The Cathedral of Aachen

The pious man faced a terrible dilemma. His village cried out for a church, a sacred place where the faithful could pray. But the bishop had no money, the monks no hands to spare. And there he sat, in his solitary house, staring into the darkness, when a voice like burning fire called his name.

“I know what you desire,” said the Devil, appearing in the form of a distinguished gentleman. “A cathedral, where now only mud and unbelief flourish. I will raise the greatest building in the world for you — the very Dom of Aachen, as magnificent as that great church in Aachen itself. And it will be complete before sunrise, before the rooster’s first crow.”

The man did not hesitate for a moment. In his fervent piety, he forgot every warning the priest had ever given him. “I accept your offer,” he whispered. “Build the cathedral.”

As the sun set, the Devil’s forces began their terrible work. The air filled with hellish power — demons and dark creatures, invisible to human eyes yet felt in every gust of wind. Stones flew through the air and stacked upon one another, columns materialized from nothing, vaults and spires rose toward the heavens like an evil dream made real.

The pious man stood and watched in horror and amazement. It was beautiful and dreadful at once — a masterpiece erected by demons. Each hour brought him closer to his doom. Stones crashed against stone, metal glinted in the light of hellish fire, and everywhere one could hear the cries of laborers — gesturing and screaming — or were they merely sounds from the abyss?

The towers grew faster and faster. Midnight passed. The first light of dawn approached. The Dom of Aachen stood nearly complete, as grand and impressive as its counterpart in Aachen. Only one window remained unfinished. The Devil laughed in triumph.

But the pious man was not as foolish as the Devil had thought. In his final moment of freedom, he had thought quickly. He ran to his neighbor’s barn — a man who loved him and would help him. “Wake your rooster!” he cried. “Make it crow, now, at once!”

The neighbor, though bewildered, began to rouse the rooster. And suddenly, in the darkness, came the shrill cry of the bird. Once, twice, three times the rooster crowed. The Devil heard the sound and felt his power break. With a shriek of rage and frustration, he vanished in smoke and flame, defeated forever by the simple cunning of a mortal man.

When the sun rose over Tongeren, the villagers found an almost complete building: the Dom of Aachen, magnificent and breathtaking, but — and this was the mark of the deception — with one window that was never finished. To this day, that window stands as a silent witness to how a mortal man outwitted the Devil himself.