St Matthew to the south is the gothic Annakapelle (Chapel of
  St Anne). The lower level of this was originally the narthex
  to one of the cathedral gates, but later the doors were sealed and the room turned into a chapel.
• South of the western facade is the Chapel of Hungary. Originally a gothic side chapel as well, it was remodelled in the baroque style in the 18th century, following the plans of the Italian architect Joseph Moretti.

• Adjoining the western facade to the north is the Chapel of
  St Michael, of the 15th century with a neo-baroque altarpiece in the chancel, created in the 20th century by Joseph Buchkremer
  . It was formerly the burial place of the canons of Aachen cathedral.
• Northeast, the Chapel of
  Hubert
  was built into the octagon.
• Further chapels associated with the cathedral complex are found in the cloisters (All Saints and All Souls Chapel) and in the cathedral forecourt (Baptismal Chapel).

• 
  Annakapelle (Chapel of St Anne)
• 
  Ungarnkapelle (Chapel of Hungary)
• 
  Chancel of the Nikolauskapelle (Chapel of St Nicholas)
• 
  Allerheiligenkapelle (All Saints Chapel)

Notable items

Aachen Cathedral houses a collection of medieval art objects from the late

Throne of Charlemagne

In the western gallery on the lower floor, opposite the choir, the Throne of Charlemagne is to be found, which has been the object of new investigations in the past decades. The original Carolingian throne came from the spolia of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The appearance of the throne and its location in the Palatine Chapel did not change with the passage of centuries. Between 936 and 1531, thirty one German kings ascended to this throne after their anointment and coronation at the Marienaltar (Altar of Mary).

Marienschrein

The Marienschrein (Shrine of St. Mary) rests in the choir of the church and dates from 1220 to 1239. Adorned with the figures of Christ, Mary, Charlemagne, Pope Leo III and the Twelve Apostles, the shrine contains the four great Aachen relics: St. Mary's cloak, Christ's swaddling clothes, St. John the Baptist's beheading cloth and Christ's loincloth. Following a custom begun in 1349, every seven years the relics are taken out of the shrine and put on display during the Great Aachen Pilgrimage. This pilgrimage most recently took place during June 2014.

Barbarossa chandelier

From the vault of the dome, which is made up of eight curved faces, a

Between 1002 and 1014,

A golden altarpiece, the Pala d'Oro which today forms the

Presumably, in the late 15th century, the golden altarpiece formed a massive altar system together with the twelve reliefs of apostles in the cathedral treasury, along with altarpieces with scenes from the life of Mary, which would have been dismantled in 1794 as the French Revolutionary troops approached Aachen.^[23]

Treasury

The Aachen cathedral treasury includes highly important objects including the

The organ system of Aachen Cathedral was installed in 1939. It consists in part of the earlier organ, installed 1845–1847, which was built by the organ builder Wilhelm Korfmacher of Linnich. This Korfmacher organ had 60 stops, distributed in three works.

The current instrument was installed in 1939 by

As well as a chamber organ, the cathedral also has a small organ, called the Zoboli Organ. This was built by the north Italian organ builder, Cesare Zomboli, probably some time around 1850. The pipeworks, windbox, and keyboard survive. The historic housing no longer exists, but the current housing was built later on the model of a north Italian cabinet organ in classicist style. The instrument is arranged in the classic Italian style, with the typical stops of the Roman style as well.

Bells

The cathedral has eight

The core of Aachen Cathedral, the Carolingian octagon, was originally erected as Charlemagne's palace chapel and was also his grave. After his death, on 28 January 814, he was buried in his church; the exact spot is unknown, because of the lack of documentation and the ambiguity of the physical evidence. However, it is probable that he was buried in the

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.

A large picture representing Otto and his nobles gazing on the dead Emperor was painted on the wall of the great room in Aachen Town Hall.

In 1165, on the occasion of Charlemagne's canonisation, Emperor

Emperor Otto III was buried in the cathedral as well.

