Charlemagne (Charles the Great) had begun the…

Charlemagne (Charles the Great) had begun the construction of the Palatine Chapel at Aachen, along with the building of the rest of the palace structures, around 796.

The construction is credited to Odo of Metz.

The exact date of completion is unclear; however, a letter from Alcuin, in 798, states that it was nearing completion, and in 805, Leo III consecrated the finished chapel.

A foundry was brought to Aachen near the end of the eighth century and was utilized to cast multiple bronze pieces, from doors and the railings, to the horse and bear statues.

Charlemagne in 814 was buried in the chapel.

It suffered a large amount of damage around 881 by the Northmen and in 983 was restored.

The chapel became a draw for pilgrims after Frederick Barbarossa in 1165 canonized Charlemagne.

In order to sustain the enormous flow of pilgrims in the Gothic period, construction begins in 1355 on a Rayonnant-influenced choir hall, modeled on the thirteenth-century Sainte-Chapelle of Louis IX.