238-547: The Pilgrimage of the Relics or Maastricht Septennial Pilgrimage ( Dutch : Heiligdomsvaart van Maastricht ) is a seven-yearly Catholic event in the Dutch city of Maastricht . Originating in the Middle Ages, it developed from a pilgrimage to the grave of Saint Servatius into the present-day religious, historical, cultural and commercial enterprise. Highlights in the programme are
476-417: A cantor . Each time a group of relics is shown, a short fanfare sounds from the west choir of the church, adding to the dramatic effect. Also, after having been shown, the relics do not return to the chancel area, but are immediately taken down the choir steps into the side chapels. Here they remain, guarded by members of confraternities. This means that, unlike at Our Lady's, the chancel is virtually empty at
714-561: A common ancestor with languages such as English, German, and the Scandinavian languages . All Germanic languages are subject to the Grimm's law and Verner's law sound shifts, which originated in the Proto-Germanic language and define the basic features differentiating them from other Indo-European languages. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in
952-461: A schwa . The Middle Dutch dialect areas were affected by political boundaries. The sphere of political influence of a certain ruler often also created a sphere of linguistic influence, with the language within the area becoming more homogenous. Following the contemporary political divisions they are in order of importance: A process of standardisation started in the Middle Ages , especially under
1190-584: A synod taking place in Corbridge , England , where the decisions are being written down " tam Latine quam theodisce " meaning "in Latin as well as common vernacular". According to a hypothesis by De Grauwe, In northern West Francia (i.e. modern-day Belgium) the term would take on a new meaning during the Early Middle Ages , when, within the context of a highly dichromatic linguistic landscape, it came to be
1428-515: A black cloak with a six-pointed star on it. Some carry processional lanterns or processional poles with fraternity plaques. The statue of the Star of the Sea has no role in the relics display in the church, although this ceremony is traditionally concluded by the hymn O Star of the Sea . The 'Black Christ of Wyck' is a large 13th-century corpus of dark walnut that was once part of a crucifix . For centuries it
1666-527: A bucket of water on their doorstep to help prevent major conflagrations . The decline of the Maastricht pilgrimage in the 16th century was a result of the Protestant Reformation , as well as the ensuing wars of religion and outbreaks of the plague . This affected Maastricht as much as many other places in north-western Europe. The 1489 and 1552 pilgrimages were cancelled due to threat of war. During
1904-559: A comparison between the West Germanic languages, see the sections Phonology, Grammar, and Vocabulary. Dutch dialects are primarily the dialects that are both related with the Dutch language and are spoken in the same language area as the Dutch standard language . Although heavily under the influence of the standard language, some of them remain diverse and are found in the Netherlands and in
2142-461: A consequence evolve (along with Alemannic , Bavarian and Lombardic ) into Old High German. At more or less the same time the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, moving over Western Europe from west to east, led to the development of Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), Old Frisian and Old Saxon . Hardly influenced by either development, Old Dutch probably remained relatively close to the original language of
2380-576: A cross reliquary from Dordrecht , a reliquary of Saint Lidwina from Schiedam , and a reliquary of Saint Cassius and Florentius (martyrs of the Theban Legion ) from Bonn . Besides the four main devotional statues (see: 'Maastricht Devotions'), there are a few other statues of saints that are included in the Maastricht pilgrimage. Some Maastricht parishes are represented in the pilgrimage processions with their patron saint , each with their own carriers guild. A 15th-century statue of Saint Peter hails from
2618-419: A group has been announced the carriers step forward near the edge of the choir steps, then lifting up the reliquaries for a few seconds, so they can be seen by all. At no point are the relics taken out of their containers. A prayer is said and the carriers return to their position in the semicircle, after which the next group of relics is announced. In 2018 the order of showing was: After the blessing, given with
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#17330930749092856-565: A lesser degree involved are the other churches in central Maastricht, as well as a number of (Catholic) schools, senior citizens homes and cultural institutions. The administrational centre of the pilgrimage doubles as an information point for both pilgrims and tourists. The opening ceremony begins with a short service in the open air at the Spring of Saint Servatius in the Jeker valley, a few miles south of Maastricht. The service includes drinking water from
3094-635: A long time. In the Heiligdomsvaart processions the Basilica Choir (the main choir of Our Lady's) accompanies the statue of the Star of the Sea, while the Cappella Sancti Servatii (the choir of St Servatius') walks in front of the bust of Saint Servatius. A position of honour is given to the marching band that walks behind the Noodkist , thus closing the procession. On the first Sunday in 2018 this
3332-566: A minority language in Germany and northern France's French Flanders . Though Belgium as a whole is multilingual, three of the four language areas into which the country is divided ( Flanders , francophone Wallonia , and the German-speaking Community ) are largely monolingual, with Brussels being bilingual. The Netherlands and Belgium produce the vast majority of music , films , books and other media written or spoken in Dutch. Dutch
3570-657: A minority) and the province of Walloon Brabant . Brabantian expands into small parts in the west of Limburg while its strong influence on the East Flemish of East Flanders and eastern Zeelandic Flanders weakens towards the west. In a small area in the northwest of North Brabant ( Willemstad ), Hollandic is spoken. Conventionally, the Kleverlandish dialects are distinguished from Brabantian, but there are no objective criteria apart from geography to do so. Over 5 million people live in an area with some form of Brabantian being
3808-420: A number of closely related, mutually intelligible dialects spoken in the former Old Dutch area. Where Old Dutch fragments are very hard to read for untrained Modern Dutch speakers, the various literary works of Middle Dutch are somewhat more accessible. The most notable difference between Old and Middle Dutch is in a feature of speech known as vowel reduction , whereby vowels in unstressed syllables are leveled to
4046-475: A number of reliquary busts of apostles and bishops, as well as reliquaries and statues of other locally venerated saints. As mentioned before, many reliquaries are considered too fragile to leave their protected environment. This applies to most of the Servatiana, the alb of Saint Servatius, the cloak of Saint Lambert, several staurothèques (cross reliquaries), all the reliquary horns in the treasuries (except for
4284-421: A pilgrimage as part of a penalty. Breaking the rules during this time was punished with forced pilgrimages (e.g. to Santiago de Compostella) or fines. Magistrates and guilds formed militia that patrolled the streets, especially in areas where many pilgrims gathered. The large concentration of people in the relatively small city of around 15,000 also posed threats of fire and disease. Citizens were obliged to have
4522-566: A political border, because the traditional dialects are strongly influenced by the national standard varieties. While a somewhat heterogeneous group of Low Franconian dialects, Limburgish has received official status as a regional language in the Netherlands and Germany, but not in Belgium. Due to this official recognition, it receives protection by chapter 2 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . Afrikaans , although to
4760-583: A procession. The relics remained on view for two weeks on a pedestal in the choir of St Servatius'. The route of the procession was the same as the previous year: leaving the church from the south-east portal, via Vrijthof and Keizer Karelplein to the north portal and the treasury in the cloisters. This time judicial action was taken against dean Rutten. The case went on for years; the dean persisted despite losing every single case. This and similar cases led to heated discussions in Dutch Parliament. It did not stop
4998-454: A range of religious souvenirs: pilgrim horns made of clay, pilgrim flasks made of white pipe clay and, most of all, pilgrim badges made of tin or lead. In the 16th and 17th century these were gradually replaced by printed images, pilgrim's forms, booklets, medals and flags. The objects were often decorated with images of relics from Maastricht, Aachen and Kornelimünster, which made it easy to sell them in all three places. The fourteen days of
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#17330930749095236-589: A result of the Variscan orogeny . After this event, and over the course of the following 200 million years, this area has been continuously flattened. During the Cretaceous period, the ocean penetrated the continent from the direction of the North Sea up to the mountainous area near Aachen, bringing with it clay, sand, and chalk deposits. While the clay (which was the basis for a major pottery industry in nearby Raeren )
5474-413: A result, Nederduits no longer serves as a synonym for the Dutch language. In the 19th century, the term " Diets " was revived by Dutch linguists and historians as well, as a poetic name for Middle Dutch and its literature . Old Dutch can be discerned more or less around the same time as Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Old High German , Old Frisian , and Old Saxon . These names are derived from
5712-485: A result, traditional groups of altar servers , choir boys , scouting groups and 'brides' (young women dressed in white) have largely disappeared. The same has happened to Catholic women's associations and workers' associations. Their place has now been taken by non-religious, historical and folkloristic groups, or in some cases by religious groups from elsewhere (e.g. the Singing Virgins of Tongeren ). About half of
5950-505: A result, when West Flemings try to talk Standard Dutch, they are often unable to pronounce the g-sound, and pronounce it similar to the h-sound. This leaves, for example, no difference between " held " (hero) and " geld " (money). Or in some cases, they are aware of the problem, and hyper-correct the "h" into a voiced velar fricative or g-sound, again leaving no difference. The West Flemish variety historically spoken in adjacent parts in France
6188-516: A significant degree mutually intelligible with Dutch, is usually not considered a dialect but instead a separate standardised language . It is spoken in South Africa and Namibia. As a daughter language of 17th-century Dutch dialects, Afrikaans evolved in parallel with modern Dutch, but was influenced by various other languages in South Africa. West Frisian ( Westerlauwers Fries ), along with Saterland Frisian and North Frisian , evolved from
6426-473: A somewhat different development since the late Middle Ages. Two dialect groups have been given the official status of regional language (or streektaal ) in the Netherlands. Like several other dialect groups, both are part of a dialect continuum that continues across the national border. The Dutch Low Saxon dialect area comprises the provinces of Groningen , Drenthe and Overijssel , as well as parts of
6664-424: A source language, mainly for law and history students. In Indonesia this involves about 35,000 students. Unlike other European nations, the Dutch chose not to follow a policy of language expansion amongst the indigenous peoples of their colonies. In the last quarter of the 19th century, however, a local elite gained proficiency in Dutch so as to meet the needs of expanding bureaucracy and business. Nevertheless,
6902-546: A theme is chosen for each edition of the pilgrimage. In the processions, the theme provides a guideline for those groups that attempt to present the Gospel to an increasingly non-religious audience. In 2018 the theme Do good and do not look back was presented by several local amateur theatre groups. Some participants reenacted themes from the Old and New Testament , others focussed on Catholic themes like Saint Servatius, Pope Francis and
7140-538: A unique prestige dialect and has a large dialectal continuum consisting of 28 main dialects, which can themselves be further divided into at least 600 distinguishable varieties. In the Netherlands, the Hollandic dialect dominates in national broadcast media while in Flanders Brabantian dialect dominates in that capacity, making them in turn unofficial prestige dialects in their respective countries. Outside
