Aachen Cathedral: Charlemagne’s Legacy in Stone & Legend

Lina: Welcome to World Heritage Rookies— the podcast where we explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites one episode at a time! We are Lina

Ralf: and Ralf and we will travel alongside you to some of the most stunning sites our world has to offer.

Lina: Each week, we dive into the history, fun facts, and reasons why World Heritage Sites matter for humanity, sharing our own discoveries and travel tips along the way.

Ralf: So, let's dive in and learn about some World Heritage together!

Lina: Welcome everybody to our third episode of World Heritage Rookies. If you are new here, nice to meet you. My name is Lina.

Ralf: And I'm Ralf, and if you're not new here, thank you very much for keeping faithful to us and continuing to listen to us rambling about World Heritage sites.

Lina: I hope it's interesting, and I hope if you're new, you are gonna get to know some interesting facts. And today's episode is Ralf's responsibility. So Ralf, where are we going to talk today?

Ralf: No pressure. Yes, today we're gonna talk about probably my favorite World Heritage site for very specific reasons that I'm gonna go quickly into, but I think also the one that you do not really want to learn much more about, right?

Lina: I do have to admit I know too much, and that's an issue because I will pretend to be surprised though.

Ralf: That's good, so you can play along like you still learn something new from me. But no, we're gonna talk today about Aachen Cathedral, which is not only the first European World Heritage site we're gonna talk about in this podcast, but it's actually also the first World Heritage site that was designated in Germany in the year 1978. And as a bit of a background why Lina is sort of tired of hearing about this, this podcast is not the first attempt of me to scratch the creative itch that I have to talk about World Heritage sites.

Lina: I think that this is your fourth project ongoing. It always starts with Aachen Cathedral, and it's really interesting because you really are a creative person, I think so.

Ralf: Thank you.

Lina: But you are terrible at finalizing things.

Ralf: Yeah, I like to come up with new ideas. And like Lina said, every time I had a certain idea about World Heritage stuff, I was always starting with Germany because that's what I feel most comfortable with, and well, Aachen Cathedral comes first on the list. But it's actually also the first World Heritage site in this podcast that we have visited ourselves, so we will be able to share some of our own experiences. But that's going to come further along, so I think before I jump into telling a bit about the history and what I think is worth knowing about Aachen Cathedral, we are starting with you, Lina. What do you know about Aachen Cathedral? You should know a lot from what was just discussed, so no pressure on you right now, but what do you remember most or what pops into your mind when we're talking about Aachen Cathedral?

Lina: Always Charlemagne, and I think that he is going to be the main character of this podcast. Interesting guy, to be honest, and this is the center of power he created and the legend in some sense. And so, I mean, I can keep talking, but that will be just maybe taking some points out of what you have prepared, so let's dive in.

Ralf: Yes. I mean, for sure Charlemagne is going to be a big part of what I'm going to talk about. Especially, he's going to be the starting point as a bit of background.

Lina: The superstar.

Ralf: The superstar. And yeah, spoiler: he will make his reappearances in this podcast because there are more World Heritage sites linked to him, but more about that to follow.

Lina: And I love that every time we visit one, he's like, "Guess who was here?" or "Guess who created this?" or "Guess who put money on this?"

Ralf: Yes, definitely a recurring theme, at least in the German-speaking world. But yeah, before I jump into telling you and our listeners more about the history and interesting facts about Aachen Cathedral, as usual, I will quickly start with giving an overview of the sources that we used. You will as regularly find them in the podcast notes so you can follow along. But yeah, like in past times, I think our two main sources are always the official website from UNESCO, where you can find more details about the listings, and also the community for World Heritage travelers, which is worldheritagesite.org. Apart from that, obviously, for the more detailed information, I took a look at websites like the Encyclopedia Britannica for Aachen Cathedral and the World History Encyclopedia with information about Charlemagne. I took a look at the official website, obviously, of Aachen Cathedral, which is aachenerdom.de, where you can get more information. And then also, I took a look at some very specific websites for the German market, like welterbe-deutschland.de, which talks about German World Heritage, and the website for the pilgrimage in Aachen, which we're also going to talk about. And for some of the travel tips, I took a look at a travel blog from, I think his name is Michael Turtle, and he has some really, really cool World Heritage trips that he discovered and describes at Time Travel Turtle. And last but not least, I also took some of the information from reading one of my favorite magazines. So, no advertisement here, but—

Lina: I mean, it could be in the future. Just heads up.