Coronation church of German kings

On the explicit instructions of Charlemagne, his son

Aachen pilgrimage

The Aachen pilgrimage (Aachener Heiligtumsfahrt), a pilgrimage during which the four most important religious relics of the cathedral can be seen by believers, is attested from 1238. Since 1349, these relics have been displayed once every seven years. The last pilgrimage was in 2023, and had the motto "Discover Me".

Influence

As early as the Middle Ages, Aachen Cathedral was admired and imitated, as in the case of Essen Minster, the Old Tower in Mettlach and in the Alsatian Abbey Church of Ottmarsheim. Construction elements of the octagon and choir were nominated as Historic landmarks of German civil engineering in 2007.

Chronology

• 768–800: Aachen was the residence of
  Rathaus and Aachen Cathedral) on the site of a Roman bath. The Octagon was built with columns and marble from ancient buildings of Rome, Ravenna, Trier & Cologne). The exterior was covered with red plaster. This central core was begun in 793 at the earliest and finished by 813 at the latest. This dating was reached in 2009 by means of dendrochronology on wood in the structure, which was found during repairs to the cathedral.^[25]
• 805: Consecration by Pope Leo III.^[7]
• 814: Funeral of Charlemagne in the Palatine chapel, exact location unknown.^[1]
• 936: Coronation of
  Otto I
  in the Palatine Chapel.
• 997: Otto III ordered the walls of the Palatine chapel painted.
• 1002: Otto III buried in the Octagon.
• 1002–1014: Henry II donates the Ambon of Henry II.
• 1152–1190:
  Barbarossa chandelier
  .
• 1165: Canonization of Charlemagne^[1]
• 1187–1193: Erection of the romanesque cloister, expansion of the octagon around the blind arcade.
• c.1240/1250: Erection of the gable of the Octagon, collapse of the window in the west niche, the building received a white replacement (perhaps earlier, in 1187–1193), the gable was painted colorfully.
• c.1350: Addition of the west towen, in the Gothic style, with a tall pyramidal roof spire and two flanking towers, bridge to the Octagon for the display of relics.
• 1367: Gothic predecessor to the modern Chapel of Hungary.
• 1355–1414: Erection of the choir, simultaneous with the erection of the Chapel of St Matthew, whose date of consecration is not preserved (possible dates range between 1379 (completion of the foundations) and 1420).^[1]
• c.1420: Statues on pillars in the choir made from Baumberg limestone.
• 1429: Double door of the narthex (broken 1811, remains in the cathedral court, on the south wall with gothic graffiti in red chalk).
• 1449: Chapel of St Anne added, initially as an open hall on the lower floor, rebuilt in the baroque style in 1772, renewed in 1862 with gothic masonry.
• 1456–1474: The two-level Chapel of St Charles and St Hubert.
• before 1487: Nikolauskapelle (Chapel of St Nicholas). Further gothic chapel buildings were planned, but were never built.
• 1656: Fire of Aachen, extensive destruction to the city. The cathedral's entire roof was destroyed.
• 1664: New roof on the octagon and choir. Octagon reaches modern form ("Lemon squeezer").
• 1719–1733: Baroquification with the application of stucco to the inner rooms by Johann Baptist Atari, painting of the vault, baroque reworking of the main window, expansion of the choir window tracery.
• 1748–1767: Construction of the Chapel of Hungary.
  • 1755: Destruction of the shell of the previous chapel by Johann Joseph Couven due to structural defects.
  • 1756–1767: Construction of new building according to the plans of Joseph Moretti.
• 1788: Entrance porch in front of the west facade, resulting in the internalisation of the Carolingian bronze door (Wolfstür).
• 1794: Occupation of the city by French revolutionary troops, removal of the columns to Paris (some of which are still in the Louvre), dismantling of the lead roof (replaced with slate in 1803), temporary use of the cathedral as a stable.
• 1814: Aachen becomes part of Kingdom of Prussia.
• 1832: Beginning of restoration works.
• 1843: Reinstallation of some of the columns (28 pieces returned from France) in the Octagon, several columns replaced with new ones, the old bronze bases replaced with marble, almost all of the ten capitals returned from France replaced in marble.
• 1847: Foundation of the Karlsverein (Charlemagne Society).
• 1849–1861: Repair of the choir and its fittings, restoration of the tracery at the instigation of the glassworker with five webs (the gothic tracery has six webs).
• 1857–1862: Restoration of the Chapel of St Anne.
• 1864–1866: Restoration of the Chapel of St Matthew.
• 1868: Restoration of the Chapel of St Charles & St Hubert.
• 1866–1873: Statues added to the Chapel of St Matthew in Uldfangen limestone and to the Chapel of St Charles & St Hubert, Chapel of St Anne & the choir in Savonnières limestone by Gottfried Götting.
• 1869–1873: Removal of baroque decoration and exterior plaster, producing the modern bare stone. By 1871, the complete renovation of the Staufen gable, Medieval material being retained only in the roof of the choir.
• 1879–1884: Neogothic addition to the west tower, in pursuit of the tower's gothic form.
• 1879–1881: Decoration of the cupola with mosaic, according to the plans of the Belgian Béthune, carried out by the Venetian mosaicist Antonio Salviatis.
• 1896–1902: Marble cladding and mosaic decoration of the passages according to the plans of
  Hannover, carried out by Puhl & Wagner
  of Rixdorf (Berlin).
• 1913: Marble floors in the Octagon and the passages.
• 1949–1951: Restoration of the choir windows which had been destroyed in the
  Second World War, by Walter Benner and Anton Wendling
  .
• 1986–2011: Massive programme of restorations to Aachen Cathedral. Exterior renovations were completed in 2006, interior & basement renovations were completed in 2011, with the cleaning and conservation of the mosaics in the Octagon. According to the cathedral's architect, Maintz, around €35 million were spent in the course of the programme.

