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.

Ground plan & cross-sections

Aachen Cathedral 1520, depicted by Albrecht Dürer

Bronze model near the main entrance

Influence[edit]

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.

768–800: Aachen was the residence of . Construction of the palace (in the location of the modern 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]

Charlemagne

805: Consecration by .^[7]

Pope Leo III

814: Funeral of Charlemagne in the Palatine chapel, exact location unknown.

[1]

936: Coronation of in the Palatine Chapel.

Otto I

997: ordered the walls of the Palatine chapel painted.

Otto III

1002: buried in the Octagon.

Otto III

1002–1014: donates the Ambon of Henry II.

Henry II

1152–1190: donates the Barbarossa chandelier.

Frederick I

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

Johann Joseph Couven

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 , 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.

French revolutionary troops

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 at the instigation of the glassworker with five webs (the gothic tracery has six webs).

tracery

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 limestone and to the Chapel of St Charles & St Hubert, Chapel of St Anne & the choir in Savonnières limestone by Gottfried Götting.

Uldfangen

1869–1873: Removal of baroque decoration and exterior plaster, producing the modern bare stone. By 1871, the complete renovation of the gable, Medieval material being retained only in the roof of the choir.

Staufen

1879–1884: addition to the west tower, in pursuit of the tower's gothic form.

Neogothic

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 from Hannover, carried out by Puhl & Wagner of Rixdorf (Berlin).

Hermann Schaper

1913: Marble floors in the Octagon and the passages.

1949–1951: Restoration of the choir windows which had been destroyed in the , by Walter Benner and Anton Wendling.

Second World War

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.

Legend[edit]

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]

Cathedral exterior

Exterior of the Palatine Chapel

Interior of the Palatine Chapel

Mosaics

Cross of Lothair (~ 1000) (treasury)

Statue of St. Stephen outside the Ungarnkapelle (Chapel of Hungary)

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. 0083-7105.

ISSN

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. 3-89678-016-6. LCCN 97129274.

ISBN

(1867). Das Heiligthum zu Aachen. Kurzgefaßte Angabe und Abbildung sämtlicher "großen und kleinen Reliquien" des ehemaligen Krönungs-Münsters, sowie der vorzüglichsten Kunstschätze daselbst [The Sanctuary at Aachen: Brief Specification and Mapping of all "Large and Small Relics" of the Former Coronation Cathedral, as well as the Principal Art Treasures] (in German). Cologne, Germany: L. Schwann. LCCN 10034214.

Bock, Franz Johann Joseph

Braunfels, Wolfgang (1968). Die Welt der Karolinger und ihre Kunst [The World of the Carolingians and their Art] (in German). Munich, Germany: . LCCN 70364845.

Callwey Verlag

Grimme, Ernst Günther (2001). Der goldene Dom der Ottonen [The Golden Dome of the Ottonians] (in German). Aachen, Germany: Einhard-Verlag. 3-930701-90-1.

ISBN

Grimme, Ernst Günther (1994). Der Dom zu Aachen: Architektur und Ausstattung [The Aachen Cathedral: Architecture and Features] (in German). Aachen, Germany: Einhard-Verlag. 3-9202-8487-9. LCCN 95145648.

ISBN

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. 978-3-87710-453-8. LCCN 2010395367.

ISBN

Heermann, Anne (2009). Der Aachener Dom: Bilder Pictures Images [The Aachen Cathedral – Bilder Pictures Images] (in German). Photos by Gerrmann, Andreas. Aachen, Germany: Einhard. 978-3-936342-765.

ISBN

Hugot, Leo (1986). Der Dom zu Aachen: Ein Wegweiser [The Aachen Cathedral: A Guide] (in German). Aachen, Germany. 3-920284-23-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

ISBN

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.

Michael Imhof Verlag

Maas, Walter (2001). Der Aachener Dom [The Aachen Cathedral] (in German). Photos by Siebigs, Pit. Cologne, Germany: Greven. 3-7743-0325-8. LCCN 2002422205.

ISBN

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. 3-9804836-0-6.

ISBN

Pufke, Andrea (2012). Heckner, Ulrike; Beckmann, Eva-Maria (eds.). Die karolingische Pfalzkapelle in Aachen. Material – Bautechnik – Restaurierung (in German). Worms, Germany: Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft. 978-3-88462-325-1.

ISBN

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. 3-88462-195-5. LCCN 2005361308.

ISBN

Wynands, Dieter P. J.; Siebigs, Pit (2000). Der Dom zu Aachen: Ein Rundgang [The Aachen Cathedral: A Tour] (in German). Frankfurt, Germany: Insel. 3-4581-9205-0.

Aachen Cathedral