Ralf: But yeah, I'm a big fan of the German history magazine called GEO Epoche, which I also used as a source.

Lina: A really good magazine. Unfortunately, it's in German, but if you are learning German, this is an amazing tool to practice your language.

Ralf: And so I also took a look at some of the maps. I mean, obviously, I will not be able to post them due to copyright reasons, but I will give the sources, which are actually the magazine issues where you can learn more about not just Aachen Cathedral and Charlemagne, but in general about the Franks, so I can also recommend you checking that out. Yes. And with that out of the way, let me get started with the history part. And as you said, especially some information about Charlemagne, because you have to know a bit about him in order to understand the significance and the importance of Aachen Cathedral for overall Germany, and especially in this part when it is relevant. Okay, so Charlemagne, his German name is Karl der Große, and in English, you might know him as Charles the Great. What's it in Spanish?

Lina: Carlomagno.

Ralf: Okay, yeah, so a really recurring theme there for sure about emphasizing "the Great." So Charlemagne is generally considered the first emperor of the West in the Middle Ages after the downfall of the Roman Empire. And he became the sole ruler of the Frankish Empire after the death of his father and brother. So already during the time of his father, the Frankish Empire, which in the beginning stretched mainly to today's France as the main area, but also towards the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, was quite expanded. But it was especially Charlemagne who took a huge part in making it become a real powerhouse in the Middle Ages. And when his father died, for a short period, he actually was sort of a co-ruler with his brother. And in all of the sources that I read, there's a little bit of uncertainty about how his relationship was with his brother. Some say that they got along, but in the GEO Epoche magazine I recently read, it seemed a bit more like there was more tension, and it was not that bad of a situation that happened when his brother died. There is no indication that he died because of Charlemagne. I did not find out why he died. It is never in any way associated with Charlemagne himself, but I can assume it was not something that he was sad about.

Lina: Also, he was the all-powerful emperor of the Franks, so I guess that he could rewrite a couple of historical facts if he liked. Of course, we're not saying he did.

Ralf: Yes, true. I mean, as we always know, history is in the end written by the winners. So the fact is, after the death of his father and also after the death of his brother, Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks. And over the next decades, he was really, really keen on expanding the borders of his empire, mostly through campaigns and military force. So he was by the end able to expand the territory of the Franks to areas of today's France, Belgium, the Netherlands, big parts of Germany, northern Italy, and parts of Spain also. And he had been fighting a lot of enemies during his time. His most famous campaigns were against the Saxons. And the way he always justified it was that Charlemagne was a devout Christian, and he saw it as sort of his duty to bring Christianity to the pagan people in Europe. And especially the Saxons in Germany's area, they were mostly still practicing pagan worship. And this was probably his longest and most fierce campaign that he had, but in the end, he was able to really expand to a big, sort of unified empire. Yes.

Lina: I do have a question. Do we have any historical information about his personality, what he was known as? This expansionist, strong ruler, or was he known for his strategies? What does history say about it?

Ralf: So he is actually known for multiple things. He was for sure considered a very strong military figure and somebody who, in a way, had to be ruthless. It's like that for any kind of ruler who wants to expand their empire or their kingdom through force; you have to be somewhat ruthless. So especially in the beginning, he was a man of power, and he knew how to get what he wanted. But as I will mention later, he became also known afterwards as somebody who was very focused on making sure his rule would become prosperous, and that he would foster literature, art, and anything else. And this is also the foundation of what, for example, led to the creation of Aachen Cathedral. So in general, he was considered a very good fighter but also a very good ruler. And especially when it's written with Christianity in the background, and you know a lot of the medieval records are coming from Christian or church sources, he was sort of always portrayed as a defender of the faith and like a true hero and champion of Christianity. And yes, this is actually a bit of a good handover because after his very successful expansion to the various regions that I mentioned before, his court in Aachen, which became one of the centerpieces of his whole empire, really also became an intellectual center of this empire. This was because he was really keen on supporting literature, language, education, and architecture. And that's especially why the period when he had been fostering and really attracting a lot of intellectuals of his time towards Aachen is considered the Carolingian Renaissance, because it was a shining time for fostering and furthering knowledge. And sort of his main achievement, or like the highlight of his whole career, was then in the year 800, because this was when he was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day.

