Domschatzkammer (Cathedral Treasury), Aachen (must see)

Legend has it that Charlemagne started the Cathedral Treasury in his chapel with objects from Jerusalem and Constantinople. Today the collection is part of a museum of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen. The treasury and Aachen Cathedral were the first German sites to be added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Cathedral Treasury has been housed in various places over the centuries. In the 15th century, it was housed in St. Matthew's Chapel, and in 1873 it was moved to Charles' Chapel. It moved again to the Hungarian Chapel in 1881 and finally to its present location next to the Poor Souls' Chapel in 1931.

From the original Carolingian collection, only six objects remain and only three are still here in Aachen. Look for an early Byzantine silk, a diptych of Christ, and the Aachen Gospels. Numerous other objects from the time of Charlemagne have been added to the collection over the years. You'll see a late-Gothic silver-gilt bust of the man himself, the Persephone sarcophagus, and his hunting horn and hunting knife.

There is also a large section of the treasury dedicated to church artifacts. For example, the Ottonian Cross of Lothair is an ornate golden processional cross from the year 1000 AD. You'll also want to catch a glimpse of the Carolingian Gospels, a decorated illumination.

The next section of the collection contains relics related to the coronations of Holy Roman Emperors that occurred in Aachen between 936 and 1531.