Aachen Cathedral

아헨 대성당

Aachen Cathedral is a Catholic church in the city of Aachen, in western Germany. It is one of the oldest cathedral buildings in Europe. It began as the royal chapel of the palace of Charlemagne, the great ruler of the Franks, who was buried there in 814.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Country: Germany
Location: Aachen, Germany
Built: 805
Height: 74 m
Type: Religious building

Quick answers

Where is Aachen Cathedral?

Aachen Cathedral is in Aachen, Germany.

When was Aachen Cathedral built?

Aachen Cathedral was built in 805.

How tall is Aachen Cathedral?

Aachen Cathedral is about 74 m tall.

Built around Charlemagne’s octagonal Palatine Chapel, it was Germany’s first World Heritage Site.

Its heart is the eight-sided Palatine Chapel, built between 796 and 805, with a Gothic choir added later on its east end. In 1978 it was one of the first 12 sites placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, because of its artistry, its architecture and its central place in the history of the Holy Roman Empire. For over two hundred years the span and height of the chapel were unmatched north of the Alps.

Charlemagne's chapel

Charlemagne began the Palatine Chapel around 796, together with the rest of his palace, and its builder is credited as Odo of Metz. A letter from 798 says it was nearly finished, and Pope Leo III consecrated it in 805. It was modelled on Byzantine buildings such as the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. Inside, an eight-sided room about 14.5 metres across is circled by a sixteen-sided ring of arches with a gallery above. Its bronze railings were cast about 1,200 years ago.

A coronation church

From 936 to 1531, thirty-one German kings were crowned in the Palatine Chapel. After Charlemagne was declared a saint in 1165, the chapel drew pilgrims. A Gothic choir hall was added in 1355 to make room for the crowds, and a dome, more chapels and a steeple followed later. The cathedral was a church of canons for centuries, became a cathedral briefly from 1803 to 1825, and again in 1930 when the Diocese of Aachen was revived.

Survival and repair

A Viking raid damaged the chapel in 881, and it was restored in 983. In World War II, bombing and fighting wrecked much of Aachen, but the cathedral's basic structure survived. Many treasures had been moved to safe storage beforehand. Rebuilding the lost choir glass, altar and cloister parts took over 30 years. Even the columns have travelled: French troops carried the ancient columns off to Paris in 1794, and half of the ones in the Louvre were returned in 1815.

Fun facts

Charlemagne is buried here, and 31 German kings were crowned in it.
Thirty-one German kings were crowned here between 936 and 1531.
The chapel was modelled on San Vitale in Ravenna.
It was one of the first 12 places on the UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1978.
In Charlemagne's day the cathedral was plastered red, mixed with crushed red brick.