Lina: Talking about symbolism, right?

Ralf: Yeah, and also talking about making a show, which was clearly the culmination of his political ambitions. And also here, I found it interesting that there were some disagreements in the sources. Some were saying this was obviously clearly his goal. Others were like he felt a little bit of pressure from the Pope himself because, as you can imagine, Charlemagne had control basically up to the borders of Rome with all of northern Italy under his control. So he was a powerful neighbor of the Pope, and some were saying it was more like the Pope sort of forced this on him to make sure, "Okay, my neighbor is going to defend me and not be my enemy." Yeah, I think in the end it was for sure something, as powerful as he had been, that he had planned and that he was clearly involved with. The whole symbolism of just being declared the Holy Roman Emperor, the successor to the Roman Empire, the big, shining beacon of civilization within Europe—that's nothing that just happens without you being involved, especially for a person as powerful as Charlemagne. But as we also will see, this will have repercussions through history and significance for centuries ahead. And because of all of these combinations, really, Charlemagne is even in today's time still considered the father of modern Europe. This is because, first, he played a big role in uniting most of Western Europe, even though it was through military force, but he was able to really combine an empire like how it had not been since the time of the Roman Empire and the downfall of the Roman Empire. And also because he laid the foundation for the development of later European nations with this, fostering sciences and architecture with the way he had been really trying to make sure that his place was becoming a beacon for culture and architecture in the future. And this is why, until today, I think Charlemagne is one of the most well-known European rulers and still considered one of the most important, who was also an inspiration for other people. I think, for example, Napoleon was also trying to follow sort of in the footsteps of Charlemagne.

Lina: Louis XIV, the Sun King, was also really obsessed. I think that something I found really interesting is that he became this kind of hero symbol across the Middle Ages. His successors, not directly but indirectly, kind of always wanted to come back to this empire. Unfortunately, nobody really came as close as maybe Napoleon, but otherwise, I think that he became a symbol, and that symbol was replicated across the Middle Ages.

Ralf: Yeah, definitely. That was something very relevant about him. And yeah, like I mentioned before, he was really related to Aachen and obviously also then Aachen Cathedral. So, the background is, when he became the ruler or when he expanded his empire, it was very quickly that he chose Aachen actually as his main residence. As far as I learned, as the ruler, you would have multiple places or palaces where you would then stay because wherever you end up in your own empire, you need a place where you can stay, but apparently, Aachen became his favorite location. And there are multiple theories why. The first is that, for people who visit Aachen today, it is located near thermal springs with hot water springs, and this was something that he really enjoyed about Aachen.

Lina: He liked it as a spa?