7378-531: Is kantor , handdoek "towel" in Indonesian is handuk , or bushalte "bus stop" in Indonesian is halte bus . In addition, many Indonesian words are calques of Dutch; for example, rumah sakit "hospital" is calqued on the Dutch ziekenhuis (literally "sickhouse"), kebun binatang "zoo" on dierentuin (literally "animal garden"), undang-undang dasar "constitution" from grondwet (literally "ground law"). These account for some of
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7616-491: Is Sranan Tongo , spoken natively by about a fifth of the population. Aachen Aachen ( / ˈ ɑː k ən / AH -kən , German: [ˈaːxn̩] ; Aachen dialect : Oche [ˈɔːxə] ; Dutch : Aken [ˈaːkə(n)] ; French: Aix-la-Chapelle ; Latin: Aquae Granni or Aquisgranum ) is the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and
7854-466: Is a calque of the aforementioned Roman province Germania Inferior and an attempt by early Dutch grammarians to give their language more prestige by linking it to Roman times. Likewise, Hoogduits ("High German") and Overlands ("Upper-landish") came into use as a Dutch exonym for the various German dialects used in neighboring German states. Use of Nederduytsch was popular in the 16th century but ultimately lost out over Nederlands during
8092-531: Is a monocentric language , at least what concerns its written form, with all speakers using the same standard form (authorised by the Dutch Language Union ) based on a Dutch orthography defined in the so-called " Green Booklet " authoritative dictionary and employing the Latin alphabet when writing; however, pronunciation varies between dialects. Indeed, in stark contrast to its written uniformity, Dutch lacks
8330-521: Is also an official language of several international organisations, such as the European Union , Union of South American Nations and the Caribbean Community . At an academic level, Dutch is taught in about 175 universities in 40 countries. About 15,000 students worldwide study Dutch at university. In Europe, Dutch is the majority language in the Netherlands (96%) and Belgium (59%) as well as
8568-484: Is carried in processions on either one of two processional litters, depending on the occasion, much like the previously-mentioned objects. The small litter is dressed in green; the larger litter in white damask and decorated with flowers. Members of the Carriers Guild of Saint Lambert (Dutch: Dragersgilde St. Lambertus ) wear green and yellow tunics; around their neck a chain with an embroidered medallion with an image of
8806-690: Is divided into seven administrative districts, or boroughs, each with its own district council, district leader, and district authority. The councils are elected locally by those who live within the district, and these districts are further subdivided into smaller sections for statistical purposes, with each sub-district named by a two-digit number. The districts of Aachen, including their constituent statistical districts, are: Regardless of official statistical designations, there are 50 neighbourhoods and communities within Aachen, here arranged by district: The following cities and communities border Aachen, clockwise from
9044-578: Is found in the Salic law . In this Frankish document written around 510 the oldest Dutch sentence has been identified: Maltho thi afrio lito ("I say to you, I free you, serf") used to free a serf. Another old fragment of Dutch is Visc flot aftar themo uuatare ("A fish was swimming in the water"). The oldest conserved larger Dutch text is the Utrecht baptismal vow (776–800) starting with Forsachistu diobolae ... ec forsacho diabolae (litt.: "Forsake you
9282-408: Is known about its role in the medieval pilgrimage practices. For obvious reasons it could not be shown from the dwarf gallery. Normally it stood on a stone altar behind the high altar , covered by a capsa , a painted wooden box. During the pilgrimage the capsa was removed and pilgrims were given access to the chancel . They were even allowed to touch the chest. After the revival of the pilgrimage in
9520-527: Is medieval (first mentioned in 1286) but the outer case was replaced in the 19th century. Both inside the church and in the outdoor processions it is carried and escorted by a group of women in light-blue dresses. Two women carry the processional litter; the others hold red roses. Since the Second World War, a number of important relics have 'visited' Maastricht (see: 'History/20th century'). In 2018 there were busts from Houthem and Susteren (mentioned above),
9758-814: Is more room for other groups, from other denominations, from other cultural backgrounds or from other towns. In 2018 there were local representatives of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (see above), the Russian Orthodox Church , the Armenian Apostolic Church , the Philippine community (with an Ave Maria theme), the Antillian community (with a gospel group), the Order of the Holy Sepulchre ,
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9996-466: Is mostly Germanic; it incorporates slightly more Romance loans than German, but far fewer than English. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Suriname, the native official name for Dutch is Nederlands (historically Nederlandsch before the Dutch orthographic reforms ). Sometimes Vlaams (" Flemish ") is used as well to describe Standard Dutch in Flanders , whereas Hollands (" Hollandic ")
10234-553: Is mostly found in the lower areas of Aachen, the hills of the Aachen Forest and the Lousberg were formed from upper Cretaceous sand and chalk deposits. More recent sedimentation is mainly located in the north and east of Aachen and was formed through tertiary and quaternary river and wind activities. Along the major thrust fault of the Variscan orogeny , there are over 30 thermal springs in Aachen and Burtscheid . Additionally,
10472-527: Is no competition between the towns. 1990 saw a dip in numbers of visitors, possibly a result of tensions in the Diocese of Roermond under bishop Joannes Gijsen . In 1997 the theme was Where are you? with around 100,000 visitors. In 2004 the theme was We are the time . It was the first time an extensive cultural programme was added to the pilgrimage. The 2011 theme was Towards the Light . Around 175.000 attended some of
10710-480: Is occasionally used as a colloquial term for the standard language in the central and northwestern parts of the Netherlands. English uses the adjective Dutch as a noun for the language of the Netherlands and Flanders. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz . The stem of this word, *þeudō , meant "people" in Proto-Germanic, and *-iskaz was an adjective-forming suffix, of which -ish
10948-556: Is so distinct that it might be considered as a separate language variant, although the strong significance of language in Belgian politics would prevent the government from classifying them as such. An oddity of the dialect is that, the voiced velar fricative (written as "g" in Dutch) shifts to a voiced glottal fricative (written as "h" in Dutch), while the letter "h" becomes mute (like in French). As
11186-573: Is sometimes called French Flemish and is listed as a French minority language . However, only a very small and aging minority of the French-Flemish population still speaks and understands West Flemish. Hollandic is spoken in Holland and Utrecht , though the original forms of this dialect (which were heavily influenced by a West Frisian substratum and, from the 16th century on, by Brabantian dialects ) are now relatively rare. The urban dialects of
11424-614: Is spoken in Limburg (Belgium) as well as in the remaining part of Limburg (Netherlands) and extends across the German border. West Flemish ( Westvlaams ) is spoken in West Flanders , the western part of Zeelandic Flanders and also in French Flanders , where it virtually became extinct to make way for French. The West Flemish group of dialects, spoken in West Flanders and Zeeland ,
11662-575: Is taught in various educational centres in Indonesia, the most important of which is the Erasmus Language Centre (ETC) in Jakarta . Each year, some 1,500 to 2,000 students take Dutch courses there. In total, several thousand Indonesians study Dutch as a foreign language. Owing to centuries of Dutch rule in Indonesia, many old documents are written in Dutch. Many universities therefore include Dutch as
11900-639: Is the Modern English form. Theodiscus was its Latinised form and used as an adjective referring to the Germanic vernaculars of the Early Middle Ages . In this sense, it meant "the language of the common people". The term was used as opposed to Latin , the non -native language of writing and the Catholic Church . It was first recorded in 786, when the Bishop of Ostia writes to Pope Adrian I about
12138-404: Is the case with the ( standardised ) West Frisian language . It is spoken alongside Dutch in the province of Friesland . Dutch dialects and regional languages are not spoken as often as they used to be, especially in the Netherlands. Recent research by Geert Driessen shows that the use of dialects and regional languages among both Dutch adults and youth is in heavy decline. In 1995, 27 percent of
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#173309307490912376-486: Is the main treasure of the Basilica of St Servatius and arguably the most important medieval object in the Netherlands. Its significance as a major product of Mosan metalwork has been recognised internationally. For centuries the Noodkist was the centre of veneration of Saint Servatius in Maastricht, receiving its nickname from the custom of taking it out in procession in times of distress (first mentioned in 1409). Not much
12614-448: Is the native language of the majority of the population of Suriname , and spoken as a second or third language in the polyglot Caribbean island countries of Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten . All these countries have recognised Dutch as one of their official languages, and are involved in one way or another in the Dutch Language Union . The Dutch Caribbean municipalities ( St. Eustatius , Saba and Bonaire ) have Dutch as one of
12852-525: Is the sole official language, and over 60 percent of the population speaks it as a mother tongue . Dutch is the obligatory medium of instruction in schools in Suriname, even for non-native speakers. A further twenty-four percent of the population speaks Dutch as a second language . Suriname gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1975 and has been an associate member of the Dutch Language Union since 2004. The lingua franca of Suriname, however,
13090-519: The 2006 New Zealand census , 26,982 people, or 0.70 percent of the total population, reported to speak Dutch to sufficient fluency that they could hold an everyday conversation. In contrast to the colonies in the East Indies , from the second half of the 19th century onwards, the Netherlands envisaged the expansion of Dutch in its colonies in the West Indies . Until 1863, when slavery was abolished in
13328-731: The 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is located at the northern foothills of the High Fens and the Eifel Mountains. It sits on the Wurm River , a tributary of the Rur , and together with Mönchengladbach , it is the only larger German city in the drainage basin of the Meuse . It is the westernmost larger city in Germany, lying approximately 61 km (38 mi) west of Cologne and Bonn , directly bordering Belgium in
13566-564: The Bergakker inscription , found near the Dutch city of Tiel , which may represent a primary record of 5th-century Frankish. Although some place names recorded in Roman texts such as vadam (modern Dutch: wad , English: "mudflat"), could arguably be considered as the oldest single "Dutch" words, the Bergakker inscription yields the oldest evidence of Dutch morphology. However, interpretations of
13804-450: The Brussels and Flemish regions of Belgium . The areas in which they are spoken often correspond with former medieval counties and duchies. The Netherlands (but not Belgium) distinguishes between a dialect and a streektaal (" regional language "). Those words are actually more political than linguistic because a regional language unites a large group of very different varieties. Such is
14042-473: The Bust of Charlemagne came over from Aachen, accompanied by many German pilgrims (among them cardinal Josef Frings ). In 1969 the reliquary chest of Saint Remaclus was brought in from Stavelot and that of Saint Gummarus from Lier ; in 1976 Saint Lambert 's bust visited from Liège , Saint Ursula 's shrine from Cologne and other reliquaries from Oldenzaal , Visé , Aachen and Burtscheid . Starting in 1969
