Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel, the core of Aachen Cathedral, was begun around 796 and consecrated in 805. Odo of Metz is credited as the architect, and the design followed San Vitale in Ravenna. Its octagon has an inner diameter of 47 feet (14.46 m), and the dome's height equals the diameter of the outer circuit, a hundred Carolingian feet. The styles include Carolingian-Romanesque, Ottonian and Gothic.
A Gothic choir was built east of the octagon between 1355 and 1414. Side chapels include those of St Matthew and St Anne. The Throne of Charlemagne stands in the western gallery. From 936 to 1531, German kings were crowned at the high altar and then enthroned on it. Charlemagne's remains lie in the Karlsschrein.
UNESCO listed the cathedral in 1978, among its first 12 sites.
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