Charlemagne's Palace Chapel at Aachen 

Your videos are always amazing! They're easy to understand, clear and neat. It's such a pleasure to watch and listen to them.

I visited the dome a few years ago, including the treasury and Charlemagne's throne. It's magnificient. I never felt the weight of history, as you put it, so much as in this place. Actually, to me it doesn't feel so much as a weight, but more as sublime majesty that irradiates from this building.

Wow - I had no idea the Aachen chapel had so many layers of history to see. As with all your videos (even those covering art or architecture of which I am familiar), you tell me something new. Thank you! :)

You can clearly see here that great art is always international. Thank you so much. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Steve and Beth your the best, love your presentation, it’s so soothing

When visiting, please visit the treasury in the basement. It's called the Domschatzkammer, and it contains a most interesting and memorable collection of artifacts and treasures.

what an insane building, crazy amalgamation, and amazing art history lesson in itself ... despite the cacophony of styles occurring, it's amazing in a sense that it's still standing and among us

Brilliant! Wish this had been around when I visited Aachen in 2008.

I went on a guided tour of the chapel and learned that during WWII there was a bombing raid on Aachen where one of the bombs went through a stained glass window and landed in the middle of the cathedral... and didn't go off. It was a dud. Almost enough to make you religious.

Oh. I live right next to that church. Great to see it being covered! :D

Yet another SUPERB video

I just can't get over the palettes and colours they had back then. So vibrant. That napoleon picture is still a favourite - stunning!

Thank you for the excellent video.

Beautiful! I have never heard of this chapel. So much history. Thank you for showing this, I love history and ancestry. Charlemagne is one of my ancient ancestors.

A succinct and effective presentation! Bravo and many thanks!

And needless to say, another excellent presentation.

Wonderfull introduction in this Chapel - THE german building, giving identity and history!

Timely for today. 🙃 The view around 0:30 was so stunning. Another place I could only imagine walking into and being breathless. This intro definitely had me curious about how other famous / historical buildings, landmarks, etc have been preserved and maintained / or inevitably changed over time. Oh my gosh, the Ottonians knew how to party - that doggone ambo is gorgeous! I can't imagine not noticing it - I'd be marveling at the beauty and randomness of it for a long time before staring at something else. Dr. Harris made me laugh around 5:45: "Ey yo, Vinnie! Lemme get some spolia!" I'm so mad at myself for thinking of that and laughing as much as I am, but I guess I'm already primed to think about New York when I come here. Gonna play my Freud card and blame my subconscious. 😌 The breakdown of the Chapel's history at the end was so impressive. I just want to breathe the air in a place like that...

Wonderful as always.

Amazing what a skilled stonemason can achieve!

Love the video. I learned alot. Keep up the great content!

This was awesome! It;s the first time I've watched a satisfyingly informative historic video on European monuments. I hope you include Charlie's throne located on the second floor in another video. Thanks!

Very very interesting. Thanks

Added to bucket list.

A lovely video. Insightful and informative. Thanks.

Glad it survived WWII. Wasn't there some big battle around Achen?

Are the jewels there the Hoshen stones by any chance?

It is not only the chapel that remained. The palace remained as well, used as town hall.

Can I ask why you call them Henry instead of Heinrich?

I wish the AP art history curriculum went back when it added more forms of art.

The arches look very similar to Ummayad arches in Spain

They finally went to Germany! Hope to see Cologne Cathedral in your videos!

Why is it so similar to Cordoba?

Thanks for your videos. The work that you are doing is great. I respect you for speaking so passionately about various places and objects from not only the western culture. However, I would like to criticize you for ignoring Central Eastern Europe. I know that Italy or France are more famous, but honestly in other regions there are also plenty of interesting stuff. In Warsaw you have one of the 3 best paintings of Rembrandt, The Girl in a Picture Frame. In Vilnius there is an exceptional gothic church of St. Anna. When you omit this part of Europe you cannot really discover the architecture of the Orthodox church. Hundreds of people have written about Michael Angelo or generally the western culture. Maybe show us places that hardly anyone knows about. Another region that is poorly illustrated is the Balkans with a fascinating religious mix of Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims and Jews. Again I admire you for doing these great videos but if you want to show the full picture of European civilization you need take everything into account not just the more famous part of it.

