The Aachen Cathedral (Aachener Dom), Germany.To discribe its complicated but extremely fascinating history here would be difficult, but here's an attempt for a very short summary: The current building originated from the court church of the one and only Charlemagne, king of the Frank's and the first emperor of the #HolyRomanEmpire. The octagonal section, the Palatine Chapel, which now functions as the center of the building, was built between 796 and 804 after #Byzantine examples. Charlemagne was buried here in 814 and, yes, you can visit his grave there still today! During the 881 Viking attacks, the chapel got severely damaged and was not restored until 983. After Charlemagne was canonized in 1165, a stream of pelgrims started to visit the church. For this reason, a Gothic choir hall and a two-part "Capella vitrea" (glass chapel) were built in 1355. The dome, some chapels and the tower were added at later dates. During WWII, the cathedral was one of the few known German buildings to remain largely undamaged, which is a really really fantastic thing! The cathedral has left such a large impact on European architecture throughout European history, that is served as an inspiration many times. Most notably, #SainteChapelle in Paris! French king Louis IX was keen to exploit in presenting himself as a worthy successor to the first Holy Roman Emperor. Picture taken by me and more pictures to come of this beautiful cathedral!⚜️