Aachen, called Aix le Chapelle in French, was Charlemagne's capital and is close to the region where he was born. As this map shows, it is in the northern reaches of the Carolingian lands. Charlemagne had a palace here, the largest in his kingdom, and he spent considerable time here after 795. To the right of the map is a model of the palace complex, showing the original Carolingian church in the front right. It is octagonal in structure and has been substantially expanded over the centuries, but the original Carolingian structure is still intact.

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The Dom today is considerably larger than in Charlemagne's time. There is a gothic chapel appended to the east and other chapels have been added around the central octagon. Likewise, a great steeple has been built on top of the original west entrance. The picture to the left shows the Dom from the ground level, with the original octagon under the round dome left center. The picture to the right is a model from an elevated view and more clearly shows the central original octagon church under the round dome.

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The picture on the left is the main entrance to the church. It is the original west entrance surmounted by a later, gothic steeple. The interior is not large by cathedral standards but has a dramatic intimacy. The chandelier hanging in the center was a gift to the church by Barbarosa in the 12th century. The fact that the church and its treasury survived for so long is really remarkable.

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On the upper level of the church it is possible to see Charlemagne's throne. This is a very simple stone seat, today on a raised platform. It does not look comfortable for long sessions.

The church also has a wonderful treasury, perhaps the best north of the Alps. The Proserpina sarcophagus is Roman and dates from the 2nd century. It was common at the time to reuse sarcophogi and this one is thought to be Charlemagne's original tomb. He was buried here on January 28, 814, the day he died. His bones were subsequently transferred to a smaller 12 C reliquary, pictured right.

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Also in the treasury are a number of other reliquaries holding religious items and a number of jeweled crosses, including the Cross of Lothar, which dates from about 1000. A later, but stunning item from the treasury is the 14th century bust of Charlemagne.

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Close to the church is the Rathaus, which has an attached Carolingian tower on its right.

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Aachen is definitely worth a detour for anyone interested in Carolingian and medieval history. For the numismatist, one of the incidental pleasures is seeing all the KRLS monogram route markers throughout the historical center of the city. The coin image is from the cover of Jacques Boussard's The Civilization of Charlemagne.

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Ingelheim

Ingelheim is the site of a palace Charlemagne planned but it was not completed by the time of his death in 814. He wintered here in 787. The coin image above, a gold coin of Charlemagne from the Toulouse mint, is in the Ingelheim museum. Louis the Pious stayed here 10 times between 814 and 840, when he died. The site remained important during the early Ottonian years, when Otto I used it ten times. A number of imperial synods were held here between 958 and 996. Otto III also used the residence here during his regency. Today there are ruins of some of the original walls but the area has been rebuilt as a residential neighborhood, interspersed with ruins. The first picture is an artist's rendition of what the site looked like in the 9th C. To the right is an overlay of the palace plan superimposed on the current development. Further down is a table model of the site. The great hall is in the background in this model.

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Today street addresses reflect the Carolingian history of the district.

 The walls of the great hall are extant today and seen below. The angle of these walls is somewhat distorted because I merged two photos. The picture to the right shows detail from the end of the great hall wall.

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There is an attractive museum on the site that has many of the artifacts found here during a whole series of excavations. These are mosaics from the palace.

Several sources indicate that Louis the Pious died on an island near Ingelheim, but I was unable to find anyone/anyplace who could identify which island. The Rhine is full of islands in this area. The islands we could see from the crossing in Ingelheim were all too narrow to support a residence, at least they are too small today. How big they were 1100 years ago is really unclear. Where there were larger islands we couldn't find river front access to see them. Hence this picture is not the island Louis died but is typical of the type of Rhine island on which he might have died.

Lorsch

There was a monastery built at Lorsch in 767. Ownership was transferred to Charlemagne in 772. The evidence suggests that there was both a church and what's come to be known as the Gate House or Hall on the site. The current church is of later (post-Carolingian) construction. The church is in the foreground, the Gate House behind it.

The Gate House was built between 876 and 882. Its purpose is not clear. It might have been a small chapel, it might have been an entry way for pilgrims coming to the monastery, it might have been a burial site. A sarcophagus found on the grounds supports the burial site contention. Literature from Lorsch suggests the sarcophagus was used by Louis the German when he died. The building has a dramatic facade, with red stones inlaid into the plaster making for an unusual appearance.

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Like many older buildings, this one has changed over time. In the 15th C the roof line changed and barrel vaulting was added. The evolution of the building is shown in the set of drawings below. The original Carolingian building appears in the upper left. To the right is a picture by August Lucas, 1859, showing the Hall without its left tower, which collapsed earlier in the century. Hence, in the picture above, the right tower is original, the left a 20th C reconstruction.

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These next pictures show exterior and interior detail. The left is a close up of one of the pillar capitals. To the right is some of the original plaster from the interior of the upper chamber. The Letters S N B M might refer to 'Sanctus Nazarius Beatus Martyr.' The monastery was the home for relics from St. Nazarius. The interior walls have other remnants of Carolingian art work, as well as later, medieval wall paintings.

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Lorsch is definitely worth a visit.

Einhard was a counselor to Charlemagne who was born about 770. He was  brought to Aachen about 796 and oversaw the building of the Palatine chapel in Aachen. He was Charlemagne's ambassador to Rome in 806 where he became impressed by Roman architecture. When Charlemagne died in 814, he was the only one of his counselors who was kept by Louis the Pious. He became tutor to Lothar I. In 815 Louis the Pious gave Einhard the march of Michelstadt and Seligenstadt.

Einhard built his basilica in the expectation that it would be his burial site. To increase the sanctity of the site, he sent

    "his close friend Ratleik to Rome. At night Ratleik entered the catacombs beneath the church 'inter dous lauros' on the ancient cemetery road Via Labicana and     there removed the relics of St. Marcellinus and (a) St. Peter from a sarcophagus. They were both beheaded for their faith at the beginning of they 4th century ... In November 827  Ratleik reached Michelstadt with the relics. But the saints made it clear they were not happy to stay here so in January 828 Einhard took them to Seligenstadt where they immediately began to perform miracles." The Einhard basilica in Michelstadt-Steinback

The first pictures show an aerial perspective and ground level perspective of the site. The next one is a small model on the grounds. It shows the side chapel, currently destroyed.

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The schematic shows the surviving Carolingian elements and later modification. The building maintains its Carolingian character but has been reconstructed over time.

This shows the interior of the church. Next is a detail of the original Carolingian brick pillars. The space between the pillars was filled in in the 14th C. The next photo is a base of one of the Carolinian pillars.

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When we visited in Fall 2007 the exterior was in scaffolding for renovation, but it was possible to visit the interior.

Source: The Einhard basilica in Michelstadt-Steinback, Verlag Schnell and Steiner GmbH, Regensburg, 2003