14280-620: The Church of Our Lady , possessed important relics too. After the First Crusade (1096-99), two major relics of the True Cross were acquired from Constantinople . One was the so-called Pectoral Cross of Constantine , which was set in a small golden triptych . The other was the Byzantine double cross or Patriarchal cross , presented to the church by Philip of Swabia . Both reliquaries were donated to
14518-498: The Church of Saint Servatius acquired many relics, which were housed in precious reliquaries . The indulgences connected to these relics brought in more pilgrims. A French pilgrim calculated in 1453 that in one year in Maastricht one could earn about 800 years reduction of purgatorial punishment. At the same time, it was assumed that a completed Maastricht pilgrimage was rewarded with a plenarary indulgence (full remittance of punishment). The other collegiate church in Maastricht,
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#173309307490914756-408: The Eifel and the High Fens and its subsequent prevailing westerly weather patterns, rainfall in Aachen (on average 805 mm/year) is comparatively higher than, for example, in Bonn (with 669 mm/year). Another factor in the local weather forces of Aachen is the occurrence of Foehn winds on the southerly air currents, which results from the city's geographic location on the northern edge of
14994-495: The High German consonant shift , does not use Germanic umlaut as a grammatical marker, has largely abandoned the use of the subjunctive , and has levelled much of its morphology , including most of its case system . Features shared with German, however, include the survival of two to three grammatical genders – albeit with few grammatical consequences – as well as the use of modal particles , final-obstruent devoicing , and (similar) word order . Dutch vocabulary
15232-409: The Holy Roman Empire (Germany, Austria and Bohemia), Hungary and Scandinavia . After visiting Maastricht many carried on to Aachen and Kornelimünster, or to other pilgrimage sites. The pilgrims were vital for the town's medieval economy. During the septennial pilgrimage the usually strict rules for trading were relaxed. Every citizen could sell food and drink or change currency. Pilgrims were offered
15470-447: The Holy Sacraments . A group of students from the Roman Catholic seminaries of Rolduc and Liège carried reproductions of a painting by the Master of Alkmaar , illustrating the Seven Works of Mercy . As an answer to this, members of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands carried drawings by school children with the same theme in a contemporary context. As there have been less participants from local churches in recent years, there
15708-431: The Low Countries , its meaning being largely implicitly provided by the regional orientation of medieval Dutch society: apart from the higher echelons of the clergy and nobility, mobility was largely static and hence while "Dutch" could by extension also be used in its earlier sense, referring to what today would be called Germanic dialects as opposed to Romance dialects , in many cases it was understood or meant to refer to
15946-473: The Low Franconian languages, paired with its sister language Limburgish or East Low Franconian. Its closest relative is the mutually intelligible daughter language Afrikaans. Other West Germanic languages related to Dutch are German , English and the un-standardised languages Low German and Yiddish . Dutch stands out in combining some Ingvaeonic characteristics (occurring consistently in English and Frisian and reduced in intensity from west to east over
16184-533: The Meuse , and about 30 km (19 mi) north of the High Fens , which form the northern edge of the Eifel uplands of the Rhenish Massif . The maximum dimensions of the city's territory are 21.6 km ( 13 + 3 ⁄ 8 mi) from north to south, and 17.2 km ( 10 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi) from east to west. The city limits are 87.7 km ( 54 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi) long, of which 23.8 km ( 14 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi) border Belgium and 21.8 km ( 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi)
16422-471: The Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, attracted to its warm mineral springs . Latin Aquae figures in Aachen's Roman name Aquae granni , which meant "waters of Grannus ", referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs. This word became Åxhe in Walloon and Aix in French, and subsequently Aix-la-Chapelle to distinguish it from Aix-en-Provence , after Charlemagne had his palatine chapel built there in
16660-514: The Order of Saint Lazarus , the OSMTH Order of the Knights Templar , the Bund der St. Sebastianus Schützenjugend (with the Aachener Friedenskreuz or Aachen Peace Cross) and the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus (with a banner commemorating the beatification of their founder, Clara Fey ). Church choirs , marching bands , fanfare orchestras , drum bands , guilds of flag throwers and folkloristic militias (Dutch: schutterijen ) have been part of religious processions in this part of Europe for
16898-400: The Palace . Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. During the Carolingian empire, a Jewish community lived near the royal palace. In Jewish texts, the city of Aachen was called Aish or Ash (אש). In 797, Isaac, a Jewish merchant, accompanied two ambassadors of Charlemagne to
17136-597: The RWTH Aachen (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule), known especially for mechanical engineering, automotive and manufacturing technology as well as for its research and academic hospital Klinikum Aachen , one of the largest medical facilities in Europe. Aachen is located in the middle of the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion , close to the border tripoint of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium . The town of Vaals in
17374-526: The Randstad , which are Hollandic dialects, do not diverge from standard Dutch very much, but there is a clear difference between the city dialects of Rotterdam , The Hague , Amsterdam and Utrecht . In some rural Hollandic areas more authentic Hollandic dialects are still being used, especially north of Amsterdam. Another group of dialects based on Hollandic is that spoken in the cities and larger towns of Friesland , where it partially displaced West Frisian in
17612-566: The Siege of Maastricht (1579) the three "heavenly cloths" went missing, whereas the reliquary bust of Saint Servatius was largely destroyed. Maastricht became a heavily defended Catholic bulwark. By 1608 attendance to the pilgrimage had dropped to 13,000. After the Capture of Maastricht by the Protestant Dutch Republic in 1632, a ban on processions and other religious manifestations in public
17850-526: The Southern Netherlands (now Belgium and Luxembourg), developments were different. Under subsequent Spanish , Austrian and French rule , the standardisation of Dutch language came to a standstill. The state, law, and increasingly education used French, yet more than half the Belgian population were speaking a variety of Dutch. In the course of the 19th century, the Flemish Movement stood up for
18088-611: The Treaty of Verdun , the city was within the borders of Middle Francia , until it became part of East Francia after the Treaty of Meerssen (870). It subsequently was part of the Holy Roman Empire and was granted city rights in 1166 by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa , becoming an imperial city . It served as the coronation site where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans from 936 to 1531, until Frankfurt am Main became
18326-504: The True Cross . It is carried by a priest as a processional cross at the entrance procession during the ceremony of the relics display. It is however too fragile to participate in any other processions. That would perhaps also apply to the reliquary with the girdle of Saint Mary in Our Lady's Basilica, were it not that this relic is considered too vital to be excluded. The core of the reliquary
18564-666: The War of Devolution . The second congress ended with the second treaty in 1748, ending the War of the Austrian Succession . In 1789, there was a constitutional crisis in the Aachen government, and in 1794 Aachen lost its status as a free imperial city . In 1629, the Aachen Jewish community was expelled from the city. In 1667, six Jews were allowed to return. Most of the Aachen Jewish community settled in Burtscheid. As recently as
18802-489: The antonym of *walhisk (Romance-speakers, specifically Old French ). The word, now rendered as dietsc (Southwestern variant) or duutsc (Central and Northern Variant), could refer to the Dutch language itself, as well as a broader Germanic category depending on context. During the High Middle Ages " Dietsc / Duutsc " was increasingly used as an umbrella term for the specific Germanic dialects spoken in
19040-499: The apse 's roof. The dwarf gallery was decorated for the occasion with cloths printed with angels and Saint Servatius' keys. The showing of the relics must have been a theatrical event during which many pilgrims were overcome with emotion. Throughout the ceremony loud cries could be heard. Some pilgrims were sitting on rooftops around Vrijthof to get a better view of the relics and to benefit from their exposure. Many took bread, meat and personal objects with them in order to be blessed by
19278-524: The continental West Germanic plane) with dominant Istvaeonic characteristics, some of which are also incorporated in German. Unlike German, Dutch (apart from Limburgish) has not been influenced at all by the south to north movement of the High German consonant shift and had some changes of its own. The cumulation of these changes resulted over time in separate, but related standard languages with various degrees of similarities and differences between them. For
19516-434: The differences in vocabulary between Indonesian and Malay. Some regional languages in Indonesia have some Dutch loanwords as well; for example, Sundanese word Katel or "frying pan" origin in Dutch is " ketel ". The Javanese word for "bike/ bicycle " " pit " can be traced back to its origin in Dutch " fiets ". The Malacca state of Malaysia was also colonized by the Dutch in its longest period that Malacca
19754-522: The migration period . The last Roman coin finds are from the time of Emperor Gratian (AD 375–383). Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated. By 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne . During the Roman period, Aachen was the site of a flourishing Jewish community. Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in
19992-400: The pectoral cross of Saint Servatius, his seal , his cup, his pilgrim's staff , his crozier , his chalice , his paten and his portable altar. Due to their size and frailty their role has diminished in recent years. An additional reason for this could be that art historians have argued that, with the exception of the cup of Saint Servatius, none of these objects are old enough to have been
20230-630: The pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age . The Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups: East (now extinct), West , and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period . Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots , Frisian , Low German (Old Saxon) and High German . It is characterised by a number of phonological and morphological innovations not found in North or East Germanic. The West Germanic varieties of
20468-552: The vicus Aquae Granni was Frankized around the 5th century. This was followed by a period of sedentism under first Merovingian and then Carolingian rule. With the completion of the Carolingian Palace of Aachen at the transition to the 9th century, Aachen was constituted as the main royal residence of the Frankish Empire ruled by Charlemagne . Because of that the city is sometimes called "cradle of Europe". After
20706-764: The " chef-lieu du département de la Roer " in Napoleon's First French Empire . In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars , the Kingdom of Prussia took over within the new German Confederation . The city was one of its most socially and politically backward centres until the end of the 19th century. Administered within the Rhine Province , by 1880 the population was 80,000. Starting in 1838, the railway from Cologne to Belgium passed through Aachen. The city suffered extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions until 1875, when
20944-512: The 14th to 15th century onward, its urban centers ( Deventer , Zwolle , Kampen , Zutphen and Doesburg ) have been increasingly influenced by the western written Dutch and became a linguistically mixed area. From the 17th century onward, it was gradually integrated into the Dutch language area. Dutch Low Saxon used to be at one end of the Low German dialect continuum . However, the national border has given way to dialect boundaries coinciding with