Ralf: He liked the spa. I do not remember 100% if it was because he had some kind of disease or sickness that caused him pain and the thermal springs helped him, but definitely that was one of the reasons that was very often named why it was relevant for him. And the other was just the geographic location of Aachen, which was very central within the whole region of his lands. And also, supposedly, it was because it had forests around it and he loved to hunt, so he would enjoy the hunting grounds around him. But anyway, Aachen became under Charlemagne a really, really important place. So when he began the construction of this palace chapel, also called the Carolingian Church of Saint Mary, or as we will know it a lot more, the Palatine Chapel, it's not 100% sure when it was constructed. They say it probably began between 790 and 800 CE. Most sources that I found stated that the construction began in 793, actually, and it was then finished around 813. And when it comes to what he chose, you see a lot of what he already was going for as a foundation. This building, which was part of his ruling court and housing complex assigned to him as a ruler in Aachen, was built on the remains of a Roman thermal complex—so, symbolism, yeah—and a smaller chapel before that. And it was from the beginning meant to surpass all the churches that were built north of the Alps at the time in its form and its size, and it had so much symbolism. As you said, first, its design, which you can still look at today. The design was inspired by typical Eastern Roman building traditions, particularly churches that you would find in the Byzantine areas. So the most common inspiration that is named is the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna. Now, when we were in northern Italy, I told you that we were not able to visit Ravenna yet, but this is one of the places that we should definitely go because what you can see there, and the designs there, is really, really great. Again, coming to the fact that we will go to places with Charlemagne, so yeah, I'm sorry for dragging you to all the places where Charlemagne is represented, but when you see the San Vitale Church in Ravenna, you will understand how it was considered an inspiration for Aachen Cathedral. And yes, but you do not only have inspirations from the Byzantine traditions, you also have elements from classical Roman traditions and Greek traditions, and also then Frankish culture. So this blend of different styles is really called the Carolingian style and Carolingian architecture, and it's a very unique thing. And what are some of the key elements? It's like, for example, the octagonal core, which was really something very unique when we visited and you do not see that often. But the whole octagonal core with the number eight, and then you have columns and the floors up ahead with, for example, some 16 pillars. All of these different numbers symbolized something when it came to the Christian belief. And also, what was interesting, they were especially making sure that you do not make it super wide, but actually very high. Because even the core today, it's not very broad, but it's very, very high, and you can reach different heights. And yeah, what is also interesting to know is that only one year after the completion of this central part of the cathedral today, Charlemagne actually died. So he died in Aachen on the 28th of January in the year 814, and he was buried already that same evening in St. Mary's Church, which is today the central octagonal part. The body was actually later transferred to a large shrine, which was built in 1215, made of oak and covered in various precious materials. And until today, his remains are displayed prominently in the middle of the Gothic choir, which is another big part of the church that I will quickly come to. But I think for us, yeah, this was like one of the fascinating things—to really come to the place where you could see the remains of Charlemagne.

Lina: I think that entering, especially if you have never seen a building with Carolingian style, it's really breathtaking, I think so. This is because it combines, as you say, really interestingly a lot of aesthetic statements from around the world, especially from cultures that were really popular at the time. The Byzantines, which is really interesting because they were not on good terms at this time, so that is also interesting. If you have not seen the images of the church and you are thinking of visiting, do not look them up. I think let yourself be surprised by how interesting the artistic style of the church is.

Ralf: Yeah, that is a good recommendation because especially how well it blends. You have these clearly Byzantine elements, especially with the huge mosaic at the top in the dome of the center, which is a replica of what is supposed to be original because the original was unfortunately destroyed. But then also all the marble columns that you see in the upper floors and its different styles work so well together. And yeah, that's also interesting in the fact because there was definitely tension between the Byzantine Empire at this time and Charlemagne. Because, as you know, the Byzantine Empire was the surviving, longer-surviving part of the former United Roman Empire as the Eastern Roman Empire, and they saw themselves as the successors of the Roman Empire, because they used to be part strictly speaking. And then when you have suddenly somebody saying, "Hey, I'm now the new emperor of Western Europe, and I'm the successor of the Romans," it was actually reported that this led to some tensions with the Byzantine rulers at that time.

Lina: I think there is a huge debate about who really was, but at the end of the day, I think that it's interesting that because of this kind of debate, we have today amazing cultural and artistic developments that have lasted until today. I think that that's maybe another episode where we will dive a little bit more into this medieval debate of who was the absolute successor of the Romans, which at the end of the day, I mean, they fell for a reason, so—

Ralf: True. Yeah, so that's a little bit about the starting of Aachen Cathedral, quickly jumping through the later history. So some of the interesting facts about it involve what I mentioned before about the importance of symbolism. For a very, very long time, actually, Aachen Cathedral served as the coronation church for the German rulers. From the coronation of King Otto I in the year 936 until 1531—so more than 600 years—the Carolingian chapel or the Palatine chapel served as a coronation site for German kings and queens. So 30 kings and 12 queens were crowned there, and all of it took place such that they would receive possession of the empire on the marble imperial throne, which you can still see today on the upper floor of Aachen Cathedral. This was supposed to be the throne of Charlemagne himself, but we cannot know for sure. Until today, it's very often told that it's Charlemagne's throne, but nobody can say for sure that it actually was the throne of Charlemagne.

