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Charlemagne Mass

For any of you who might be in Frankfurt this weekend, here is an item of interest.

On Sat. 31 Jan, there will be a "Charlemagne Mass" held at the Kaiserdom at 18:00. This is a mass that has been held for the last 600 years in Frankfurt. Songs of praise celebrating the Emperor and the city will be sung in medieval Latin and prayers will be said for the good future of Europe. Frankfurt and Aachen are the only places in Germany where Charlemagne is honored with a mass. Each year, the city of Frankfurt invites a bishop from another European land to preside. This year it is the Netherlands.

This is also a chance to hear the lovely organ in the Kaiserdom. Not the largest in Germany, but the largest in the state of Hesse and really quite magnificent. The Kaiserdom is where all of the emperors were elected since 1152 and where all were crowned after 1562.

Posted by
85 posts

How cool. I'd love to be there, but I won't arrive until the middle of March. European history is my favorite and Charlemagne was quite a character. Too bad I have to earn a living or I'd have majored in history in college! :-)

Posted by
9220 posts

I just found out that the cathedral does fill up quite quickly, so you might want to get there early to get a seat. I also found out today, that one of Charlemagne's wives, (he had at least 4) was from Frankfurt!

Oh, and if you are in town tomorrow, it is the last Saturday of the month, so that means almost all of the museums are FREE!