A

3

Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle)Famous as the capital of
CHARLEMAGNEand for its church, Aachen, or Aix-la-
Chapelle, is situated to the north of the Eifel Massif in
western Germany. The Romans had built baths there in
the first century C.E. but abandoned its hot springs in
about 375. The place was mentioned again by Carolin-
gian chroniclers in 765 as PÉPINIIITHESHORTtook up
temporary residence there. In the ninth century Charle-
magne chose it as his favorite residence; hence it
became the premier royal dwelling of the Carolingian
Empire. The king added a group of further buildings
needed for this new capital, the wooden constructions
of which have since disappeared. Among the stone
buildings, only traces remain of a large reception room
and a monumental gate that opened to the principal
road, which was probably surmounted by a court-room.
Only the palatine chapel still exists. Dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin and containing Charlemagne’s tomb, it
thus survived at the end of the ninth century when the
rest of the royal palace slipped into decline. The chapel
was built between 796 and 805 under the supervision
of Eudes of Metz. It is centered on an octagon sur-
rounded by side aisles and is surmounted by tribunes
within a 16-sided polygon. On the western side, a
square room is flanked by two towers with staircases
that give access to the tribunes. On the tribunes or sur-
rounding balconies, the emperor sat on a throne mod-
eled on King Solomon’s, filled with relics. From there,
he could see the two altars in the sanctuary in the east-
ern and main body of the chapel. The emperor faced a
mosaic covering the cupola, depicting Christ’s acclama-
tion by the 24 elders of the Apocalypse. At the time of
his coronation OTTOI established the tradition that the

ruler of Germany must be crowned in the chapel of

Aachen. In 1165 FREDERICKI BARBAROSSApurportedly

opened Charlemagne’s tomb, rediscovered by the

emperor OTTOIII in 1000, and had Charlemagne can-

onized. He then made the town of Aachen a free town,

deeming it the capital of the empire. This privilege

affirmed, alongside the chapel and royal palace,

Aachen’s new identity as an important urban center of

population. Aachen was given a new wall in 1175 and a

The Carolingian palace chapel in Aachen, Germany

(Courtesy Library of Congress)