According to legend, the people of Aachen ran out of funding to finish the construction of the cathedral. It is said that they made a deal with the devil to obtain the remaining funds, in exchange for the soul of the first to enter the cathedral. Upon completion, the locals sent a wolf into the cathedral and the devil quickly took the animal's soul. Upon realizing the trick, the devil stormed from the cathedral, severing his thumb in the lion head door handles. A wolf statue sits in the entrance to the cathedral, and the "devil's thumb" can be felt inside the lion's mouth.[26]

Miscellaneous

The German impressionist painter August von Brandis painted Aachen Cathedral in several works. Act III of Giuseppe Verdi's Ernani is set at the tomb of Charlemagne.

The Domwache (Cathedral watch), a youth self-help group, has been operated since 1957 by the Catholic students association of K.D.St.V. Franconia Aachen.

Since 15 November 2012, the Geological Service of North Rhine-Westphalia operates a station monitoring seismic activity in the Lower Rhine Basin. It is located in the foundations of the hexadecagon near the entry to the St Ann's Chapel.

Gallery

• 
  Cathedral exterior
• 
  Exterior of the Palatine Chapel
• 
  Interior of the Palatine Chapel
• 
  Mosaics
• 
  Mosaics
• 
  Cross of Lothair (~ 1000) (treasury)
• 
  Statue of St. Stephen outside the Ungarnkapelle (Chapel of Hungary)