21182-531: The 16th century and is known as Stadsfries ("Urban Frisian"). Hollandic together with inter alia Kleverlandish and North Brabantian , but without Stadsfries, are the Central Dutch dialects . Brabantian is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant , which corresponded mainly to the provinces of North Brabant and southern Gelderland , the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant , as well as Brussels (where its native speakers have become
21420-400: The 1873 procession stimulated F.X. Rutten, dean of St Servatius', to reinstate the septennial pilgrimage in 1874. Papal permission was obtained from Pope Pius IX , who also revived the medieval plenarary indulgence for those who completed the pilgrimage. The medieval custom of showing the relics from the dwarf gallery was not revived; instead the relics were exhibited in the church and during
21658-546: The 19th century, the chest has been part of most festivities. Nowadays, it is permanently exhibited on the choir stairs (which in fact are situated in the crossing ). When the church is open to the public, the chest is permanently guarded by two or four members of the Confraternity of Saint Servatius. This association was founded in 1916 and currently has around 50 members. Inside the church they wear tunics, either yellow and red, or black and red. The fraternity members also escort
21896-668: The 7th century. It was replaced in France by Old French (a Romance language with a considerable Old Frankish influence). However, the Old Franconian language did not die out at large, as it continued to be spoken in the Low Countries, and subsequently evolved into what is now called Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch in the Low Countries. In fact, Old Frankish could be reconstructed from Old Dutch and Frankish loanwords in Old French. The term Old Dutch or Old Low Franconian refers to
22134-504: The Basilica of Our Lady in Tongeren . Dutch language Dutch ( endonym : Nederlands [ˈneːdərlɑnts] ) is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family , spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the native language of most of
22372-515: The Canadian city of Regina, Saskatchewan which is located at a similar latitude but at the heart of the North American landmass, far away from the sea's moderating effects, is classified as being in zone 3a. In the 1991–2020 period, the last freeze (at 2 m above ground) of spring occcured on April 28th and the first fall freeze on October 13th, on average. The Aachen weather station has recorded
22610-574: The Castle, which took place on the river Meuse in 1930, 1937 and 1983. Since 1937 the task of organising the septennial pilgrimage lies with the Vereniging Het Graf van Sint Servaas (Society of the Grave of Saint Servatius). The society aims to promote the city of Maastricht as a catholic centre and a pilgrimage site. Also in 1937, an old tradition was reintroduced to allow the statues of Our Lady, Star of
22848-512: The Catholics taking to the streets: in 1878 six processions were held in Maastricht and in 1881 the second 'modern' pilgrimage went ahead. In the course of the 20th century Catholics were no longer regarded as a threat in the Netherlands, partly due to the fact that they had evolved from being a religious minority to a majority. Whereas processions and pilgrimages were previously regarded by non-Catholics as "catholic superstition" and "folklore", there
23086-589: The Celtic god, and it seems it was the Roman 6th Legion at the start of the 1st century AD that first channelled the hot springs into a spa at Büchel, adding at the end of the same century the Münstertherme spa, two water pipelines, and a probable sanctuary dedicated to Grannus. A kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was an extensive residential area. The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid . A temple precinct called Vernenum
23324-511: The City or Municipal Devotions (Dutch: stadsdevoties ), are religious objects that have been venerated in Maastricht for a long time. They are: the statue of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, the Black Christ of Wyck, the bust of Saint Servatius and the bust of Saint Lambert. During the Maastricht pilgrimage they take part in processions and various other religious activities. The statue of Our Lady, Star of
23562-485: The Collegiate Church of Saint Servatius had the sole right of showing relics in the open air. During the septennial pilgrimage this took place once a day at Vrijthof Square. In the 15th-century so many pilgrims gathered there, that the walls around the square had to be taken down. After celebrating an open-air mass , a selection of the church's relics were shown from the dwarf gallery , the arcaded gallery just below
23800-757: The Community of the Crucified and Risen Love, the Society of St Gregory , the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the monks of St. Benedictusberg Abbey . Other groups that received a special welcome in the church included pilgrims to the shrine of Saint Gerlach in Houthem , pilgrims from Sint Oedenrode and Hasselt , members of the Armenian , Philippine and Antillian communities in Maastricht, as well as children of primary schools in Maastricht. Furthermore, prayer services, Liturgies of
24038-417: The Dutch adult population spoke a dialect or regional language on a regular basis, but in 2011, that was no more than 11 percent. In 1995, 12 percent of children of primary school age spoke a dialect or regional language, but in 2011, that had declined to four percent. Of the officially recognised regional languages Limburgish is spoken the most (in 2011 among adults 54%, among children 31%) and Dutch Low Saxon
24276-479: The Dutch government remained reluctant to teach Dutch on a large scale for fear of destabilising the colony. Dutch, the language of power, was supposed to remain in the hands of the leading elite. After independence, Dutch was dropped as an official language and replaced by Indonesian , but this does not mean that Dutch has completely disappeared in Indonesia: Indonesian Dutch , a regional variety of
24514-415: The Dutch standard language is largely absent, and speakers of these Dutch dialects will use German or French in everyday speech. Dutch is not afforded legal status in France or Germany, either by the central or regional public authorities, and knowledge of the language is declining among younger generations. As a foreign language , Dutch is mainly taught in primary and secondary schools in areas adjacent to
24752-524: The Dutch standard language, it is not mutually intelligible with Dutch and considered a sister language of Dutch, like English and German. Approximate distribution of native Dutch speakers worldwide: Dutch is an official language of the Netherlands proper (not enshrined in the constitution but in administrative law ), Belgium, Suriname, the Dutch Caribbean municipalities (St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire), Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten . Dutch
24990-408: The Dutch, was still spoken by about 500,000 half-blood in Indonesia in 1985. Yet the Indonesian language inherited many words from Dutch: words for everyday life as well as scientific and technological terms. One scholar argues that 20% of Indonesian words can be traced back to Dutch words, many of which are transliterated to reflect phonetic pronunciation e.g. kantoor "office" in Indonesian
25228-450: The Eifel. Because the city is surrounded by hills, it suffers from inversion-related smog. Some areas of the city have become urban heat islands as a result of poor heat exchange, both because of the area's natural geography and from human activity. The city's numerous cold air corridors, which are slated to remain as free as possible from new construction, therefore play an important role in
25466-592: The Franks. However, the language did experience developments of its own, such as very early final-obstruent devoicing . In fact, the find at Bergakker indicates that the language may already have experienced this shift during the Old Frankish period. Attestations of Old Dutch sentences are extremely rare. The language is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and loan words from Old Dutch in other languages. The oldest recorded
25704-490: The French Period. There are a few remarkable 'doubles'. Both the Basilica of Our Lady and the Basilica of St Servatius own busts of Monulph and Gondulph, the 6th-century bishops of Maastricht often associated with one another. All four busts are shown during the relics display in the churches but only one set joins the outdoor processions (the set owned by St Servatius'). They are carried on relatively small litters by members of
25942-465: The French period neglect continued. Some of the medieval reliquaries were sold to collectors or just given away. The church of Saint Servatius lost the four panels that belonged to the chest of Saint Servatius, as well as its Vera Icon by Van Eyck . Our Lady's lost its Byzantine Cross and various other objects (see above). Few regretted these losses at the time. With the disappearance of the pilgrimages and
26180-521: The Guild of Saint Monulph and Saint Gondulph, which also is a bell-ringers guild. Naturally, both churches own a bust of Saint Servatius. The one in Our Lady's is merely used for the relics display in the church. The same goes for Saint Batholomew's and Saint Hubert's busts, also in Our Lady's. St Servatius' Basilica has two busts of Saint Lambert (one silver bust is on loan from the Rijksmuseum and never leaves
26418-501: The Hours , lectures and other spiritual activities are organised, some of which take place in the crypt, the Keizerzaal, or other unusual locations. Throughout the 11-day pilgrimage there are priests available for confession or personal counsel. The ceremonies of the displaying of the relics in the two main churches constitute the spiritual highlight of the pilgrimage and refer – more so than
26656-406: The Maastricht pilgrimage were known as the "Freedom of Saint Servatius". It was a period when normal rules did not apply, resulting in more freedom for citizens and visitors but also in more crime. The start of this period was announced by the town watchmen blowing their buisines . From that moment on no-one could be tried for past offences. There was always a number of pilgrims who had been sent on
26894-481: The Middle Ages tens of thousands visited Maastricht during the septennial pilgrimage. Monasteries, hospitals, alms houses and individual citizens offered shelter, as only a limited number could be admitted to the town's official pilgrims' hospitiums. Pilgrims came from all over Europe, notably from the Low Countries , France ( Normandy and Brittany in particular, where Saint Servatius was venerated much), England ,
27132-568: The Netherlands and Flanders . In French-speaking Belgium , over 300,000 pupils are enrolled in Dutch courses, followed by over 23,000 in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia , and about 7,000 in the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais (of which 4,550 are in primary school). At an academic level, the largest number of faculties of neerlandistiek can be found in Germany (30 universities), followed by France (20 universities) and
27370-412: The Netherlands and Belgium, the dialect spoken in and around the German town of Kleve ( Kleverlandish ) is historically and genetically a Low Franconian variety. In North-Western France, the area around Calais was historically Dutch-speaking (West Flemish), of which an estimated 20,000 are daily speakers. The cities of Dunkirk , Gravelines and Bourbourg only became predominantly French-speaking by
27608-452: The Netherlands lies nearby at about 6 km (4 mi) from Aachen's city centre, while the Dutch city of Heerlen and Eupen , the capital of the German-speaking Community of Belgium , are both located about 20 km (12 mi) from Aachen city centre. Aachen lies near the head of the open valley of the Wurm (which today flows through the city in canalised form), part of the larger basin of
27846-530: The Netherlands, although there are recognisable differences in pronunciation, comparable to the pronunciation differences between standard British and standard American English. In 1980 the Netherlands and Belgium concluded the Language Union Treaty . This treaty lays down the principle that the two countries must gear their language policy to each other, among other things, for a common system of spelling. Dutch belongs to its own West Germanic sub-group,
28084-553: The Netherlands. The highest point in Aachen, located in the far southeast of the city, lies at an elevation of 410 m (1,350 ft) above sea level. The lowest point, in the north, and on the border with the Netherlands, is at 125 m (410 ft). As the westernmost city in Germany (and close to the Low Countries), Aachen and the surrounding area belongs to a temperate climate zone ( Cfb ), with humid weather, mild winters, and warm summers. Because of its location north of
