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Aachen Cathedral, with its famous treasury, houses a collection of artworks spanning over 1,800 years. Given the city’s proximity to the Low Countries, exchanges and mutual influences were naturally very common. Numerous works of medieval art from the Netherlands and Belgium have therefore found their way into the collection.

The most spectacular object is the Madonna of the Radiant Crown (Strahlenkranzmadonna), a late Gothic, double-sided wooden sculpture that hangs from the vault of the Gothic choir. It bears a signature, on the basis of which it is attributed to Jan van Steffeswert. The two Madonnas, which display numerous differences, especially in their iconography and attendant figures, were made around the year 1524. The piece was specifically commissioned to be suspended in the choir and is visually linked to the architecture. The sculpture is thus an integral part of the cathedral interior and has helped to determine its aesthetic since the late Middle Ages.

Other remarkable works on view in the permanent exhibition include Hendrik van Steenwyck’s painting of the cathedral interior, which provides visual evidence of the church’s pre-Baroque design. Also noteworthy are the Flemish embroidered Virgin of Mercy (Schutzmantelmadonna) and the bronze aquamanile in the shape of a man’s bust from the Maas region. Some items, such as the Noli me tangere painting by Gerard Seghers, are currently being restored.   

Artworks from the Netherlands and Belgium are at the heart of the collection to this day and testify to a long history of cross-border exchanges of art and ideas.  

Rosanne Bartels, Research Associate at the Cathedral Treasury (May 2026)