Lina: And let me ruin it for you: they don't let you sit on it.

Ralf: Yeah, good thing you didn't try to sit on it. You can only go there under guidance.

Lina: Yeah, they don't. They're really—I mean, I understand it's a symbol, nobody will sit on it, but it's marble. You could actually sit.

Ralf: Yeah. So, the first thing is that you could see even after the death of Charlemagne, Aachen Cathedral had very high historical significance as a coronation site. Apart from that also, what is very interesting about the cathedral today is that it really reflects different centuries of changing architecture and significance. So the original Carolingian building, which is at the moment today like the domed center, the domed octagon—this is still mostly intact and it has these two floors that are surrounding it. And it has been extended over the centuries via other things. Probably the most famous I would assume today is the Gothic choir, which is like a huge hall that has been attached towards the octagonal center. And I would assume the most impressive things there are for sure the windows, right?

Lina: I mean decorative style, definitely. I mean the windows are massive, are highly decorated, and it is just a lot of artistic differences in between. So you can look at the windows and say, "A typical Gothic style," and then turn and see Byzantine, and then turn and see a little bit more of a Greek style. It's really a mix of everything. It's like everything in a pot, but it works.

Ralf: Yeah, it works amazingly. And especially that Gothic choir with its huge stained glass windows is just absolutely breathtaking to look at. From my research, it's over 1,000 square meters of glass that is built in there, and that's why it sometimes also gets the nickname "the Glass House of Aachen." And if my research is correct, actually, it was added from the year 1355. So there has been more than 500 years of difference since the construction of the core part of it, but it is today also, I think, probably the second most famous part of the whole building. And apart from that, also other smaller chapels and styles were added or remodeled, and you can also visit them today. They're not as impressive, I would have to admit, as the choir and also the octagonal core, but still, the whole experience is just something that is really amazing. And last but not least, unfortunately, as you can imagine from a building of this age, there have been some parts of it that have been destroyed and had to be renovated. First thing, the cathedral suffered very severe damage during the year 1656 when a huge fire ravaged Aachen, which destroyed big parts, for example, the roofs, tower, and other especially wooden parts of the whole building. It was used during the French occupation, and unfortunately, it also took some damage; some parts of it were looted. For example, I found information that 32 of the ancient columns were removed from the first floors.

Lina: What, Napoleon took something? Unbelievable.

Ralf: Yeah, I know. It is really, really surprising, but this is also something that was like, yeah, okay, you can be a big fan of Charlemagne, but then leave the stuff at the place that he made himself. But I'm diverting. And lastly, you can also imagine that the building was heavily damaged during World War II. There was bombing and artillery fire that happened, and luckily, the basic structures and everything else survived. But over time, extensive restorations took place, and until today, it's something that is very, very heavily under restoration efforts to make sure it stays intact. And yeah, probably the most famous restorations were especially the mosaic that you would see in the dome of the thing, which was finished in the 19th century, again after it had been destroyed before. But until today, it really is a very, very great example still.

Lina: I think that something that, I mean, it's still unbelievable is it's a building that is more than 1,200 or 1,300 years old, so it's still impressive that at least pretty much the structural part of the building is standing. Yes, so I mean, I think that that's how we have to appreciate it.

Ralf: Yeah, that's true. Yes, so this is like mostly about the history—not as fast as I thought it would be. But yes, spoiler, I mean, that's what I said, that I really like to talk about Aachen Cathedral. Coming also a little bit to some fun facts and stories, do you remember the legend that we were told there about the importance that the devil had in building Aachen Cathedral?

Lina: I think that I remember the door, but not exactly. No, no. Also, it was in German, let's not forget that. I think I did not understand to 100%.

Ralf: Fair point, but the door is definitely a part of it. So the legend says that when the cathedral construction was going on, they ran out of money, and somehow a gentleman appeared smelling of sulfur and I don't know what, and said like he could help with that, and he would need in exchange only the soul of the first living being that would enter the church as soon as it had been completed. And I assume they thought, "Yeah, that's a good idea. I mean, nothing to suspect from this nice guy who is offering us money but smells like sulfur." But obviously, that was the devil who was trying to get the souls of the first people that walked into the Aachen Cathedral. But the smart people of Aachen, they were able to trick him because, obviously, they did not want to lose a human soul. So when it was completed, what they did is they caught a she-wolf—so a female wolf—and let the wolf run first over the threshold of the cathedral so that they were able to still fulfill the pact with the devil, but he did not claim a human soul, only the soul of an animal.