28322-639: The Roman Curia as such. In 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of Otto II , the nobles revolted and the West Franks under Lothair raided Aachen in 978. Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne , who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent. Odo relinquished it and was killed afterwards. The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176. Over
28560-920: The Sacred Heart Church (Church of the Dome) as well as the cloisters of St Servatius'. Films were shown in the open air in front of the church of St. Peter-Beneden. Theme exhibitions took place in the cloisters of the basilicas, the east crypt of Our Lady, the Dominican Church, the Centre Céramique cultural centre, the Vrijthof Theatre and the Bonnefantenmuseum . The exhibition Copes in the Bonnefantenmuseum showed historical copes, as well as contemporary designs by local designers of Fashionclash. In
28798-553: The Sea (usually referred to as: the Star of the Sea) is probably the best known and most popular of the Maastricht devotions. It is a 15th-century statue of Mary with the baby child Jesus in the style of the German schöne Madonnen . It has a long tradition of being included in processions, first with the Maastricht Minorites , after 1837 with the parish of Our Lady . Even now it participates in around ten processions each year. For
29036-456: The Sea (Dutch: Dragersgilde Sterre der Zee ). The guild members wear tunics , some dark-blue and red, others light-blue and white, decorated with guild medals. They all wear white gloves. At regular intervals one team of carriers replaces the other. Members of the Confraternity of the Star of the Sea (Dutch: Broederschap Sterre der Zee ) escort the processional litter, wearing white tie and
29274-421: The Sea and the Black Christ of Wyck in the procession. Several other non-reliquary objects (mainly statues of saints) have been admitted since. The 1944 pilgrimage was cancelled because of World War II . It was postponed until 1948, thus breaking the seven-yearly cycle as well as no longer being synchronized with Aachen. It also meant that participants from Aachen were able to join the Maastricht procession. In 1955
29512-655: The United Kingdom (5 universities). Despite the Dutch presence in Indonesia for almost 350 years, as the Asian bulk of the Dutch East Indies , the Dutch language has no official status there and the small minority that can speak the language fluently are either educated members of the oldest generation, or employed in the legal profession such as historians, diplomats, lawyers, jurists and linguists/polyglots, as certain law codes are still only available in Dutch. Dutch
29750-603: The Viking horn in Our Lady's), all the ivory and enamelled caskets, as well as the silver reliquary arm of Saint Thomas. The reliquary chest of Saint Servatius, often – incorrectly – referred to as the Shrine of Saint Servatius, in Dutch usually referred to as the Noodkist ('Chest of Distress'), is a 12th-century chest that contains the bodily remains of bishop Servatius of Maastricht- Tongeren . The wooden chest with elaborate gilded copper reliefs, champlevé enamels and precious stones
29988-603: The West Indies, slaves were forbidden to speak Dutch, with the effect that local creoles such as Papiamento and Sranan Tongo which were based not on Dutch but rather other European languages, became common in the Dutch West Indies. However, as most of the people in the Colony of Surinam (now Suriname ) worked on Dutch plantations, this reinforced the use of Dutch as a means for direct communication. In Suriname today, Dutch
30226-455: The afore-mentioned objects. It was made by the Utrecht silversmiths Edelsmidse Brom for the parish church of St Lambert in 1938-40. This happened after an ambitious parish priest obtained a relic of Saint Lambert, Maastricht's last bishop and the only one who was born there. The relic was picked up in Liège and brought back in triumph by 2,000 parishioners in two extra trains in 1937. The new bust
30464-601: The area known as the Low Countries goes back further in time, with the Romans referring to the region as Germania Inferior ("Lower" Germania). It is a reference to the Low Countries' downriver location at the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta near the North Sea . From 1551, the designation Nederlands received strong competition from the name Nederduytsch (literally "Low Dutch", Dutch being used in its archaic sense covering all continental West Germanic languages). It
30702-519: The bishop of Roermond, the dean of Maastricht and other priests. During this mass the Noodkist is brought into the church and placed on a platform on the choir steps, where it remains for the entire period. During the next 11 days, high masses are celebrated every day, often aimed at certain groups. In 2018 masses and services were held for members of the Taizé Community , the Community of Sant'Egidio ,
30940-614: The borders of other standard language areas. In most cases, the heavy influence of the standard language has broken the dialect continuum . Examples are the Gronings dialect spoken in Groningen as well as the closely related varieties in adjacent East Frisia (Germany). Kleverlandish is a dialect spoken in southern Gelderland , the northern tip of Limburg , and northeast of North Brabant (Netherlands), but also in adjacent parts of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Limburgish ( Limburgs )
31178-428: The bust and the five-pointed star of Maastricht . Despite the fact that the emphasis in modern pilgrimages has somewhat shifted away from saints and relics worship, the historical and religious significance of the objects concerned makes their presence paramount. Showing the reliquaries remains a central feature of the Maastricht pilgrimage. Apart from the main reliquary of Saint Servatius (the Noodkist ), these include
31416-635: The bust appear on flags, banners and printed material. The bust takes central stage at the opening ceremony of the pilgrimage (see: 'Programme/Masses and other services'). Until the 1970s, the brothers of the Beyart Monastery (Brothers of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, or Brothers of Maastricht) carried the bust in processions; since 1976 members of the Saint Servatius Guild have taken that task (literally) upon their shoulders. Members of
31654-408: The bust of Saint Lambert, the busts of Saint Monulph and Saint Gondulph, the statue of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, or other statues. The larger objects are carried on a processional litter (comparable to a paso in Spanish processions but usually smaller), decorated with flowers. The carriers are dressed formally (in morning dress or white tie ) or wear pseudo-liturgical tunics . In order to move
31892-415: The case with the Gronings dialect , which is considered a variety of the Dutch Low Saxon regional language, but it is relatively distinct from other Dutch Low Saxon varieties. Also, some Dutch dialects are more remote from the Dutch standard language than some varieties of a regional language are. Within the Netherlands, a further distinction is made between a regional language and a separate language, which
32130-445: The chest when it leaves the church in processions, which normally only happens once a year (Saint Servatius Day, 13 May). The brotherhood then wears morning dress with red and white rosettes and fraternity medals. The processional litter is custom-designed featuring a steel structure with flexible parts that can be adjusted on the shoulders of the carriers. There are normally two teams of sixteen fraternity brothers involved in carrying
32368-411: The chest. The lower part of the frame is covered with grey fabric. A perspex box in the shape of the Noodkist covers it, regardless of the weather. Amongst the many reliquaries and devotional objects in Maastricht are a dozen reliquary busts. The busts discussed here predominantly date from the 19th century, made of wood and then polychromed . They replace the silver or gilded busts that were lost in
32606-414: The city is best known is Aachener Printen , a type of gingerbread . The name Aachen is a modern descendant, like southern German Ach(e) , German: Aach , meaning "river" or "stream", from Old High German ahha , meaning "water" or "stream", which directly translates (and etymologically corresponds) to Latin Aquae , referring to the springs. The location has been inhabited by humans since
32844-449: The city. On Kristallnacht in 1938, the synagogue was destroyed. By the onset of World War II in 1939, many Jews had emigrated or were arrested, and only 782 remained in the city. At the end of the war in 1945, only 62 Jews lived in the city. As of 2003, 1,434 Jews were again living in Aachen. The city of Aachen has developed into a technology hub as a by-product of hosting one of the leading universities of technology in Germany with
33082-415: The city. The first killed 1,525, including 212 children, and bombed six hospitals. During the second, 442 aircraft hit two railway stations, killed 207, and left 15,000 homeless. The raids destroyed Aachen-Eilendorf and Aachen-Burtscheid . The city and its fortified surroundings were besieged from 12 September to 21 October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division with the 3rd Armored Division assisting from
33320-553: The close of the 18th century, with (Hoog)Duytsch establishing itself as the Dutch exonym for German during this same period. In the 19th century Germany saw the rise of the categorisation of dialects, with German dialectologists terming the German dialects spoken in the mountainous south of Germany as Hochdeutsch ("High German"). Subsequently, German dialects spoken in the north were designated as Niederdeutsch ("Low German"). The names for these dialects were calqued by Dutch linguists as Nederduits and Hoogduits . As
33558-439: The confraternity carry the Black Christ in processions on a large processional litter similar to the one used for the Star of the Sea. Their tunics are red and black, matching their processional banner. The reliquary bust of Saint Servatius as we know it presumably is the second or third bust of Maastricht's patron saint. A previous bust dating back to around 1400 was shown from the dwarf gallery to pilgrims in Vrijthof square. It
33796-413: The course of fifteen centuries. During that period, they forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, and influenced or even replaced Old Saxon spoken in the east (contiguous with the Low German area). On the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in present-day France and Germany. The division into Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, since
34034-418: The court library were also produced locally. During the reign of Louis the Pious (814–840), substantial quantities of ancient texts were produced at Aachen, including legal manuscripts such as the leges scriptorium group, patristic texts including the five manuscripts of the Bamberg Pliny Group . Finally, under Lothair I (840–855), texts of outstanding quality were still being produced. This however marked
34272-434: The court of Harun al-Rashid . He returned to Aachen in July 802, bearing an elephant called Abul-Abbas as a gift for the emperor. After Charlemagne's death, he was buried in the church which he had built; his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the Karlsschrein , the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never officially acknowledged by
34510-401: The cross reliquary, a procession is formed once more, taking the relics to the north transept where they are exhibited for about an hour. Members of the congregation can then approach the relics, touch them, take photographs and venerate them. More or less the same procedure is followed in the Basilica of St Servatius, with some differences. The formula " Thou shall be shown... " is sung here by
34748-483: The declaration of independence of Indonesia, Western New Guinea , the "wild east" of the Dutch East Indies , remained a Dutch colony until 1962, known as Netherlands New Guinea . Despite prolonged Dutch presence, the Dutch language is not spoken by many Papuans, the colony having been ceded to Indonesia in 1963. Dutch-speaking immigrant communities can also be found in Australia and New Zealand. The 2011 Australian census showed 37,248 people speaking Dutch at home. At
34986-428: The development of a separate Dutch language. It was spoken by the descendants of the Salian Franks who occupied what is now the southern Netherlands , northern Belgium , part of northern France, and parts of the Lower Rhine regions of Germany. The High German consonant shift, moving over Western Europe from south to west, caused a differentiation with the Central and High Franconian in Germany. The latter would as
35224-418: The devil? ... I forsake the devil"). If only for its poetic content, the most famous Old Dutch sentence is probably Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan, hinase hic enda tu, wat unbidan we nu ("All birds have started making nests, except me and you, what are we waiting for"), is dated to around the year 1100, written by a Flemish monk in a convent in Rochester , England . Since the sentence speaks to
