Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Karl der Große

Aachen, the westernmost city in Germany. Due to its numerous thermal springs, Aachen has been a bathing and spa town since ancient times. Even the Romans used the hot springs to run spas. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons between the Rhineland and northern France. Charlemagne´s coronation as king of the Franks took place here in 768. Aachen became the preferred Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne. He spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. - The theatre is the successor of Aachen's first public theatre, the former "Altes Komödienhaus" ("Old Comedy House") at the Katschhof erected in 1751. The neoclassical building, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Johann Peter Cremer on Aachen's Kapuzinergraben, opened on May 15, 1825. During WWII the theatre was largely destroyed. The reconstruction in the old style started after the war - and the theatre was reopened already in December 1951. The large horse to the right is a work of Gerhard Marcks. It is named "Fröhlicher Hengst" (Happy Stallion). Aachen has traditional connections to the equestrian sport and is home to the yearly international horse show CHIO (Concours Hippique International Officiel).

Aachen, the westernmost city in Germany. Due to its numerous thermal springs, Aachen has been a bathing and spa town since ancient times. Even the Romans used the hot springs to run spas. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons between the Rhineland and northern France. Charlemagne´s coronation as king of the Franks took place here in 768. Aachen became the preferred Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne. He spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. At the end of the 17th century, Aachen became a "fashionable spa" frequented by crowned heads and other celebrities. In 1819, the Aachen City Council decided to build a representative building in which the thermal water from the "Kaiserquelle" (imperial spring) could be dispensed to spa guests. Financial shortages of the city slowed down the building process, so the building, named "Elisenbrunnen" after the daughter of Bavarian King Maximilian I, was finally completed in 1828. The celebrities who drank the water of the Kaiserquelle as spa guests are commemorated by marble plaques in the hall, which were installed in 1883. Among them are Peter the Great, Frederick the Great, Giacomo Casanova, Count Grigory Orlov and George Frederick Handel. During World War II, the Elisenbrunnen was almost completely destroyed by bombing was faithfully reconstructed in the early 1950s following the plans of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who was one of the original architects.

Aachen, the westernmost city in Germany, developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne of the Frankish Empire. From 936 to 1531 Aachen was the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons between the Rhineland and northern France. Charlemagne´s coronation as king of the Franks took place here in 768. He spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. The former collegiate church of St. Adalbert was consecrated in 1005. It is thus the second oldest church in the city after Aachen Cathedral. Emperor Otto III had been a friend of Adalbert of Prague. Subsequent to the canonization of Bishop Adalbert Otto III distributed Adalbert`s relics to churches in his empire and ordered the construction of a monastery church for the Imperial City of Aachen, which he wanted to consecrate to St. Adalbert as well as to St. Hermes. The church was located one kilometre east of the Aachen Palatinate along the old Roman road to Trier. Otto´s successor Henry II had the church completed and in 1005 it was consecrated to St. Hermes and St. Adalbert. The emperor appointed clergymen to form the collegiate convent and declared the church a legally free imperial foundation. After the construction of the outer city wall at the end of the 13th-century, the three-nave Romanesque pillar basilica belonged to the imperial city territory. During the French occupation, the monastery was dissolved although the church remained as a parish church. For this purpose, the church was extensively restructured for the first time in 1809. After the population had increased significantly, another rebuilding and partially new construction with the extension to a five-nave church took place in 1875/76. During the air raids in 1943, the church was set on fire and burned out almost completely. However, it was rebuilt and reopened in October 1949. - Seen to the right is the facade of "Aquis Plaza", a new mall.

From 936 to 1531, the Aachen chapel was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. In 792 Charlemagne (aka "Charles the Great", "Karl der Grosse") began the construction of a palace here and part of the whole structure was the "Palatine Chapel". Pope Leo III consecrated the chappel in 805. Here were the corridors of power around 800. The carolingian octogon is the middle part of the building. A gothic choir on the left was added later and so it beacem the "Aachen Cathedral". Parts of the westwork date back to the carolingian structure. The carolingian octogon was planned by the Odo of Metz, who obviously had seen Byzantine churches. After the erection of the Aachen Cathedral, the nobility and the canons celebrated their services in this place of worship, while the ordinary citizen had to use other churches. For this reason, a church dedicated to St. Foillan, an early Iro-Scottish missionary (brother of Saints Ultan and Fursa), was built around 1180. After the cathedral was enlarged by an extension of the aisle in 1414, the citizens also strove for a new building of their church, which had become too small meanwhile. A three-nave Gothic building was erected and consecrated in 1482. The expansion of the cathedral brought the two buildings close together and they remained separated only by a narrow alley. Of that church only remains of the choir, parts of the facade and a few other areas have been preserved. The remaining parts of the facade and the tower date from 1888 or are more recent. Most damages were caused by a bombing raid in 1944 when the church was almost completely destroyed. The church got rebuilt between 1956 and 1958. This triumphal cross found its place behind bars on the outside facade.

