Inside the Chapel of Saint Nicholas and Saint Michael in Aachen Cathedral
I was very impressed with the Aachen Cathedral, in particular the Palatine Chapel which is the original structure of the eventual cathedral. The cathedral is considered one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe and I think it shows in the design. The Palatine Chapel wasn’t very large at all and it was very easy to go around it in a minute. One would need to take time to appreciate the details of this chapel. There was only so much I can see here since it wasn’t that big in the first place so I decided to continue on with my visit. However, I discovered that there are parts of cathedral that I haven’t visited yet.
Sculpture at the Chapel of Saint Nicholas and Saint Michael in Aachen Cathedral
Like a lot of cathedrals, the Aachen Cathedral has smaller chapels around it. Most of the time, at least in a traditional gothic church, the chapels would be along the sides of the cathedral and one would be able to easily visit them if one walks around the church. I discovered a chapel off to one side of the cathedral and this one seems to be a bit more separated from the church, unlike a gothic church. This is the Chapel of Saint Nicholas and Saint Michael.
My first impression of the chapel was how dark it actually was. Indeed, the windows weren’t that big and it doesn’t help that the furniture inside wasn’t bright either. There is fancy altarpiece here as well as a large black – thing – which has writing on it. On the floor you can see the tombs of people. This was a common practice back then to make sure they get to heaven. I wasn’t very comfortable in this chapel since it was dark and it didn’t help that there are also tombs inside the chapel itself. I quickly led myself out into another room.
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