AACHEN - CHARLEMAGNE EXHIBITIONS 2014
1200th Anniversary of Charlemagne’s Death
Charles the Great, Karl der Grosse, or more familiarly Charlemagne, the Carolingian King who united much of the European continent and from whom most of the later royal dynasties claim descent died and was buried in the German border city of Aachen in 814, twelve hundred years ago. In 1978 the Cathedral in Aachen, partly built by order of Charlemagne was named one of the first sites on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, and no building is more closely associated with a king than the amazing cathedral of Aachen and one of the best preserved of its age.
For 2014, in June through September the city of Aachen is presenting three related exhibits celebrating Charlemagne’s time and influence. Charlemagne is said to have died on Saturday, the 28th of January in 814. At the time of his death, after a campaign or conquering and uniting disparate kingdoms, Charlemagne was King of the Francs, King of the Lombards and Emperor of the (Western) Holy Roman Empire. Since the year 794, he had resided almost exclusively in Aachen, taking the still sulfurous aromatic thermal waters to relieve his aging ailments (see Aachen Imperial Cathedral).
The exhibitions will be opened on the 19th of June 2014 by their official patron, the Federal President, running from the 20th of June through the 21st September 2014 in three locations of the city associated the 9th Century Franconian king – the Coronation Hall in Aachen’s Town Hall, the Centre Charlemagne on the Katschhof, and the Cathedral Treasury. The joint exhibits will feature the impact, art and culture of Charlemagne. In addition to historical collections of Aachen, the exhibitions will be enhanced by loan exhibits from international museums and private collections.
Aachen Town Hall
The largest of the exhibitions will be in the Coronation Hall of Aachen Town Hall where coronation dinners were held following the crowning of kings at the cathedral until 1562. The exhibit will invite visitors to experience courtly life in the medieval Carolingian age of Charlemagne. It presents the first European emperor, as king and military leader, traveling among his imperial palaces, explaining the foundation of his rule based on the archaeological and art-historical evidence. The exhibition promises to illustrate what power meant in Charles’ time and explores the boundary between historical fact and the myth of Charlemagne.
Center Charlemagne
The Centre Charlemagne is located on the Katschhof between the Town Hall and the Cathedral. The heritage-listed former administrative building is being refurbished in time for the exhibits and will contain exhibition rooms, including an experimental “History Laboratory”, an auditorium, a museum education section, a shop, a café, public reception areas. Exhibits on loan will be presented within view of the spectacular Town Hall.
Aachen Cathedral Treasury
Perhaps the most impressive exhibits will be those of Aachen’s Cathedral Treasury, housing one of Europe’s most significant church treasures, presenting sacred art from late antiquity, and from the Carolingian, Staufer and Gothic eras. Many of the works came the most important treasure collections of their times. For centuries, until eventually shifting power to Frankfurt, Charlemagne’s Church of St Mary, today’s Cathedral, was the coronation church of the German Holy Roman kings. Some of the exhibits go back to royal gift donations; others illustrate the significance of Aachen’s cathedral as a church of pilgrimage and the burial place of Charlemagne. The antique Persephone Sarcophagus, in which Charlemagne was probably laid to rest on January 28, 814, offers the primary link between the church treasure and the occasion of the “Year of Charlemagne” in 2014. And the gold bust of Charlemagne, the most famous of the artifacts so important it was stolen by the Nazi’s at the end of the war, eventually recovered and returned. For the exhibition, the Cathedral Treasury is bringing back to Aachen other works of sacral art that once were housed there, many that belonged to Charlemagne’s personal church treasures treasure or believed to have come from his burial site.
Visiting the Aachen Charlemagne Exhibits 2014
The exhibit sites are all in Aachen's very walkable old town center, just follow the Karl der Gross brass symbols in the pavement. Opening times are Monday to Sunday 10 am to 6 pm, Thursday to Saturday 10 am to 9 pm. Admission fees for a Museum Pass for all exhibits are €14 regular admission, €10 Concession (Student and Senior), Families €32 (2 adult and up to 4 children), €20 (1 adult and up to 4 children). Single exhibit tickets are €6, €4, $18 and €10 respectively. Children under 6 are free. There are guided tours for €2, though English tour schedules are a bit limited. And if you can't get enough of the old king, all around town you'll find Charlemagne's image on chocolates and the local traditional Aachen Printen gingerbread. © Bargain
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Charlemagne 2014
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SPEYER CATHEDRAL - EMPEROR'S SPIRES
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CORONATION CATHEDRAL
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