Baku, October 2, AZERTAC
Aachen Cathedral is the most important architectural example of the Carolingian Renaissance, where Emperor Charlemagne was crowned.
It is Emperor Charlemagne´s own Palatine Chapel, which constitutes the nucleus of the Cathedral of Aachen, located in western Germany.
The construction of the chapel between 793 and 813 symbolises the unification of the West and its spiritual and political revival under the aegis of Charlemagne. Originally inspired by the churches of the eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire, the octagonal core was splendidly enlarged in the Middle Ages. In 814, Charlemagne was buried here.
Charlemagne made the Frankish royal estate of Aachen, which had been serving a spa ever since the first century, his favourite abode.
The main buildings of the Imperial Palace area were the Coronation Hall (aula regia – located in today´s Town Hall) and the Palace Chapel – now Aachen Cathedral. The Palatine Chapel is based on an octagonal ground plan, which is surrounded by an aisle and by tribunes above, and roofed with a dome.
Facing the altar, the Emperor sat on the gallery; the Carolingian stone throne was the coronation seat of the kings of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation from the Middle Ages until 1531.
The chapel itself is easily recognizable from later additions by its distinctive structure. An atrium on the western side and a portico led to the imperial apartments. The Gothic choir and a series of chapels that were added throughout the Middle Ages created the composite array of features that characterised the cathedral.
The Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne is an excellent and distinctive example of the family of aulian chapels based on a central plan with tribunes.
In 1978, the cathedral became the first ever German cultural monument to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.