Heinblog

Luxembourg City

Luxembourg is a small country wedged between Belgium, Germany, and France.

Luxembourg Cathedral was built in the 1600s.

Some of the Grand Dukes and Duchesses are buried within.

The National Art and History Museum of Luxembourg is worth a visit. It is dug a few floors into the ground into the old ruins of the city.

A pre-historic creature I wouldn't want to run into.

Deep in the sandstone of Luxembourg

Celtic fibulae from Titelberg

A Roman mask

A Roman military marker

Nice mosaic!

Merovingian fibulae

More Merovingian goods

The Wild Man, Luxembourg's unfortunate choice of a mascot

The Patron Saints of the guilds of Luxembourg

A reliquary for pieces of the True Cross from the 1200s.

"Bacchus and a Follower"

Again, not all 1200s art is created equal.

Luxembourg City is known as the Gibraltar of the North due to its highly defensible terrain.

The Luxembourg family was one of the three most powerful families in the early Holy Roman Empire, along with the Hapsburgs and Wittlesbachs.

When the family line died out, Luxembourg became part of Burgundy, then Hapsburg lands, then France, then the Dutch, and finally became independent in 1890.

In 1866 Luxembourg destroyed most of its defenses to prevent a war over it by France and Germany. It remains an imposing sight today, despite this.

Aachen

Aachen was Charlemagne's preferred residence and is home to Aachen Cathedral, where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned.

Work on the Cathedral begun in 796.

Charlemagne was buried here in 814.

Once Charlemagne was canonized in 1165, large amounts of pilgrims began visiting the Cathedral.

Many additions have been made to the Cathedral throughout the centuries. My favorite ornamentation were the Ravenna - influenced mosaics.

The Cathedral has a well stocked treasury.

Quite the hand!

The Bust of Charlemagne, made in 1350 to house the top of his skull

The Cross of Lothair, made in the 1000s.

The back has a unique design as well.

The head of a cantor's staff from the 1400s

Another sumptuous reliquary

I lost track of what this was. The Cathedral has a lot of treasure.

St. Peter holding a link of his chain from while he was imprisoned in Rome.

Ancient locks used at the Cathedral

You can see the different architectural styles of structures added onto the Cathedral over the years.

What is a Cathedral without its gargoyles?

The rest of Aachen is also picturesque, including the Rathaus.

The front of the Rathaus

There is a cute restaurant attached to the Rathaus in the old coach-house.

Some school kids were dressed up like they were from the 1600s or 1700s in the main square, and released balloons with notes tied to them.

A strange fountain

I only go to Five Guys with ancient ruins in their bathroom.

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth most populous city and home to the famous Cologne Cathedral, the tallest cathedral in the world.

Construction on the Cathedral began in 1248, but it was not completed until 1880.

The Cathedral houses the reliquary of the Three Kings, looted from Milan by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1164.

Work on the belfry ceased in 1473; the tallest structure in Cologne was a crane left on the tower for 400 years. Though the German Empire was ruled by Protestant Prussians, they completed the Cathedral in the late 1800s as a symbol of German nationalism.