Lina: Which is bad as well, that's not good.

Ralf: Yeah, poor wolf, right? But the devil was so frustrated that he got sort of tricked by them that he slammed the main door, and he slammed that so hard that his thumb got stuck inside it and actually ripped off. And until today, there is a hole in the main portal which is supposed to symbolize the place where the devil's thumb was in. And yeah, when you touch inside the hole, you actually feel a little bit of cold iron. It's still a story that is told until today.

Lina: Most likely from the materials, but the story is still on.

Ralf: I love sort of these legends. I mean, you come to so many places, especially churches, and you hear about all of these legends and stories, and I find it just always so interesting what the local unique twist about it could be.

Lina: I think in every church there are these kinds of stories, and it's always a way to show how much the devil wanted to build churches, because he's always then helping actually to build the churches. Which makes you think a lot about the budgeting of the creation of these amazing, stunning structures.

Ralf: Apart from that, I think some interesting stuff to know about Aachen Cathedral involves the Aachen pilgrimage. So actually, what I did not know before learning more about Aachen is that it's really actually a huge pilgrimage site until today. Since the year 1349—so also a really, really long time already—the Aachen pilgrimage, or in German it is also called Heiligtumsfahrt, takes place every seven years. I think it lasts for about 10 days, and it has apparently visitors coming in from all over Europe and actually all over the world. This is because what is happening is that you will see on display four famous relics that were supposed to belong to St. Mary, Jesus Christ, and also John the Baptist. So the four relics are, first, a robe that was supposed to belong to St. Mary; the swaddling cloths of Jesus Christ; then the loincloth in which John the Baptist's head was wrapped after his head was cut off; and lastly, also the loincloth from Jesus. Some sources said, I think, that it was the one that he wore when he actually was crucified. Some others just said it was a loincloth. And this is sort of apparently a tradition that goes back towards Charlemagne, who had a collection of precious relics. As you can imagine, as a devout Christian, he was also interested in collecting relics associated with the faith. And until today, you can visit these relics; they are only actually exhibited during the days of the pilgrimage. And to my knowledge, the next one should be in 2030 actually, because the last one was in 2023, and if it's every seven years, the next one should be coming in 2030. So if you're listening to this episode and you already know you have nothing else to do in 2030, it might be something to keep on the calendar. Normally it takes place in June, or at least in summer as far as I know. And also something very worth visiting is the treasury of the cathedral, which we also visited during our time there. This is by itself, I think, not officially a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it is associated with it, and until today it holds very important, extensive church treasury objects that also go back over time, starting with Charlemagne beginning his collection of very valuable things. It has about 130 different works of art, which include really, really beautiful liturgical objects, books, manuscripts, and reliquaries that were given as gifts to Charlemagne and also other rulers around them. Probably the most famous ones are the Cross of Lothair, which is a huge, wonderfully ornated cross made of precious metals and with gemstones, and you can also find there a silver and golden bust of Charlemagne himself, which is supposed to hold a part of his skull.

Lina: I think that the treasury, as Ralf said, maybe by itself is not as impressive as you could imagine beforehand, but it's really, really nice to visit. So please, if you plan to visit in 2030, or earlier plan, an afternoon in the treasury is really, really nice, and especially as a complimentary thing—seeing the church and then the treasury and seeing all these marvelous objects—it's really breathtaking.

Ralf: Yeah, it was—it was definitely worth it. So having talked now about what we think is worth knowing about Aachen Cathedral, jumping then to the section where we say, why is it a World Heritage Site? Do you remember how many criteria it fulfills?

Lina: No, no I don't, but I will say at least two.

Ralf: More. So it actually is fulfilling four cultural criteria.

Lina: Oh, one of those.

