Aachen Cathedral
At the heart of Aachen Cathedral stands the octagonal Palatine Chapel, built on the orders of Charlemagne at the end of the 8th century — the first domed building north of the Alps since antiquity and the defining architectural achievement of the Carolingian Renaissance. The chapel was raised over the remains of a Roman bathhouse, designed by the Frankish architect Odo of Metz, and completed between roughly 795 and 803. Charlemagne himself is buried here, and from 936 to 1531 it served as the coronation church of the kings of Germany and Holy Roman Emperors — more than six centuries of unbroken ceremony. Successive ages added to the original: the Gothic choir to the east, and a ring of chapels in every direction. In 1978 it became the first site in Germany, and one of the first in the world, to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Step inside, and every corner — from gilded reliquary shrines to a thousand-year-old bronze door — holds a piece of imperial memory.
Germany · 28 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Aachen Cathedral Organs
Look up toward the flanks of the Gothic choir and the passage into the octagon: several organ cases hang suspended there. The main instrument you hear today was built by the master organ builder Johannes Klais in 1939, though its bloodline runs back to far earlier instruments. After repeated expansions, the combined installation now encompasses 94 stops, supported by two smaller auxiliary organs. To fill the vast space evenly with sound, the pipe divisions were deliberately scattered at different points around the cathedral rather than massed in one place.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Main Organ
Suspended in the northeast and southeast arches of the Gothic choir, the main organ is the cathedral's primary instrument. It descends from the 1939 Klais installation and still consists of two separate divisions — northeast and southwest — each with its own pedal division. The combined instrument has 64 stops spread across three manuals and a pedal board, with electric key and stop action. In 2018 three further stops were added, including two pipes on the main manual and a horizontal trumpet (*Tuba*) playable from any manual.
Hochmünster Organ
The *Hochmünster* organ hangs on the gallery between the octagon and the Gothic choir and is the youngest independent instrument in the cathedral's organ complex. Its predecessors were two swallow's-nest organs (*Schwalbennestorgeln*) built by Klais in 1939 — paired cases that hung directly on the east piers of the octagon like a pair of martins' nests. During the major 1991–1993 restoration by the Klais firm, the two instruments were merged into a single organ of 30 stops spread over three manuals and a pedal board, with mechanical key action and electric stop action. It has its own console but can also be played in combination with the main organ.
Sources: wikidata.org · de.wikipedia.org
Shrine of Charlemagne
The long golden casket at the centre of the Gothic choir holds the bones of Charlemagne. Measuring 2.04 metres long, 0.57 metres wide, and 0.94 metres high, it is covered in gilded silver, gilded bronze, cloisonné enamel, gemstones, and painted panels, and shaped like a single-nave church — the masterpiece of the 12th-century Mosan goldsmith tradition. Its origins lie in 1165, when Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) had Charlemagne's remains exhumed and pronounced him blessed; his grandson Frederick II formally enclosed the relics in 1215. The date chosen was not coincidental: 27 July 1215 was the anniversary of the Battle of Bouvines, which had settled the German succession dispute, and Frederick II had been formally crowned at Aachen just two days earlier.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Golden Altar Panel (Pala d'oro)
The long horizontal gold panel on the front of the high altar is the *Pala d'oro* (Italian: "golden altar panel"), one of the very few surviving early medieval metal altar frontals. It consists of 17 reliefs, all worked in sheet gold of 999.98‰ purity, and dates to the early 11th century; it is generally attributed to a donation from the Saxon imperial court and may have come from the same workshop as the Basel altar panel. The panel is arranged in a 4×3 grid (the current frame and layout are a 19th-century reassembly): at the centre, Christ sits within an almond-shaped mandorla, flanked by symbols of the four evangelists at the arcade crossings, with the Virgin Mary on one side and the archangel Michael slaying a dragon on the other.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Palatine Chapel
The core of today's Aachen Cathedral is this palace chapel — the *Pfalzkapelle* — which ha… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
All Saints' Chapel
Built in 1955, this is the youngest enclosed space in the cathedral complex, tucked into t… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: wikidata.org · goruma.de
Hungarian Chapel
This small chapel adjoining the Gothic choir on the south side of the octagon was added in… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Chapels of St. Nicholas and St. Michael
This two-storey Gothic chapel on the northwest of the octagon, built against the site of t… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org · goruma.de
St. Anne's Chapel
St. Anne's Chapel (*Annakapelle*) on the south side of the octagon, built in 1449, is the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
St. Matthias Chapel
St. Matthias Chapel (*Matthiaskapelle*), built in stages between 1379 and 1420, has served… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Chapels of St. Charles and St. Hubertus
This two-storey chapel on the northeast side of the octagon was begun in 1456 and consecra… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org · goruma.de
Architectural History Overview
Aachen Cathedral can be read as a compressed history of European architecture, with each e… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Roman and Early Christian Layers
Beneath the floor of Aachen Cathedral lie centuries in layers. The oldest traces of occupa… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Carolingian Period (9th–10th centuries)
Around 788, Charlemagne decided to settle permanently at Aachen — the moment he abandoned… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Site Choice and Design Concept
Choosing Aachen as the imperial capital was not an accident. After 788, Charlemagne increa… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Scale and Geometry of the Octagon
The geometry of the octagon was not arbitrary. It rises 31.40 metres high, with foundation… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Central Octagon and Sixteen-Sided Gallery
Standing in the centre of the octagon and looking up, you are looking at the first domed b… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
West Tower and Entrance Porch
The west tower (*Westwerk*) on the cathedral's west side is original Carolingian fabric: w… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Atrium
In the Carolingian era, a three-sided atrium stood in front of the west tower: its north a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
East Structure
In the Carolingian era, the east side of the sixteen-sided main body was joined by a two-s… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
North and South Annexes
On both the north and south sides of the palace chapel stood two-storey annexes, linked to… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Ottonian Period (10th–11th centuries)
The Ottonian rulers treated Aachen Cathedral as a sacred seat of royal power. Charlemagne'… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Hohenstaufen Period (11th–13th centuries)
The Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) hung an elaborate wheel-shaped chandelie… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Romanesque Remodelling
The exterior of the octagon was remodelled in Romanesque style in two phases. After the ci… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Choir
The Gothic choir (*Chor*) is the "glass chapel" (*capella vitrea*) built in the 14th centu… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Chapel Complex
The Carolingian octagon is surrounded by additions from every age. The Gothic choir to the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Cloister
The cloister (*Kreuzgang*) on the south side of the cathedral was built between 1187 and 1… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Aachen Cathedral?
Aachen Cathedral Organs, Main Organ, Hochmünster Organ and more — 28 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Aachen Cathedral guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 23 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).