Charlemagne’s Cathedral in Aachen, Germany was one of the first places we visited this semester, and it was stunning. The art was incredible, and I was completely blown away by the amount of gold inlays and stained glass in the chapel. 

During the Carolingian Renaissance, the reform and preservation of education and culture under Charlemagne king of the Franks, Charlemagne also worked to reform the church. Charlemagne, as a religious man, wanted to unify church and state. Among his many reforms, Charlemagne changed the structure of the liturgy and raised the standards for the monks and monasteries. As Charlemagne conquered other peoples and expanded his empire, he also forced conversion to Christianity, and this power was held as the church and state continued to act as one until the Protestant Reformation. 

Something I found interesting about Charlemagne’s Cathedral was that at the front of the church where you would expect an altar to be was Charlemagne’s coffin. This was an interesting placement of his remains, and I’m not entirely sure how far to read into it...