Ralf: Yeah, one of many ones. So the first one it fulfills is criterion number one: it's a masterpiece of human creative genius, and as I described before, especially because of the blend of its different styles. You have the Greek and Roman inspired columns, you have the beautiful bronze doors at the beginning, you have the mosaics and the clear inspiration of Byzantine styles. This whole blend since its inception and its building has been considered an exceptional artistic building. And also the huge dome and vaulted structure—it was, at the time of its building, very unique in its way. So this is why it's first fulfilling this whole criterion of a masterpiece of human creative genius with the blend of styles that you have there. Then, as I mentioned before, it's a sign of cultural exchange. So this is criterion number two, and there you can see first, like I mentioned before, the definition of the Carolingian architectural style with the classical and the Byzantine traditions. These traditions and what you can also see today with other styles that belong in there have served as an inspiration for a lot of other religious buildings during the Carolingian Renaissance. You could imagine people thinking, "Hey, that building was in the de facto capital of our emperor, and so we want to do something similar." So until the late medieval period, it had really, really high importance for the European continent, inspiring the copies that it had there. And this is also part of why it meets criterion number four, which is a heritage of special importance to human history, because it serves as a very good example of a so-called Aulean chapel. These are chapels that are related to a palace complex, how it was considered before, with its central planning going around. And last but not least, it is linked to events of very high significance for world history—so this is criterion number six. And like we mentioned before, it is related or linked to the unification of the West that was considered under Charlemagne, and the importance it held for him as a palatine chapel, the political revival of Europe, and the Carolingian Renaissance under his rule. It is until today his final resting place, and it has served as a coronation church for the different rulers of the German Empire, like I mentioned before. And all of this combination—from its architectural importance, its historical importance, and also the importance it holds regarding faith now with the pilgrimage and with the treasury—this is why it is considered a World Heritage Site and so significant for human history.

Lina: At the end of the day, and I think that it's really important to mention as well, it is a church. But when you see that basically the creation of this church and the development of Aachen as a city pretty much began this concept of European values—because after the Roman Empire fell, it was complete chaos for a couple of centuries—this was the first time that this cultural development in Europe actually happened. And it really opened the door to 1,000 more years of European history, values, and what is considered European.

Ralf: That's true. And it is just very fascinating to experience while visiting Aachen Cathedral. I think this is a good introduction to our last segment, which is coming up about travel tips. I think some of the travel tips you already mentioned organically and naturally while talking. But yeah, first definitely, as you mentioned it before, I think we would definitely recommend that you take a guided tour inside Aachen Cathedral. To my knowledge, they should also be accessible in English. When we were there, I could not find any booking time for any English tours, but at least when I checked the website, they mentioned that there are also international tours.

Lina: So maybe just book in advance to make sure you can also have it in different languages.

Ralf: Yeah, but to make it clear, you do not need to book a tour, for which you obviously will need to pay, if you just want to visit the main cathedral, so that admission is free. But if you want to visit certain parts of it—first, if you want to go into the Gothic choir where you will see, for example, the resting place of the remains of Charlemagne and also the sort of reliquary where the relics are being held when they are not shown during the Aachen pilgrimage—you can only access this part of the choir with a guided tour. Also, you can only go to the upper floors of the Palatine Chapel, where you can see actually the imperial throne, as a part of a guided tour.

Lina: Where you cannot sit.

Ralf: Yeah, the one where you cannot, and definitely, definitely should not sit, Lina.

Lina: Unless you want to meet a German jail.

Ralf: I don't know if it's that bad, but I mean, definitely you should not do it. Yeah, like Lina mentioned, you can book online, but also you can get normally tickets without too much problem available at the information center and the box office, which is close by.

Lina: Pretty much in front of it.

Ralf: Yeah, we bought it actually there if I remember correctly. Yeah.

Lina: We didn't book in advance, unfortunately. That's the reason why we took the tour in German, and I didn't understand everything, but it's a really nice tour, and I think that it was not that expensive. Do you remember how much it was?

