Urban development of the European monastic city through the conventual system in Aachen

Abstract

The urban development of European cities is linked to the emergence of monasteries. During the Middle Ages, religious orders spread occupying not only the territory, but especially the city. In central Europe, in what is now Germany, monasteries developed significantly. Cities such as Cologne or Aachen had more than 60 and 30 monastic buildings, respectively. Aachen stands out as not only the second monastery town in North Rhine-Westphalia but also as other important facts. It was the capital of the Carolingian Empire, one of the points on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela, and later as a border town of the Holy Roman Empire. The monasteries in the city are not only religious facilities, but also educational, health and even inns. The centrality of Aachen, together with the general lack of a public school, hospital, or hospice system, meant that these functions were taken over by the religious orders in the monastic buildings. The main objective is the morphological study of the city of Aachen through its monastic buildings. The GIS has been used as the main methodological tool, allowing the graphical representation of data and georeferencing of the buildings in the city. Among the main results, the conventual surface represent the 9% of the urban area. Furthermore, a differentiation has been made between buildings inside and outside of the walls, which is key to urban development. The importance of religion lies not only in faith and prayer, but also in its capacity to generate new buildings and typologies for the city, which favour its urban development. Monasteries and convents are not only a reflection of urban importance, but also mark future urban growth. The city of Aachen is shown to be a remarkable example of monastic development in the European city.