"The Holy Roman Empire" which the much later smiling-pictured Voltaire of the XVIIIth c. enlightenment described as being neither holy nor Roman nor an empire. Those striped arches we see here in the ambulatory were evidently used by Peter Jackson for the King's Hall where the steward Denethor sits in Tolkien's "The Return of the King" (see link to an interesting article about architectural use in LotR below (SH I hope you don't mind my posting this link under your video, but I think you may be interested in reading this too🙏🏽). And I think the very conscientious self-editor Tolkien might just have approved of Jackson's use of these striped arches in his created milieu for the film (just, lol).💙

Это какое-то СВЯТОЕ ИСКУССТВО, на мой взгляд. Как кто-то мог покушаться на его целостность! Какие-то французы, Наполеон, etc. This is some HOLY ART, in my opinion. How could someone encroach on his integrity! Some French, Napoleon, etc.

5:05 🎯

So underneath the paint is actual history

Cool.

Essentially the Franks were German kings in a romanized Gaul. To the Germans the Roman world obviously was very prestigious. And the best way to impress the world was to rule over Rome itself, and I think that's how they saw it. As Gaul had been Rome ever since Caesar came there. Five hundred years when the Franks came there. That's as long as the Netherlands has been a nation. And thus they adapted the ways of the people there, instead of imposing their own ways on them. And that included christianity at this point in time. Even though it had originally nothing to do with Romans. That's how I see it at least.

one of the greatest kings of france ! 🇫🇷🇫🇷

Charlemagne would have had to ask the Byzantine Exarch in Ravenna for anything from there. This was Imperial property, not Papal, in Charlemagne's time

and maybe because of everything its been through

In short: Napoleon was after all a great thief!

Those arches of two colors are very iconic and influential, even in today’s pop culture. The set designer for the Lord of the Rings trilogy drew on those when designing the palace throne room in Minas Tirith, seen in the Return of the King.

In its diversity and longevity this building is like no other, I'm glad you visited this remarkable gem.

3:17 "Henry II managed to become king and emperor" - and he did so in my little home village in Bavaria! In 1002, he was heading to meet the funeral procession of his predecessor Otto III, which came on the Via Claudia from Italy, and happened to meet them in my home village Polling in Upper Bavaria. Our monastery was still in ruins since the Hun invasion in 955. But eight years later, in 1010, Henry II remembered where he de facto had become king and emperor, and he re-established the monastery, which then thrived for another 800 years …

Its amazing after all this time we still have the bones of Charlemagne

How come it is crammed in-between other buildings and not standing alone like churches usually are? is it because it is a Chapel, or something that have happen over hundreds of years? Very interested by the way, how you presents art most people have no idea about, thanks

And I just go there everyday and think to myself mh fancy 😭

Great video! I had no idea the interior was mostly a 19th century 'restoration'. It's interesting you point that out, I feel that many videos and articles about ancient buildings often leave out how much restoration often occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, giving the impression all of what you see is original.

I'm not usually a learning person, but you guys make videos that are fun and very educational at the same time! I'm glad my teacher found you guys.. c: I enjoy Art History!

Thanks, got all my questions answered.

Great video! To some extent, it is a misconception to say that the Ottonians considered themselves as having inherited the Roman Empire. According to their narrative, they *were* the Roman Empire.

i rarely comment on videos, but i just want to say that i enjoy the content that you guys create. i can tell how passionate you are at sharing facts about art history and techniques. thanks for keeping history interesting!

Why the carolingian ( todays republic of france) empire is not portrayed all the way until Porto? In the Reconquest that started in poitiers and tours, and in the same campaign of 801, the carolingians occupied all north of the old Terraconensis, o by the Catalans of Tarragona

My grandparents were from Aachen

Thank You for this history lesson featuring a landmark in my family's birthplace. I have visited Aachen a few times in my adult life, and always made time to wander through the Aachener Dom. History pours through the building, and I soak it up. You explain the various layers of its very long life so well; I can feel the flow of history as it changes the structure over the centuries.

Sometimes we forget how hard life can be. And powerful men pay homeage to other powerful men, because they think that will bring them luck. That acting like other lucky people, will make them succesful. And essentially, it does. Let learn from our forebears and become a good society again.

the 19th century changes are what I would call renovations in good faith, not historically accurate but done with good intentions

Great video! Would love to see Smart History do one on the Cathedral of Saint Domnius in Split.

Great video. A visit to Trier may be in order - it makes a great companion piece to Aachen

Honestly when I look back in history, despite the church trying to be fanatic about christianity, it never really became that for kings nor commoners. Despite or perhaps also because of the persecution against their own beliefs. One wonders why this faith was taken up by the Romans in the first place. All other conversions just seem like an attempt at aligning oneself with Rome. With the riches, the gold, the knowledge and so forth.

Thankyou so much