Notes

Footnotes

References

Further reading

• Belting, Hans (1984). "Das Aachener Münster im 19: Jahrhundert. Zur ersten Krise des Denkmal-Konzeptes" [The Aachen Cathedral in the 19th Century: The First Crisis of the Memorial Concept]. Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch (in German). 45: 257–290.
  ISSN 0083-7105
  .
• Binding, Günther (1996). Deutsche Königspfalzen: Von Karl dem Grossen bis Friedrich II. (765–1240) [German Royal Palaces: From Charlemagne to Frederick II (765–1240)] (in German). Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
  LCCN 97129274
  .
• LCCN 10034214
  .
• Braunfels, Wolfgang (1968). Die Welt der Karolinger und ihre Kunst [The World of the Carolingians and their Art] (in German). Munich, Germany:
  LCCN 70364845
  .
• Grimme, Ernst Günther (2001). Der goldene Dom der Ottonen [The Golden Dome of the Ottonians] (in German). Aachen, Germany: Einhard-Verlag.
  ISBN 3-930701-90-1
  .
• Grimme, Ernst Günther (1994). Der Dom zu Aachen: Architektur und Ausstattung [The Aachen Cathedral: Architecture and Features] (in German). Aachen, Germany: Einhard-Verlag.
  LCCN 95145648
  .
• Groten, Manfred (2009). Mölich, Georg; Muschiol, Gisela; Oepen, Joachim; Rosen, Wolfgang (eds.). Nordrheinisches Klosterbuch – Lexikon der Stifte und Klöster bis 1815 [North Rhine Buch Monastery: Encyclopedia of Monasteries to 1815] (in German). Vol. 1: Aachen bis Düren [Aachen to Düren]. Siegburg, Germany: Verlag Franz Schmitt.
  LCCN 2010395367
  .
• Heermann, Anne (2009). Der Aachener Dom: Bilder Pictures Images [The Aachen Cathedral – Bilder Pictures Images] (in German). Photos by Gerrmann, Andreas. Aachen, Germany: Einhard.
  ISBN 978-3-936342-765
  .
• Hugot, Leo (1986). Der Dom zu Aachen: Ein Wegweiser [The Aachen Cathedral: A Guide] (in German). Aachen, Germany.
  ISBN 3-920284-23-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
  )
• Knopp, Gisbert; Heckner, Ulrike (2002). Die gotische Chorhalle des Aachener Doms. Baugeschichte – Bauforschung -Sanierung [The Gothic Choir Hall of the Aachen Cathedral. Architectural History – Construction – Restoration] (in German). Petersberg:
  ISBN 3-935590-38-5
  .
• Maas, Walter (2001). Der Aachener Dom [The Aachen Cathedral] (in German). Photos by Siebigs, Pit. Cologne, Germany: Greven.
  LCCN 2002422205
  .
• Maintz, Helmut (2012). "Sanierung Mosaiken, Marmorverkleidung und Fußböden im Zentralbau des Aachener Doms" [Restoration Mosaics, Marble Facing and Flooring in the Central Structure of the Aachen Cathedral]. Veröffentlichung für die Mitglieder des Karlsverein-Dombauverein (in German) (14). Aachen, Germany: Thouet.
• Minkenberg, Georg (1995). Führer durch den Dom zu Aachen [Guide Through the Aachen Cathedral] (in German). Aachen: Domkapitel.
  ISBN 3-9804836-0-6
  .
• Pufke, Andrea (2012). Heckner, Ulrike; Beckmann, Eva-Maria (eds.). Die karolingische Pfalzkapelle in Aachen. Material – Bautechnik – Restaurierung (in German). Worms, Germany: Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft.
  ISBN 978-3-88462-325-1
  .
• Siebigs, Hans-Karl (2004). Der Zentralbau des Domes zu Aachen: Unerforschtes und Ungewisses [The Central Building of the Cathedral at Aachen: Unexplored and Uncertain] (in German). Worms, Germany: Wernersche.
  LCCN 2005361308
  .
• Wynands, Dieter P. J.; Siebigs, Pit (2000). Der Dom zu Aachen: Ein Rundgang [The Aachen Cathedral: A Tour] (in German). Frankfurt, Germany: Insel.
  ISBN 3-4581-9205-0
  .

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aachener Dom.

• Aachen Cathedral – Official UNESCO website
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• Photos of Aachen cathedral on sekulada.com (in Polish)