Emperor Charlemagne and Aachen
Life and Work
- Charlemagne was born in 748 as the son of the Frankish king Pippin.
- His coronation as King of the Franks took place in 768 in Noyon in what is now northern France.
- He was crowned emperor on Christmas Day in 800 by Pope Leo III in Rome.
PROGRESS. He strengthened Christianity, promoted education and culture and laid the foundations for the later Holy Roman Empire with his coronation as emperor.
EXPANSION. In the 8th and 9th centuries, he united the Frankish Empire and for the first time created a large empire that encompassed large parts of modern-day Europe. His influence continues to shape European identity to this day (‘Father of Europe’).
St Mary’s Church. From 798 (+/- 5 years), he had a palace (palace complex) built on today’s Rathaushügel in Aachen, which had existed since Roman times, and the Church of St Mary (now the cathedral) to the south of it. It is the only church built by Charles.
END OF LIFE. In the last years of his life, Charles lived permanently in Aachen. He died on 28 January 814 and was initially buried in an ancient marble sarcophagus, which can now be seen in the cathedral treasury.
CANONISATION. Because of his services to the spread of Christianity, Frederick I Barbarossa had him canonised in 1165. Charlemagne is still honoured today as a saint of the city of Aachen. The Romanesque shrine of Charlemagne in the choir hall of the cathedral has contained a large part of his remains since 1215.
The Imperial Throne
The most important facts
The outer marble chair consists of four marble slabs from Roman times. The marble was probably once used as flooring. The slabs are joined together with simple bronze brackets. The throne complex has grown historically and has been repeatedly altered over the centuries. It has the character of a temporary structure rather than a planned and representative installation. In terms of its artistic and architectural status and the quality of its craftsmanship, the ensemble cannot compete with its sophisticated surroundings, Charlemagne’s church building and its furnishings.
A description
- The marble features numerous carvings from antiquity and the Middle Ages, such as a mill game on the right-hand side of the throne.
- The lower part of the rear panel was replaced by an oak board in the late Middle Ages.
- Inside there is a wooden stool made of three oak panels (now on display in the Centre Charlemagne).
- The marble chair is set into a two-part limestone plinth, which stands on four pillars, creating a kind of passageway under the throne.
- A staircase provides access to the marble seat. Four of the steps were cut out of an ancient marble column; the curves are still recognisable.
- Directly behind the throne is the altar of St Nicholas, which was consecrated in 1305.
Is it Charles‘ throne?
Coronations in Aachen
Charlemagne. Charlemagne listened daily to the choir prayers of the clergy and the Holy Masses in his St Mary’s Church. It is not known whether he had a permanent seat. A throne is not mentioned in any written sources.
Ludwig and Lothar. The coronations of Charlemagne’s son Louis (813) and his son Lothar (817) as co-emperors in Aachen also make no mention of a seat or throne.
Otto I. The first king to be crowned in Aachen was the Saxon Duke Otto I in 936. His coronation, anointing and vesting took place at the altar of St Mary on the ground floor. Otto then climbed one of the two spiral staircases and took his seat on a throne – most probably on the marble chair you see in front of you.
The ‘arch seat of the empire’
Konrad II. Otto and his successors established the coronation tradition in Aachen. At the enthronement of Conrad II in 1024, the throne was described as the ‘Archseat of the Empire, established by the old kings, especially Charlemagne’ and thus for the first time subsequently associated with Charlemagne.
Henry III. Since Henry III (1028), most German kings have been crowned and enthroned in Aachen. Aachen as a coronation site was confirmed once again in the ‘Golden Bull’ of Charles IV in 1356.
Coronation site. Between 936 and 1531, the coronations of 30 kings and 12 queens of the Roman-German Empire took place in Aachen. After the coronation, the kings took their seats on the throne to symbolically take possession of their kingdom. After 1531, the royal coronations were moved to Frankfurt.
Place of remembrance. The throne complex has been a ‘place of remembrance’ of Charlemagne and German kingship since the 11th century. Even in the 17th century, visitors to the church crawled under the throne to honour Charlemagne and the empire.