Ralf: I do not remember, to be honest. And also, probably by the time somebody is listening to this, it might have changed. It was not that expensive. But what then also would come with this: if you also want to visit the treasury, for the treasury, obviously, you will have to pay extra entrance. This is not part of the cathedral by itself; it's very closely related to it, but we thought it was definitely worth it. It was very interesting to see the exhibitions in there. You also have lockers there in the treasury; that was for us very helpful so we could store some of our luggage, or more specifically backpacks, there while we were exploring around. There's also definitely a recommendation to visit the treasury if you have the time. I think normally one to one and a half hours should be enough to experience the treasury at a leisurely pace. So I would normally assume if you take for all of Aachen Cathedral and the treasury around three hours, that is a very, very comfortable, unhurried timeline.

Lina: Also, the church and the treasury and the whole complex are in this main square of the city. So also have some time to explore the main center. There is a really nice park around, and there is also a really nice shopping area where you can really explore small stores and some more typical food-driven products that they sell there. So maybe also plan—I mean, I would say one day to explore Aachen and its center, the church, and the treasury would be a good time.

Ralf: Yeah, it's a very beautiful town, in my opinion. One of the major sites that also a lot of people like to visit is the Elisenbrunnen, which is the Elise Fountain. The water coming out of it is related to the hot springs around there, so you will smell it before you see it because it has a very, very distinguishable and notable sulfur smell to it.

Lina: Maybe the man that offered the money was just in the spa, I mean.

Ralf: Maybe, we do not know. This is also a very, very famous site that is super close by. I think you can nearly explore everything in Aachen on foot. And I think what is also, when you're somebody who's interested in visiting different World Heritage sites, very convenient about Aachen is its location. This is because it's very easy to reach other areas in western Germany, for example, but also it does not take long until you're in the Netherlands or until you're in Belgium. We actually used Aachen for us as a sort of center for traveling around and visiting different World Heritage sites in Germany but also in Belgium. So when you plan a trip around there and you're interested in visiting multiple World Heritage sites, look at what's around because you can really combine it very well, and the connections via buses or trains are very convenient.

Lina: I think that that was the reason why we actually explored Aachen on the last day. That's why we were with our backpacks, because we took Aachen as a center and we traveled each day to a different place, and the last day was completely booked for Aachen. So maybe if you are—even if you are not interested in World Heritage sites, you can also explore many, many cities that are really beautiful around. So maybe just check it out to have some days apart for different sites around Aachen. It's a really central city in this region.

Ralf: Yeah, it was really convenient. And I think also, as a last piece of information to keep in mind, we have mentioned multiple times that it is a church. It is still an active church, so you have to sort of also respect the sacred nature. So dress decently—go perhaps not there with teeny tiny shorts or just a bikini top. That is something that will be frowned upon. But I think more importantly, it is that there are still active masses held, so the church might be closed due to any kind of church events going on. So it's always a good recommendation to check the website, which you will find also linked in our various supporting sources like the show notes. But also, we will link it on our Instagram channel for this podcast, which is @worldheritagerookies. So check out the website beforehand to get some further information and to see if there might be any conflicts for your own scheduling.

Lina: Also, we will be posting some images—of course not from the inside, because as we mentioned, we want you to not have expectations and just come into it and feel how it feels by yourself. So we will also post some tips, so please check it out @worldheritagerookies.

Ralf: I think this is everything that we sort of wanted to share especially regarding travel tips. Did we forget anything? Does something come to mind?

Lina: Charlemagne rules.

Ralf: Yeah, I hope that I made this clear enough during this episode. But no, then I think I'm done with talking about probably one of my favorite World Heritage sites.

Lina: This is going to be a really sad episode afterwards because he's going to sit in a corner and say, "It's over. I already talked about everything I could talk about."

Ralf: Well, luckily I know I will still be able to talk about more stuff related to Charlemagne in the future, so

Lina: Yes, there are a lot of sites. So thank you so much for listening.

Ralf: Thank you. Yes.

Lina: We will wait for you for the next one. Quite interesting, I think, so it's my turn, so that's why I say it.

Ralf: Yes, I'm quite sure it will be interesting. No clear information yet, but to let you know, we're not going to stay in Europe; we're actually traveling back to the Americas. Not like in our first two episodes to Ecuador—not again this time—but still the Americas, and I'm very much looking forward to our next episode. Until then, thank you so much for listening, take care, and see you hopefully for the next episode.

Lina: Goodbye.

Ralf: Bye bye.