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The Mystery of the Octagon, Aachen Cathedral.

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Aachen is in western Germany, near the border with the Netherlands and Belgium.

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Charles the Great, King of the Franks, began the construction of his palace chapel in the late 8th century.

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He commissioned the construction of Aachen Cathedral, which features an octagonal dome, 32 meters high.

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His tomb is in the cathedral altar. It is adorned with engravings of the King and Pope Leo III.

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Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne as the Imperator Romanorum, Emperor of the Romans, in the year 800.

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The great dome above the altar is octagonal because Charlemagne placed special significance on the number 8.

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The numeral appears frequently in the Holy Bible. It was charged with symbolism in the Christian world during medieval times.

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An octagon can be made by drawing two intersecting squares within a circle.

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The circle represents God's eternity, while the square represents the secular world.

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The four corners also represent the four directions to heaven and the four characteristics of man.

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Charlemagne saw the number 8 as symbolizing the power of the Franks and the Roman Empire, the ruler of both the secular and religious worlds.

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The Franks were later to become known as the Holy Roman Empire.

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The Emperor's throne, built in the 10th century, overlooks the altar.

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The two relics in his hands were symbols of his power as ruler of the two worlds.

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Charlemagne is holding a scepter symbolizing his rule of the secular world in his right hand,

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while in his left he holds an orb, the symbol of the religious world.

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Charlemagne is holding a scepter symbolizing his rule of the secular world in his right hand,

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while in his left he holds an orb, the symbol of the religious world.