Concept, Designing and Building of Architecture's

Architect : Unknown
Location : Aachen, Germany
Date : 792 to 805
Building Type : Cathedral
Construction System : Bearing Masonry
Climate : Temperate
Context : Urban
Style : Romanesque

Aachen Cathedral, frequently referred to as the "Imperial Cathedral" (in German: Kaiserdom), is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages. For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, the Aachen chapel was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. The church is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Aachen.

Structure

Charles the Great (Charlemagne) began the construction of the Palatine Chapel around 792, along with the building of the rest of the palace structures.

It was consecrated in 805 by Pope Leo III in honour of the Virgin Mary. The core of the Aachen cathedral is the Palatine Chapel which is surprisingly small in comparison to the later additions.

In order to sustain the enormous flow of pilgrims in the Gothic period a choir hall was built: a two-part Capella vitrea (glass chapel) which was consecrated on the 600th anniversary of Charlemagne's death. In 1978, it was one of the first 12 items to make the entry into the UNESCO list of world heritage sites, as the first German and one of the first three European historical ensembles.