35462-415: The displaying or unveiling of the relics in the main churches and secondly, the processions with the town's main relics. The next pilgrimage will take place in 2025. Maastricht had been an important destination for pilgrims centuries before the first recorded septennial pilgrimage. The first to mention pilgrims paying tribute at the grave of Saint Servatius was Gregory of Tours in the late 6th century. It
35700-432: The end of 2009, the foreign-born residents of Aachen made up 13.6 percent of the total population. A significant portion of foreign residents are students at the RWTH Aachen University . Aachen is at the western end of the Benrath line that divides High German to the south from the rest of the West Germanic speech area to the north. Aachen's local dialect is called Öcher Platt and belongs to Ripuarian . The city
35938-424: The end of the 19th century. In the countryside, until World War I , many elementary schools continued to teach in Dutch, and the Catholic Church continued to preach and teach the catechism in Dutch in many parishes. During the second half of the 19th century, Dutch was banned from all levels of education by both Prussia and France and lost most of its functions as a cultural language. In both Germany and France,
36176-402: The end of the period of manuscript production at Aachen. In 1598, following the invasion of Spanish troops from the Netherlands , Rudolf deposed all Protestant office holders in Aachen and went as far as expelling them from the city. From the early 16th century, Aachen started to lose its power and influence. First the coronations of emperors were moved from Aachen to Frankfurt . This
36414-528: The end of the service. It is remarkable that the arm reliquary of Saint Thomas and most of the Servatiana (see below: 'List of devotional objects/Servatiana'), which were so pivotal in the medieval relics display, are no longer shown. The current order of showing is: After the conclusion of the ceremony the relics are exhibited in the side aisles and chapels, in order to be admired and venerated. Members of various confraternities and guilds keep watch over them. The two outdoor processions – not to be confounded with
36652-401: The events. The 55th (modern) edition took place from 24 May until 3 June 2018. Its theme was Do good and do not look back . The next Maastricht pilgrimage takes place in 2025. The modern Heiligdomsvaart usually lasts 11 days. The centre of most activities is the Basilica of St Servatius . The entrance to the church and treasury is free of charge at this time (normally there is a fee). During
36890-411: The feast of the holy bishops of Maastricht . Four years later he introduced the feast in honour of the relics of all saints. Many relics that had lost their containers during the French period were given new reliquaries, predominantly in the Gothic Revival style. At the same time, a renewed interest in medieval art became apparent. An important step in the reassessment of Maastricht's religious patrimony
37128-466: The following extreme values: The geology of Aachen is very structurally heterogeneous. The oldest occurring rocks in the area surrounding the city originate from the Devonian period and include carboniferous sandstone , greywacke , claystone and limestone . These formations are part of the Rhenish Massif , north of the High Fens. In the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous geological period, these rock layers were narrowed and folded as
37366-441: The gilded and silver-coated busts of Saint Servatius and Saint Lambert are discussed in detail above (see: 'Maastricht Devotions'). A few reliquaries do not fit into the categories above but are nevertheless important enough to be included in the pilgrimage. A distinguished piece – even though it is a 15th-century copy of a much older cross – is the Patriarchal Cross of the Basilica of St Servatius. It contains several large pieces of
37604-416: The grave of Saint Servatius, drinking holy water from the cup of Saint Servatius and attending at least one of the daily relics displays. No indulgences could be obtained without going to confession and doing penance . After fulfilling the requirements pilgrims received a pre-printed confessional certificate. A chaplain would fill in the name of the pilgrim and attach the seal of the church. In Maastricht
37842-403: The guild wear two-part dark blue tunics, white gloves and a green ribbon around their neck with a guild medal. As is the case with the Star of the Sea statue, two processional litters are used, one for short or indoor processions, the other one for longer trips. A plastic slip-over is used to protect the bust in bad weather. The reliquary bust of Saint Lambert is relative young in comparison to
38080-416: The high profile the pilgrimage by then had achieved within the Roman Catholic Church. In 1916 the Saint Servatius Play, a musical piece that intended to visualise the ancient legend, was performed in the open-air in Vrijthof. The play or variations on it were performed until recently. Another pre-19th-century element of the pilgrimage that was revived in the 20th century was the playful spectacle The Storming of
38318-402: The highest level at the Papal Tribunal . The differences culminated in 1495, when the Chapter of Saint Servatius commissioned a copy of the Patriarchal Cross of Our Lady's. For the benefit of the pilgrims two hospitiums were built on the south-west corner of Vrijthof . The Hospitium of Saint Servatius is first mentioned in the 11th century. Next to it stood the Hospitium of Saint James, which
38556-415: The imagination, it is often erroneously stated as the oldest Dutch sentence. Old Dutch naturally evolved into Middle Dutch . The year 1150 is often cited as the time of the discontinuity, but it actually marks a time of profuse Dutch writing; during this period a rich Medieval Dutch literature developed. There was at that time no overarching standard language ; Middle Dutch is rather a collective name for
38794-467: The influence of the Burgundian Ducal Court in Dijon ( Brussels after 1477). The dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential around this time. The process of standardisation became much stronger at the start of the 16th century, mainly based on the urban dialect of Antwerp . The 1585 fall of Antwerp to the Spanish army led to a flight to the northern Netherlands, where the Dutch Republic declared its independence from Spain. This influenced
39032-432: The language now known as Dutch. In the Low Countries Dietsch or its Early Modern Dutch form Duytsch as an endonym for Dutch gradually went out of common use and was gradually replaced by the Dutch endonym Nederlands . This designation (first attested in 1482) started at the Burgundian court in the 15th century, although the use of neder , laag , bas , and inferior ("nether" or "low") to refer to
39270-412: The larger litters usually two teams of 12 or 16 carriers are needed. Other members carry processional lanterns or poles decorated with confraternity medals. Smaller objects are carried by single participants, previously often by priests or nuns, nowadays mostly by seminarists or other laymen. They usually wear white gloves and/or hold the objects with the wide sleeves of their gowns. Since the 1960s or 70s
39508-448: The late 18th century the Abbess of Burtscheid was still prevented from building a road linking her territory to the neighbouring estates of the duke of Jülich ; the city of Aachen deployed its handful of soldiers to chase away road-diggers. On 9 February 1801, the Peace of Lunéville removed the ownership of Aachen and the entire "left bank" of the Rhine from Germany (the Holy Roman Empire ) and granted it to France. In 1815, control of
39746-402: The late 8th century and then made the city his empire's capital. The city is known by a variety of different names in other languages: Flint quarries on the Lousberg , Schneeberg, and Königshügel, first used during Neolithic times (3000–2500 BC), attest to the long occupation of the site of Aachen, as do recent finds under the modern city's Elisengarten pointing to a former settlement from
39984-512: The least (adults 15%, children 1%). The decline of the West Frisian language in Friesland occupies a middle position (adults 44%, children 22%). Dialects are most often spoken in rural areas, but many cities have a distinct city dialect. For example, the city of Ghent has very distinct "g", "e" and "r" sounds that greatly differ from its surrounding villages. The Brussels dialect combines Brabantian with words adopted from Walloon and French . Some dialects had, until recently, extensions across
40222-453: The liturgical processions inside the churches – are perhaps the most iconic aspect of the Maastricht pilgrimage. The colourful parades on both Sundays are watched by ten thousands of people, as well as being televised. Additionally, there are a number of smaller processions, such as the opening procession, the 'Star Procession' (departing from various parish churches), and the children's procession (with self-made reliquary shrines). The route of
40460-457: The main procession on the first Sunday starts in Wyck and passes over the Saint Servatius Bridge . A week later the starting point is in Jekerkwartier from where it goes to Onze Lieve Vrouweplein and along the Meuse . Both routes continue via Markt towards Vrijthof . Here, in the Basilica of St Servatius, a short service is held, ending with the singing of the Hymn of Saint Servatius . In Vrijthof, and sometimes in Markt or Sint Pieterstraat,
40698-472: The main relics from the treasury are brought into the church. While groups of carriers walk up the central aisle toward the choir stairs, the Litany of the Saints is sung. The carriers position themselves in a semicircle in the chancel area in front of the ambulatory . The service starts with a reading from the Gospel , after which the priest announces the relics with the medieval formula "Thou shall be shown..." The relics are shown in five groups. Each time
40936-475: The medieval fortifications were abandoned as a limit to building and new, better housing was built in the east of the city, where sanitary drainage was easiest. In December 1880, the Aachen tramway network was opened, and in 1895 it was electrified. In the 19th century and up to the 1930s, the city was important in the production of railway locomotives and carriages, iron, pins, needles , buttons, tobacco, woollen goods, and silk goods. After World War I , Aachen
41174-442: The medieval journeys or pilgrimages to Rome and Aachen . The Maastricht heiligdomsvaart was long held simultaneously with Aachen and Kornelimünster Abbey . Together they offered some of the best relics to be seen in Europe. A papal bull of 1249 is the oldest document referring to the Maastricht pilgrimage around the traditional dates in mid-July, although the name heyldomsvaert is not mentioned until 1440. The term used in 1391
41412-427: The middle of the 17th century, the city had developed a considerable reputation as a spa, although this was in part because Aachen was then – and remained well into the 19th and early 20th century – a place of high-level prostitution. Traces of this hidden agenda of the city's history are found in the 18th-century guidebooks to Aachen as well as to the other spas. The main indication for visiting patients, ironically,
41650-437: The modern standard languages . In this age no standard languages had yet developed, while a perfect West Germanic dialect continuum remained present; the division reflects the contingent future contribution dialect groups would have to the later languages. The early form of Dutch was a set of Franconian dialects spoken by the Salian Franks in the 5th century. These happened to develop through Middle Dutch to Modern Dutch over
41888-470: The next 500 years, most kings of Germany who ruled the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen. The original audience hall built by Charlemagne was torn down and replaced by the current city hall in 1330. During the 13th century, many Jews converted to Christianity, as shown in the records of the Aachen Minster (today's Cathedral). In 1486, the Jews of Aachen offered gifts to Maximilian I during his coronation ceremony. The last king to be crowned here
42126-467: The northwest: Herzogenrath , Würselen , Eschweiler , Stolberg and Roetgen (which are all in the district of Aachen ); Raeren , Kelmis and Plombières ( Liège Province in Belgium) as well as Vaals , Gulpen-Wittem , Simpelveld , Heerlen and Kerkrade (all in Limburg Province in the Netherlands). The current mayor of Aachen is Sibylle Keupen , an independent endorsed by Alliance 90/The Greens , since 2020. The most recent mayoral election
