The city of Aachen is celebrating the 1200th anniversary of Charlemagne’s death with a triad of exhibitions.
The three exhibitions were opened on 19 June by one of their patrons (the others are the Presidents of France and Italy, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament), German President, Joachim Gauck.
They will run in three prestigious venues, the Coronation Hall in Aachen’s Town Hall, the new Charlemagne Centre in the Katschhof and the Cathedral Treasury, until 21 September and present the art and culture of Charlemagne and his era. An abundance of first-rate loan exhibits from international and private collections have been brought to Aachen for the occasion.
The largest exhibition, entitled “Places of Power” is in the Coronation Hall. In Charlemagne’s time this was the site of the original palace’s King’s Hall and thus the seat of imperial power.
“Charlemagne’s Art” is a special exhibition at the new Charlemagne Centre located at the heart of the original Aachen palace. It focuses on the art history of the Carolingian period.
“Lost Treasures” is the title of the third exhibition in Aachen’s Cathedral Treasury, the most important church treasury north of the Alps. Works of sacral art that once belonged to Aachen Cathedral have been brought back to Aachen for the duration of the exhibition and some of the most prominent treasures date back to Charlemagne’s times. Austria has loaned the famous Tassilo Chalice from around 780 A.D. made by Northumbrian craftsmen and decorated with Hiberno-Saxon ornament. The Chalice belongs to the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria and has not left the Abbey for 70 years.
Above: The Tassilo Chalice, one of the treasures on show
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