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Chasing the traces of Charlemagne in Aachen, Germany

 

During my weekend jaunt to western Germany, I made a day trip to Aachen, once the capital of Charlemagne’s short-lived empire and the final resting place of ”Charles the Great” himself.

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Aachen is the city in North Rhine-Westphalia of Germany known also as Aix-la-Chapelle in French. Its name derives from the Ach(e), meaning “river” or “stream” in Old High German.

This city lives and breathes Europe as it is practically Europe in miniature. On the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, it has encapsulated the spirit, values and ideals of Europe since the days of Charlemagne.

So who was Charlemagne and how he made this city famous?

Charlemagne, 8th century, also known as Karl and Charles the Great, was a medieval emperor who ruled much of Western Europe. In 771, Charlemagne became king of the Franks, a Germanic tribe in present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and western Germany. He embarked on a mission to unite all Germanic peoples into one kingdom, and convert his subjects to Christianity. It was the first time these lands had been united politically since the Roman Empire.

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Portrait of Charlemagne, King of Franks and Lombards and Emperor of Holy Roman Empire with model of Palatine Chapel. By Scheuren, 19 century. 

In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans. In this role, he encouraged the Carolingian Renaissance, a cultural and intellectual revival in Europe. When he died in 814, Charlemagne’s empire encompassed much of Western Europe, and he had also ensured the survival of Christianity in the West. Today, Charlemagne is referred to by some as the father of Europe.

The ruler seated in the Palace of Aachen a group of buildings with residential, political and religious purposes to be the centre of power of the Carolingian Empire.

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Charlemagne with the crown jewels in front of the Palace

Today much of the palace is destroyed, but the Palatine Chapel has been preserved and is considered as a masterpiece of Carolingian architecture and a characteristic example of architecture from the Carolingian Renaissance. 

Important part of this palace and todays cityscape of Aachen is Aachen Cathedral, traditionally known in English as the Cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle. It is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was constructed by Odo of Metz.

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Aachen Cathedral houses a collection of medieval art objects which are exceptional in their historical, artistic and religious meaning.

1Charlemagne’s throne, is the most important chapelle sight. It is an austere chair that places has been made from stone taken from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. All German kings in the medieval times were crowned on this throne.

The Barbarossa chandelier was made on the order of Emperor Frederick I, nicknamed Barbarossa, and his wife Beatrice  in 12 century. It has a diameter of 4.20 meters and is just amazing inner sight of the chapel.

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Finally, Charlemagne was buried there after his death in 814. After that, for 595 years, the Aachen chapel was the church of coronation for thirty German kings and twelve queens.

Today,  in the glory of his name, the Charlemagne Prize is given for services to European unity.

Aachen is also renowned for its relaxed atmosphere, best experienced on a stroll through the historical streets. There are charming places that to the grand old buildings dotted along the Charlemagne Route.

 

As the city lies so close to the Belgian border, it was a matter of time to revisit. The opportunity came with my brother. Some 2 and a half hours of driving and the same back – we managed to explore it in less than one morning. I remember how shocked we were when we saw a palette of awkward people around. How did this glorious city become like this?

We entered the city through The Marschiertor. It is one of Aachen’s two remaining original city gates from the late 13th century. The gate was used as a soldiers barracks, a homeless shelter, and a hostel over the years before being restored in 2009.

Immediately at the entrance, we were filled with the nice cookies smell. It was the Aachener Printenkonfekt. Fresh-baked chocolate cookies have the entire history. The basis for the Aachener Printe was laid more than 350 years ago by bronze casters from Dinant in Belgium, who created “Gebildbrot” or “shaped bread”. In purely visual terms, the original Printe was similar to today’s “Spekulatius” biscuits. Then Napoleon arrived – imposing the Continental Blockade. Cut off from cane sugar and American wild blossom honey, Printe bakers were forced to improvise, with a rougher, tougher dough which was more difficult to form. This led to the birth of the flat, thin “Schnittprinte”, or “cut Printe”.

Aachen was a settlement since the Neolithic times. Interestingly enough, there was a Temple of Isis and Kybele found in this city. It is not known how this the goddess of healing and magic, crucial to ancient Egyptian religious beliefs found her way to Aachen. Along with them, the Roman spa started to grow.

Aachen Cathedral is one of the shiniest cathedrals in Germany. The interior shows an unusual amount of gold while the Byzantine-style mosaics add color and bling to what is in part a fairly dark building. The core of the cathedral is an octagon built by Charlemagne around AD 800. The lower level is fairly dark with low vaults, as it is the upper floor with tall arcs and high vaulting that was used by the emperor and high nobility. The choir and chapels are mostly Gothic additions. Many reliquaries and historic artworks are now in the treasury but the shrine of Charlemagne, the Mary reliquary, and other medieval works in the choir still impress.

Aachen Cathedral blends original Carolingian elements with later mostly Gothic decorations and additions as well as modern Byzantine-style mosaics.

When you get thirsty, Aachen offers its own local beer. Kölsch is one of the most strictly defined beer styles in Germany: according to the Convention, it is a pale, highly attenuated, hoppy, bright (i.e. filtered and not cloudy) top-fermenting beer, and must be brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot.

The Aachen Cathedral Treasury is a museum that houses religious and historical artifacts from the Classical, Carolingian, Ottonian, Hohenstaufen and Gothic eras. It is located next to the cathedral. I highly recommend to visit as the number of relics and golden religious artefacts and works of art is just stunning. Here just few:

Charlemagne’s right hand relic
Three Towers Reliquary (13th century). With fragments of St John the Baptist’s hair-shirt, Christ’s sweat-rag from the crucifixion and part of a rib of St Stephen.
Gothic Bust of Charlemagne
Roman sarcophagus, with depictions of abduction of Proserpina.
Coronation robe
These three reliquaries contain (left to right): The belt of the Virgin (Prague, 1360); the belt of Christ (Prague, c 1370/1380); and the flagellation rope of Christ (Prague, c 1380).
Cross of Lothar – a processional cross that is still used, dating from 1000.
 Lothar I, was a Holy Roman Emperor from 843-855.  The grandson of Charlemagne.

It was to eat. We found a cute beer house with local specialities. I totally forgot that this part of Europe likes to combine savoury food with jam. It was a surprise. You see what I am talking about:

Even Charlemagne was a bit sceptical!

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