AACHEN CIVITAS

Aachen has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

Aachen is one of the most important city in the whole history of european integration and will probably have influence on the future of United europe, because it has been the capital and crowning seat of the Carolingian Empire and successively for all the emperors until Ferdinand I of the Habsburg dinasty in XVI century A.D., still nowadays visited as UNESCO Wordl Heritage Site since 1978 A.D..

Where is Aachen? The modern civitas is a medium town in Germany on the border with Belgium and Netherlands, within the North-Rhine-Westphalia lander sited on a tributary of the Meuse river, called Aix-la-Chapelle in French and Aquisgrana in Italian languages. What's the historic name of Aachen? At the epoch of Romans it became an aeternitas known with the latin name 'Aquae Granni', probably because it was a thermal spring or a celtic religious centre for wealthness, a first settlement as a colonia included in the Roman Respublica. Within the reform of Augustus (see Roman Empire), Aachen was part of the Germania Inferior province, while with the reform of Constantine I (see Christian Empire), Aachen became an important seat of the Catholic Diocesis of Gallia. But at the falling of Western Roman Empire it became a Franks Ripuarians centre included in the Regna Austrasia, getting importance under the Carolingian dinasty in VIII century A.D..

When Charlemagne was crowned imperator christianorum in 800 A.D. decided to settle in Aachen his governement palace situated into a family fief, as capital of the Carolingian Empire, together with the first Cathedral Schola ruled by monks in the Palatine Chapel, from where spreading the imperial culture ('le couture') by recovering a mixed of the Sacer Scriptures (Sapientia Evangelii), Greeks philosopy (Sapientia Secularii), ancient Roman right (Ius Publicum), Patristica studies and writes (Christianity exegesis) and classic latin texts (Romanitas Civitas), that had been conserved/reproduced in the ancient monastir after 476 A.D.! It was the first step of the founding process of the European universities, followed by Parma and Pavia. Some of the most thinkers and writers of the time reunited in the Palatine Academy, called schola in reference to the ancient roman military tradition and the Platonism from Athens and Constantinople atheneums: the mission was to educate the elite cavalry enfeoffed or chosen for administer the Regnum organization, such as the royal Counts Palatine or the Counts and Dukes members of the European genealogies eleved by the Charolingian emperors.

After the division of the empire with the Verdun treaty, Aachen was included in the Regna Lotharingia then into the Low Lothingen Duchy, later entered into the Brabant Langraviade within the Reich Empire: when in 911 A.D. the german great feudal lords joined into the Regna Germanorum, they mantained Aachen as seat for crowning the Rex christianorum/germanorum elected by the german princes council (with the Reichkhrone shaped by the emperor Otto I 'said the great') on the originary stone throne of Salomon (a praxis confirmed even by the 'Golden Bull' that reformed the Sacer Roman Imperium in 1356 A.D.).

Aachen became a symbolic and legendary place of the history of european integration when the emperor Otto III discovered and opened the tumb of Charlemagne at the end of X century A.D., whose body was intact while the emperor was wearing the golden globe and the Destiny's sword: at that point the Roman catholic church decided to sanctify him, while time after the emperor Frederick I ordered to bury the frankish king into a golden urne, still visible nowadays. They found also a book called 'Evangelario' containing many important images for the christian regal theology used for centuries by all the royal european genealogies. The old imperial palace was also the HQ of the Paladines knights of Charlemagne, became the Count Palatins of the Empire and famous for the narrowing in the 'carologian cycle' and the chanson de geste, milestones of the whole European culture. The last moment of fame for Aachen has been the peace treaty in 1748 A.D. that signed the end of the 'Austrian succession war' and sanctioned the passage of the S.R.I./Reich crown to the Habsburg-Lothingen dinasty, who ruled the Christian Empire until the First World War.

Aachen has always been a medium size civitas of Germany, seat of the district of Aachen in the North Rhine-Westphalia lander, not far from the borders with Belgium and Netherlands and the city of Cologne, along with host the main Carvinal events country celebration with the speciality of 'Aachener Printen' tipical bread. Aachen sight is signed by the charolingian Cathedral built on the example of the Lateran Palace in Rome and of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, the ancient capitals of the Western Roman Empire from where came the marble and columns used and the sarcophagus which buried the frankish king. The cathedral hosts a treasury probably took in Jerusalem and Constantinople and enlarged by donations of the several emperors crowned in the church along the centuries. Another important historical monument is the Aachen Rathaus, the town hall dating 1330 A.D. sited aside the Markt and the Katschof, conserving precious replica of the Imperial Regalia, before the originary of the medieval age Grashaus hosting the city archive. Patrons of Aachen are Saint Mary mother of Jesus and Matthias the Apostle. The Aachen university is quoted, as Polytechnich known internationally with the akronym "RWTH".

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