42364-443: The official languages. In Asia, Dutch was used in the Dutch East Indies (now mostly Indonesia ) by a limited educated elite of around 2% of the total population, including over 1 million indigenous Indonesians, until it was banned in 1957, but the ban was lifted afterwards. About a fifth of the Indonesian language can be traced to Dutch, including many loan words . Indonesia's Civil Code has not been officially translated, and
42602-421: The oldest and more powerful institution, made sure that no relics were shown in the open air at Our Lady's. It has been suggested that the ambulatory gallery in the choir of Our Lady's was used for this purpose. Whichever way they showed their relics, it was almost certainly less effective than the spectacular open-air displays at St Servatius'. Over the centuries several disputes arose from this, some were fought at
42840-470: The original Dutch language version dating from colonial times remains the authoritative version. Up to half a million native speakers reside in the United States, Canada and Australia combined, and historical linguistic minorities on the verge of extinction remain in parts of France and Germany. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English, and is colloquially said to be "roughly in between" them. Dutch, like English, has not undergone
43078-408: The parish of Sint Pieter (in fact two parishes: one at the bottom of Sint-Pietersberg , the other one halfway up the hill). The parish of Saint Anthony of Padua in Scharn is represented both with a bust (mentioned above) and a 17th-century(?) statue of the saint. Nearby Amby participates with a statue of Saint Walpurga . A special guest in 2018 was the statue of Our Lady, Cause of Our Joy , from
43316-425: The participants in the processions are members of confraternities , carriers guilds or other groups that are involved in carrying and escorting the holy objects assigned to them. The Confraternity of Saint Servatius for instance is responsible for the safety of the reliquary chest of Saint Servatius (or Noodkist ), while the Saint Servatius Guild is concerned with the bust of Saint Servatius. Other groups take care of
43554-411: The personal belongings of someone who lived in the 4th century. These days only the key and the pectoral cross are shown during the relics display in the church; none of the Servatiana are included in the processions. A copy of the pilgrim's staff is on permanent display in the small crypt which gives access to the grave of Saint Servatius. The four major devotional statues in Maastricht, locally known at
43792-399: The pilgrimage are no longer shown. Since the earliest records the so-called ' Servatiana ' have played a pivotal role in the Maastricht pilgrimage. These are objects believed to be the personal belongings of Saint Servatius. In the septennial pilgrimage they were shown from the dwarf gallery. Some of the Servatiana were lost over time. Remaining in the treasury are: the key of Saint Servatius,
44030-422: The pilgrimage the church can be accessed via three portals , two of which are generally not in use. The small crypt , providing access to the grave of Saint Servatius, is also open at certain hours. The reliquary chest of Saint Servatius, locally known as the Noodkist ('Chest of Distress'), is permanently exhibited on the choir stairs. A secondary focal point during the pilgrimage is the Basilica of Our Lady . To
44268-425: The pope by a former canon in 1837. They are now in the Treasury of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City . Another reason for pilgrims to visit Our Lady's was the relic of the girdle of the Virgin Mary , which remains in the church today. There was great rivalry between the two principal churches when it came to attracting pilgrims. More pilgrims meant more income. The Chapter of St Servatius, considering itself
44506-538: The population of the Netherlands and Flanders (which includes 60% of the population of Belgium ). Dutch was one of the official languages of South Africa until 1925, when it was replaced by Afrikaans , a separate but partially mutually intelligible daughter language of Dutch. Afrikaans, depending on the definition used, may be considered a sister language , spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia , and evolving from Cape Dutch dialects. In South America, it
44744-415: The predominant colloquial language out of the area's 22 million Dutch-speakers. Limburgish , spoken in both Belgian Limburg and Netherlands Limburg and in adjacent parts in Germany, is considered a dialect in Belgium, while having obtained the official status of regional language in the Netherlands. Limburgish has been influenced by the Ripuarian varieties like the Colognian dialect , and has had
44982-403: The preferred place of coronation. One of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology, the RWTH Aachen University ( Rheinisch-Westfälisch Technische Hochschule Aachen ), is located in the city. Its university hospital Uniklinikum Aachen is Europe's largest single-building hospital. Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology. In 2009, Aachen
45220-452: The procession can be watched from a spectator stand . The first rows at the Vrijthof stand are usually reserved for guests such as bishops, cabinet ministers, the governor of Limburg , the mayor of Maastricht and other dignitaries. Television recordings usually take place at Vrijthof. Since the 1960s, the organizers of the processions have found it increasingly difficult to involve local participants, especially children and young adults. As
45458-423: The processions or other activities – to its medieval origin. The modern way of showing the relics is not from the dwarf gallery but inside the churches, first in the Basilica of Our Lady, followed by the Basilica of St Servatius. Compared to the medieval practice, more relics (also, different ones) are shown nowadays. The relics display in the Basilica of Our Lady starts with a liturgical entrance procession in which
45696-411: The provinces of Gelderland , Flevoland , Friesland and Utrecht . This group, which is not Low Franconian but instead Low Saxon and close to neighbouring Low German, has been elevated by the Netherlands (and by Germany) to the legal status of streektaal ( regional language ) according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . It is regarded as Dutch for a number of reasons. From
45934-434: The public. Part of the opening ceremony was a short procession with several reliquaries that went from the old treasury via Vrijthof to the new treasury. The procession with three bishops and over 50 priests was illegal as it clearly ignored the ban on processions that was included in the 1848 Dutch Constitution . Catholics in the Netherlands were impressed; others made fun of the "Maastricht cortège of relics". The success of
46172-439: The relics. The relics were shown in four groups. Each group was announced with a formula that started with: "Thou shall be shown...", followed by a brief description of the objects and a prayer. The fixed order was: 1. the sudarium of Saint Servatius (one of the three "heavenly cloths", lost during the Siege of Maastricht of 1579 ) along with his crozier ; 2. the red shroud of Saint Servatius along with his pilgrim's staff ; 3.
46410-454: The religious institutions that had guarded these objects for centuries, they had become meaningless to most. From the mid-19th century Catholicism began to flourish once again in Maastricht and elsewhere in the Netherlands. Catholics' self-esteem was boosted by the reestablishment of the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands in 1853. Catholics now wanted to express their faith in public. In 1867 Joannes Paredis, bishop of Roermond , reinstated
46648-455: The rest of the text lack any consensus. The Franks emerged in the southern Netherlands ( Salian Franks ) and central Germany ( Ripuarian Franks ), and later descended into Gaul . The name of their kingdom survives in that of France. Although they ruled the Gallo-Romans for nearly 300 years, their language, Frankish , became extinct in most of France and was replaced by later forms of the language throughout Luxembourg and Germany in around
46886-423: The rights of Dutch speakers, mostly referred to as "Flemish". However, the dialect variation was a serious disadvantage in the face of the standardised francophony . Since standardisation is a lengthy process, Dutch-speaking Belgium associated itself with the standard language that had already developed in the Netherlands over the centuries. Therefore, the situation in Belgium is essentially no different from that in
47124-402: The royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks , 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time. He remained there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of the Palatine Chapel (since 1930, cathedral) and
47362-462: The same branch of the West Germanic languages as Old English (i.e. Anglo-Frisian ) and are therefore genetically more closely related to English and Scots than to Dutch. The different influences on the respective languages, however, particularly that of Norman French on English and Dutch on West Frisian, have rendered English quite distinct from West Frisian, and West Frisian less distinct from Dutch than from English. Although under heavy influence of
47600-495: The same period. Bronze Age (around 1600 BC) settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows (burial mounds) found, for example, on the Klausberg. During the Iron Age , the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basin's hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus , god of light and healing. The 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian , around 124 AD. Grenus refers to
47838-483: The septennial pilgrimages a range of devotional objects take centre stage, foremost the relics of Saint Servatius. Some objects are very old and are part of the local or national patrimony . Not every relic , reliquary or statue of a saint is shown during the Heiligdomsvaart pilgrimage. There are hundreds of objects in the treasuries of the main churches, which requires selection. For conservational reasons some fragile objects that traditionally have been part of
48076-402: The set of Franconian dialects (i.e. West Germanic varieties that are assumed to have evolved from Frankish ) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages , from around the 5th to the 12th century. Old Dutch is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and Old Dutch loanwords in French. Old Dutch is regarded as the primary stage in
48314-399: The shorter processions a small processional litter is used that requires four carriers. For the longer processions, as in the septennial pilgrimage, a much larger steel structure is used. Twelve carriers are required to take this litter on their shoulders. The larger structure is covered in white damask and decorated with flowers. The carriers are members of the Carriers Guild of the Star of
48552-419: The south. Around 13 October the US 2nd Armored Division, coming from the north, and got as close as Würselen , while the 30th Infantry Division completed the encirclement of Aachen on 16 October 1944. With reinforcements from the US 28th Infantry Division the battle continued involving direct assaults through the heavily defended city, which forced the German garrison to surrender on 21 October 1944. Aachen
48790-403: The southwest, and the Netherlands in the northwest. The city lies in the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion and is the seat of the district of Aachen ( Städteregion Aachen ). The once Celtic settlement was equipped with several thermae in the course of colonization by Roman pioneers settling at the warm Aachen thermal springs around the 1st century. After the withdrawal of the Roman troops,
49028-415: The spring that, according to legend, sprung where Saint Servatius tapped his crozier on the ground. The opening ceremony continues at the Basilica of St Servatius, where the bust of Saint Servatius is carried around the church in procession, after which it makes its grand entry via the South Portal ( Bergportaal ), normally reserved for royal visitors. This is followed by a Pontifical High Mass , celebrated by
49266-435: The subsurface of Aachen is traversed by numerous active faults that belong to the Rurgraben fault system, which has been responsible for numerous earthquakes in the past, including the 1756 Düren earthquake and the 1992 Roermond earthquake , which was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Netherlands . Aachen has 245,885 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2015), of whom 118,272 are female, and 127,613 are male. At
49504-430: The time are generally split into three dialect groups: Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic), Istvaeonic (Weser–Rhine Germanic) and Irminonic (Elbe Germanic). It appears that the Frankish tribes fit primarily into the Istvaeonic dialect group with certain Ingvaeonic influences towards the northwest, which are still seen in modern Dutch. The Frankish language itself is not directly attested, the only possible exception being
