Palace · Germany · Partial ruin

Palace of Aachen

Aachener Königspfalz

The Palace of Aachen was Charlemagne's palatine complex combining residential, political and religious buildings. Its core element, the Palatine Chapel (now the central part of Aachen Cathedral), survives; the great Council Hall's foundations and the lower parts of a palace tower survive under the later town hall and urban fabric.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

AD 814

Today

Partial ruin

As it stood in AD 814

What Palace of Aachen looked like in its prime.

A compact complex of stone and brick volumes: the Palatine Chapel's tall octagonal central space rises beneath a 31 m cupola set inside a sixteen‑sided outer polygon, supported by eight massive piers and arcades. Surfaces are revetted in imported marble and polychrome stone, with columns topped by Corinthian capitals and gold‑tessera mosaics in the dome. Nearby stand a long covered stone gallery, a rectangular brick basilical Council Hall with three apses and two rows of windows, a square stone tower (Granus Tower) and a large thermal basin in a colonnaded bath block.

Step inside

10 places to explore in AD 814.

The record describes 10 distinct spots at Palace of Aachen, including 7 interiors: central octagon under the cupola, ambulatory and groin‑vaulted aisle, west tribune with royal throne platform and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Exterior approach to the Palatine Chapel and westworkCentral octagon under the cupolaAmbulatory and groin‑vaulted aisleWest tribune with royal throne platformEastern and western choirs with the three altarsCovered gallery linking chapel and council hallCouncil Hall (Aula Regia) exteriorCouncil Hall interior (aula regia)Granus Tower and treasury towerThermae complex and large swimming pool

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