Aachen Cathedral - Octagon by Manninx

Aachen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages. For 595 years, from 936 to 1531, the Aachen chapel was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. The church is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Aachen. The Octagon in the centre of the Cathedral was erected as the chapel of the Palace of Aachen between 796 and 805 on the model of other contemporary Byzantine buildings (e.g. the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna and the Little Hagia Sophia in Constantinople). The span and height of Charlemagne's Palatine chapel was unsurpassed north of the Alps for over two hundred years. (text out of wikipedia) via 500px http://j.mp/1DjJRaP