49742-439: The town was passed to the Kingdom of Prussia through an agreement reached by the Congress of Vienna . The third congress took place in 1818, to decide the fate of occupied Napoleonic France. By the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation had swept away most of the city's medieval rules of production and commerce, although the remains of the city's medieval constitution were kept in place until 1801, when Aachen became
49980-461: The town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons as it is located between the Rhineland and northern France. Einhard mentions that in 765–766 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa ( Et celebravit natalem Domini in Aquis villa et pascha similiter ) ("and [he] celebrated the birth of the Lord [Christmas] in the town Aquis, and similarly Easter"), which must have been sufficiently equipped to support
50218-413: The traditional dates around mid-July were abandoned because too many people were away on holiday. Initially the dates were changed to late August, early September; later to late May, early June. In 1988 a partnership with other pilgrimage sites within the Euregion Meuse-Rhine was initiated. Unlike the medieval partnership with Aachen and Kornelimünster, the pilgrimages are scheduled in such a way that there
50456-417: The transition between them was very gradual. One of the few moments when linguists can detect something of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. The development of the Dutch language is illustrated by the following sentence in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch: Among the Indo-European languages , Dutch is grouped within the Germanic languages , meaning it shares
50694-444: The treasury), which in fact makes three, together with the bust in St Anne's. St Servatius' also owns a bust of Saint Amandus , another bishop of Maastricht. Regular 'visiting' busts from other churches and other towns are the bust of Saint Anthony of Padua (from the Maastricht parish of Scharn), the bust of Saint Amelberga (from Susteren Abbey ), the silver bust of Saint Gerlach (from the parish of Houthem-Sint Gerlach ). Note:
50932-434: The urban climate of Aachen. The January average is 3.0 °C (37 °F), while the July average is 18.5 °C (65 °F). Precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year. The city's oceanic climate provides comparably mild winters: While Aachen falls within the coldest extents covered by USDA plant hardiness zone 8b in the 1991–2020 period, having an average yearly minimum of -9.22 °C (15.4 °F),
51170-420: The urban dialects of the province of Holland . In 1637, a further important step was made towards a unified language, when the Statenvertaling , the first major Bible translation into Dutch, was created that people from all over the new republic could understand. It used elements from various, even Dutch Low Saxon , dialects but was predominantly based on the urban dialects of Holland of post 16th century. In
51408-463: The white cloth that covered the sarcophagus of Saint Servatius, along with his chalice and paten ; 4. the reliquary bust of Saint Servatius, the reliquary arm of Saint Thomas and the silver pectoral cross made by Saint Luke for the Virgin Mary. The pilgrims were then invited to visit the grave inside the church and see the other relics on display there. The ceremony was concluded by bell ringing and pilgrims blowing their pilgrim horns. Throughout
51646-417: Was Ferdinand I in 1531. During the Middle Ages , Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders ; it achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The city remained a free imperial city , subject to the emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours. The only dominion it had
51884-432: Was heiligdomskermis ("fair of the holy relics"). The popularity of the Maastricht-Aachen-Kornelimünster pilgrimage reached its zenith in the 15th century when up to 140,000 pilgrims visited these towns in mid-July. The septennial pilgrimage in medieval Maastricht was centred around the Church of Saint Servatius, although Our Lady's and other churches undoubtedly benefitted with their indoors activities. The traditional date
52122-402: Was syphilis ; only by the end of the 19th century had rheumatism become the most important object of cures at Aachen and Burtscheid. Aachen was chosen as the site of several important congresses and peace treaties: the first congress of Aachen (often referred to as the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in English) on 2 May 1668, leading to the First Treaty of Aachen in the same year which ended
52360-403: Was also the site of many important church councils, including the Council of 837 and the Council of 1166 , a council convened by the antipope Paschal III . Aachen was an important site for the production of historical manuscripts. Under Charlemagne's purview, both the Ada Gospels and the Coronation Gospels may have been produced in Aachen. In addition, quantities of the other texts in
52598-399: Was at that time that bishop Monulph replaced the wooden grave chapel with a stone basilica. Calendars of saints from the 8th and 9th century make mention of miracles happening at the saint's grave. As the number of pilgrims increased, the original church became too small. It was replaced by ever larger structures, until the current church was built in the 11th century. Throughout the centuries
52836-401: Was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim . Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the Elisenbrunnen and the Burtscheid bathhouse. Roman civil administration in Aachen eventually broke down as the baths and other public buildings (along with most of the villae rusticae of the surrounding countryside) were destroyed around AD 375 at the start of
53074-406: Was clearly modelled after the bust of Saint Servatius. It instantly gained popularity, to such a degree that it was included in the Maastricht Devotions. Saint Lambert's church closed in 1985 due to constructional problems and the parish merged with that of Saint Anne. Since 2004 the bust is kept in the modern church of Saint Anne, where in 2018 it was given a separate chapel. The bust of Saint Lambert
53312-424: Was followed by the religious wars and the great fire of 1656. After the destruction of most of the city in 1656, the rebuilding was mostly in the Baroque style. The decline of Aachen culminated in 1794, when the French, led by General Charles Dumouriez , occupied Aachen. In 1542, the Dutch humanist and physician Francis Fabricius published his study of the health benefits of the hot springs in Aachen. By
53550-584: Was issued, meaning the end of the traditional Heiligdomsvaart . The pilgrimages of 1655 and 1662 took place inside the Church of Saint Servatius. After 1706 no septennial pilgrimages took place until the revival of the tradition in the 19th century. During the French Annexation (1794-1814) the religious chapters in Maastricht were abolished. For some years both collegiate churches were used as military arsenals and horse stables. The church treasures suffered great losses in this period. Many objects of gold and silver were melted down in order to pay for war taxes. After
53788-408: Was kept in the monastery of the White Nuns (Dutch: Wittevrouwenklooster ) in Vrijthof , where it attracted pilgrims mainly from Central Europe. After the dissolution of the monasteries the statue was given to the parish church of St Martin in Wyck . In 1813 the Confraternity of the Holy Cross (Dutch: Broederschap van het Heilig Kruis ) was founded, which in 1963 had around 2,000 members. Members of
54026-404: Was largely destroyed during the Siege of 1579 . The new bust was commissioned by the besieger, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma , whose coat of arms is on the pedestal. The silver-coated and partly gilded bust is a major artistic work in the Treasury of Saint Servatius. It contains a large fragment of the skull of the saint. The bust is also a cultural icon of the Maastricht pilgrimage. Images of
54264-468: Was largely unscathed. 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders. Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff , was assassinated by an SS commando unit. On 16 May 1815, the Jewish community of the city offered an homage in its synagogue to the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm III . In 1862, a large synagogue was built, later called the Old Synagogue [ de ; fr ; id ] . By 1933, 1,345 Jews lived in
54502-406: Was now a certain curiosity in this sensual approach to faith. Some Catholics regarded this new 'acceptance' with scepticism. During the 1909 pilgrimage displaying of relics took place in the two main churches, as well as in the parish church of Wyck, where the so-called Black Christ of Wyck could be venerated. Masses were celebrated by the archbishop of Utrecht and the bishop of Liège , indicating
54740-512: Was occupied by the Allies until 1930, along with the rest of German territory west of the Rhine. Aachen was one of the locations involved in the Rhenish Republic . On 21 October 1923, an armed mob took over the city hall. Similar actions took place in Mönchengladbach , Duisburg , and Krefeld . This republic lasted about a year. Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II . According to Jörg Friedrich in The Fire (2008), two Allied air raids on 11 April and 24 May 1944 "radically destroyed"
54978-522: Was one week before and one week after 16 July, the feast of the holy bishops Monulph and Gondulph . It is not known when this date became the focal point of the Maastricht pilgrimage but in 1289 auxiliary bishop Bonaventura of Liège offered an indulgence to pilgrims visiting the grave of Saint Servatius around this time of the year. The year in which a septennial pilgrimage took place was a Jubilee , which meant that extra indulgences were granted. The majority of pilgrims aimed to earn indulgences by visiting
55216-411: Was over Burtscheid , a neighbouring territory ruled by a Benedictine abbess , which was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the "Aachener Reich". As an imperial city, Aachen held certain political privileges that allowed it to remain independent of the troubles of Europe for many years. It remained a direct vassal of the Holy Roman Empire throughout most of the Middle Ages. It
55454-400: Was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation. The regional dialect spoken in the city is a Central Franconian , Ripuarian variant with strong Limburgish influences from the dialects in the neighbouring Netherlands. As a Rhenish city, Aachen is one of the main centres of carnival celebrations in Germany , along with Cologne and Mainz . The culinary specialty for which
55692-410: Was specifically built for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella . Due to dwindling numbers of pilgrims, both institutions took on other tasks in the 17th century. They were demolished in the early 19th century. The Dutch word heiligdomsvaart ( German : Heiligtumsfahrt ) means "journey to the holy relics". It is probably derived from the older German terms Römerfahrt and Aachener Fahrt ,
55930-483: Was the Royal Harmonie Sainte Cécile of Eijsden ; on the second Sunday it was the Harmonie Sint Petrus en Paulus from the Maastricht neighbourhood of Wolder. Readings, concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and exhibitions take place at various locations around the city throughout the pilgrimage. Most of these activities are connected to the over-all theme. In 2018 there were plays and concerts in various churches: Saint John's, Saint Lambert's , Saint Theresia's,
56168-406: Was the first German city to be captured by the Western Allies, and its residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators. What remained of the city was destroyed—in some areas completely—during the fighting, mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders. Damaged buildings included medieval churches of and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral
56406-415: Was the publication of Bock and Willemsen's illustrated catalogue of the church treasures in 1872. The French edition of 1873 moreover contained additional texts about the medieval pilgrimages, which may have contributed to the revival of the tradition one year later. Also in 1873, the Treasury of the Basilica of St Servatius , after extensive restoration works led by Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers , opened to
56644-417: Was under foreign control. In the 19th century, the East Indies trade started to dwindle, and with it the importance of Malacca as a trading post. The Dutch state officially ceded Malacca to the British in 1825. It took until 1957 for Malaya to gain its independence. Despite this, the Dutch language is rarely spoken in Malacca or Malaysia and only limited to foreign nationals able to speak the language. After
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