For 600 years (936-1531) the Aachen Cathedral was the coronation place of the German kings. It is also the burial place of Charlemagne (Charles the Great) - this double function of the Aachen Cathedral is a major aspect of his appeal. But above all, the unique architecture attracts many visitors each and every year. Tourists and residents alike have and continue to visit to see its columns of Greek and Italian marble, its bronze doors, the largest mosaic of its dome (now destroyed)
The marble throne in the west building was built in its present form, probably on the occasion of the coronation of Otto I. The mosaic is an image of the apocalyptic vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, a reconstruction of the original. Things to see include the ornate pulpit and the Pala d'oro, the great 8-square chandelier and magnificent shrine for the relics of Charlemagne, which include the cloak of the Blessed Virgin, the swaddling clothes of the Infant Jesus, the loin-cloth worn by Christ on the cross and the cloth on which lay the head of John the Baptist after his beheading.