Friedrich I: King of Germany and Italy, and Holy Roman Emperor
Friedrich I Barbarossa or Frederick I (1122-1190) was elected King of Germany on March 4th, 1152, and crowned King in the Palatine Chapel in the Aachen Cathedral on March 9th, 1152. On April 24th 1155, he was crowned King of Italy, and on June 18th 1155 was made Emperor (later: Holy Roman Emperor).
He was called Barbarossa which is Italian for ‘red beard’. Sometimes in German he is referred to as Kaiser Rotbart, but generally Germans also call him Barbarossa.
Aachen Cathedral and the Barbarossa Chandelier
The Aachen Cathedral or Aachener Dom was commissioned by Emperor Charlemagne (Karl der Große) in the late 8th century. It is not entirely clear when the Cathedral or the Palatine Chapel were finished but in 805, Pope Leo III consecrated the chapel.
Charlemagne was buried in the Cathedral when he died in 814. Frederick I canonized him in 1165 making the Aachener Dom a popular destination for pilgrims. It was around that time that Frederick I and his wife donated a chandelier, the so-called Barbarossa Chandelier or Barbarossaleuchter, to the hung in the Palatine Chapel (Pfalzkapelle). It was to honor Mary, Mother of God, and to pay tribute to Charlemagne.
In the time from 936 until 1531, thirty-one kings and twelve queens were crowned in the Pfalzkapelle.
Since 1978, the Aachen Cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
To find out more about Aachen Cathedral, click here.
The Third Crusade and Friedrich's Death
On the Third Crusade (1189-1192), Barbarossa drowned in the river Saleph. Different theories exist about the circumstances of his death. The crusaders possibly wanted to take a shortcut via the river, and while riding through, Frederick was thrown from his horse and due to his heavy armor drowned. Some claim, he wanted to take a swim or swim along the river but exhaustion took over and he drowned. Or maybe it was, as a Muslim chronicler says, divine intervention. Whatever caused his death, the crusade was weakened with many crusaders returning home after having lost their leader.