Aachen, the westernmost city in Germany, developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne of the Frankish Empire. From 936 to 1531 Aachen was the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons between the Rhineland and northern France. Charlemagne´s coronation as king of the Franks took place here in 768. He spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks under Lothair raided Aachen in 978. The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176. Later Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders and achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The "Hof" square has a couple of small cafés and restaurants (all closed during the lockdown). One of them is "Masuto" on the ground floor of this building, erected around 1900. The facade mingles neo-Baroque and Art Deco/Jugendstil elements.

Aachen, the westernmost city in Germany, developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne of the Frankish Empire. From 936 to 1531 Aachen was the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons between the Rhineland and northern France. Charlemagne´s coronation as king of the Franks took place here in 768. He spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks under Lothair raided Aachen in 978. The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176. Later Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders and achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The "Hof" square, with its small cafés and restaurants (all closed during the lockdown), also contains this portico, a vestige of Aachen's Roman past. This was once a Roman bathing and temple district. Actually, this is a copy, as the original Roman arches are in the federal state museum in Bonn.

This "Imperial Cathedral" was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages. From 936 to 1531, the Aachen chapel was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. In 792 Charlemagne (aka "Charles the Great", "Karl der Grosse") began the construction of a palace here and part of the whole structure was this "Palatine Chapel". Pope Leo III consecrated the chappel in 805. Here were the corridors of power around 800. The Carolingian octagon is the middle part of the building. A gothic choir on the left was added later. Parts of the westwork date back to the carolingian structure. The Carolingian octagon, having a baroque roof now, was planned by the Odo of Metz, who obviously had seen Byzantine churches. For sure he had seen the Basilica of San Vitale of Ravenna, as San Vitale seems to be a model of this chapel. I have uploaded already many photos taken during previous visits of the "Imperial Cathedral", so this time, this door-knocker is the only one.

Aachen, the westernmost city in Germany, developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne of the Frankish Empire. From 936 to 1531 Aachen was the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons between the Rhineland and northern France. Charlemagne´s coronation as king of the Franks took place here in 768. He spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks under Lothair raided Aachen in 978. The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176. Later Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders and achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. In 1579 the first Jesuits came to Aachen. In 1600 the council of the town took the decision to settle Jesuits in Aachen. The Jesuits´church was built between 1617 and 1628, but the facade was unfinished until 1861. With the dissolution of the Jesuit Order in 1773, the church was closed and converted into a granary during the French period, later it was used as a parish church. In 1987 the Greek Orthodox community of St. Dimitrios purchased the building to held Orthodox services. Here St. Michael is seen in the facade of the St. Leonard School opposite the church. As the Jesuits once were responsible for the educational system the neighbourhood is not accidentally.

The bishop´s see was founded by Charlemagne around 780. The first church here, was destroyed by the Normans about 100 years later. After a great fire, that burnt down most of the town around 1100, the cathedral was built over a long period, so it is a mix of late- romanesque and gothic style. The old cloister, next to the cathedral St. Peter, houses the graveyard today.

The bishop´s see was founded by Charlemagne around 780. The first church here, was destroyed by the Normans. After a great fire, that burnt down most of the town around 1100, the cathedral was built over a long period, so it is a mix of late romanesque and gothic style. Clearly romanesque are the left tower of the westwork, the left wall and the crossing tower. The right tower was similar to the left upto 1502, when it had to be enlarged, as the new ordered bells where just too heavy for the old tower. During WWII Osnabrueck got heavily bombed and the cathedral burnt down, It was rebuilt in the 1950s. In the foreground is the statue of a lion. This is the copy of the original (today in a museum), given to the town by Henry the Lion (1129–1195). It is dubbed "Loewenpudel" (Lion-Poodle), as it really looks like a mixture of these two creatures.