Aachen

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Aachen (disambiguation) .

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 50 ° 47 '  N , 6 ° 5'  E
Basic data
State :	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region :	Cologne
County :	City region Aachen
Height :	175 m above sea level NHN
Area :	160.85 km 2
Residents:	248,960 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	1548 inhabitants per km 2
Postcodes :	52062-52080
Primaries :	0241, 02405, 02407, 02408
License plate :	AC, MON
Community key :	05 3 34 002
City structure:	7 boroughs
City administration address :	Market 52062 Aachen
Website :	www.aachen.de
Lord Mayor :	Marcel Philipp ( CDU )
Location of the city of Aachen in the city region of Aachen

Aerial view of Aachen

Aachen Cathedral

Aachen City Hall

Aachen  [ AXN ] ( Aachen dialect : Oche , French Aix-la-Chapelle [ ɛkslaʃapɛl ]; Dutch Aken ; latin Aquae Granni ) is a county-level city in North Rhine-Westphalia Region of Cologne . The former imperial city is a member of the Rhineland Regional Council and, according to the Aachen Act , the administrative seat of the Aachen city region with effect from October 21, 2009 . In 1890 Aachen exceeded the population of 100,000 for the first time and has been the westernmost German city ever since. Aachen borders the Netherlands and Belgium .  

With the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), funded since 2007 as part of the Excellence Initiative, Aachen has one of the largest and most traditional technical universities in Europe alongside other universities . The landmark of the city of Aachen Cathedral , goes on a masterpiece of Carolingian architecture applicable Pfalzkapelle that of Charlemagne founded Palace of Aachen back. Together with the cathedral treasure , the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978 as the first German and second world cultural monument . The city is the seat of the bishopric of Aachen and the venue for the annual CHIO Aachen equestrian tournament . Furthermore, thanks to the Aachener Printen as a local specialty, it is an important location for the German confectionery industry.

Due to the border location "in the heart of Europe" there are numerous cultural, especially architectural influences from the neighboring regions, the Belgian-Dutch area. Probably not least because this European character - as far back as Charles was the Great, Aachen for political, cultural and spiritual center of his empire , made Pater Europae called ( "Father of Europe") - is here since 1950 annually the International Charlemagne Prize for services around the European unification process awarded to personalities at home and abroad.

Aachen is a state-approved spa for the spa areas Monheimsallee and Burtscheid with their abundant thermal springs . The term Bad Aachen is occasionally used in urban tourism advertising; however, the city has never applied to include the title bathroom in its official name.

Surname

Romans discover the hot springs, fresco by Alfred Rethel in the town hall

The ancient name of the city has not been passed down. Since Charlemagne founded his palatinate on the remains of Roman baths, the Latin word aqua for "water" can be taken as the origin of the name. In Latin texts of the Middle Ages, the place is sometimes referred to simply as Aquae or Aquis , but increasingly as Aquisgrani . It is therefore believed that the ancient name was Aquae Granni and that the place is named after a spring dedicated to the Celtic god Grannus . Because of the late tradition of the name, another theory assumes that Aquisgrani was only a creation of the Latin chancellery language of the Frankish Empire in the 8th century. The French name for Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), like other French city names, contains the component Aix, which can be traced back to the Latin aqua . The location near the Romance-Germanic language border is also reflected in the names of neighboring source locations, Seffent ( septem fontes , "seven sources") in the west of the Aachen city area and Duffenter ( duo fontes , "two sources") in the neighboring city of Eschweiler .

The city is a state-recognized spa town and can have the addition Bad , see the section Bad Aachen .

The city is called differently in different languages. The names are partly based on today's names, e.g. B. Dutch Aken , Luxembourgish Oochen or Russian Ахен , partly based on the Latin names, e.g. B. Italian Aquisgrana , Spanish Aquisgrán or Polish Akwizgran . An exception is Aix-la-Chapelle in French , where the name Aix (cf. Aix-en-Provence ), derived from aquis, refers to the Aachen Palatine Chapel .

geography

location

and display information about the image

View from the Luisenhospital on the Jakobskirche, Lousberg, town hall, cathedral and other characteristic buildings of the city

Aachen is on the Wurm

Aachen lies in the border area with the Netherlands and Belgium ( Euregio Maas-Rhein ) on the northern edge of the Eifel and the Rhenish Slate Mountains . The Eifel and the High Fens in the south, large areas between the Lower Rhine and Niedermaas and the Ardennes are landscapes bordering Aachen. Nearby major cities are Cologne , Düsseldorf , Duisburg , Bonn , Mönchengladbach , Krefeld , Leverkusen , Liège (Belgium), Maastricht , Heerlen and Roermond (all Netherlands). In addition, Aachen borders on an urban agglomeration in the north and east, which includes the cities of Herzogenrath , Übach-Palenberg , Alsdorf , Baesweiler and Würselen to the north, Eschweiler to the north-east and Stolberg to the east of the city.

Aachen is located in the triangle between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands in the center of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine , in a valley basin open to the northeast, in which almost all of Aachen's streams gather in the Wurm and flow to the Rur . The urban area is therefore in the catchment area of ​​the Meuse , directly on the northern edge of the slate mountains on the left bank of the Rhine ( Eifel ), about 30 km north of the High Fens .

The highest point in the city is 410  m above sea level. NHN and is located in the extreme southeast of the city. The lowest point is 125  m above sea level. NHN and is located in the north of the city on the federal border with the Netherlands. The market square in the city center is 175  m above sea level. NHN . The length of the city limits is 87.7 km, of which 23.8 km border with Belgium and 21.8 km with the Netherlands. The largest north-south extension is 21.6 km, the largest west-east extension 17.2 km.

Neighboring communities

The following cities and municipalities border the city of Aachen (starting clockwise in the northwest):

• City region Aachen : Herzogenrath , Würselen , Eschweiler , Stolberg , Roetgen
• Province of Liège (Belgium): Raeren , Kelmis , Plombières
• Limburg Province (Netherlands): Vaals , Gulpen-Wittem , Simpelveld , Heerlen , Kerkrade

City structure

Districts of Aachen

City districts, statistical districts and place names of Aachen

→ Main article : City districts of Aachen

The urban area is divided into the seven districts of Aachen-Mitte , Brand , Eilendorf , Haaren , Kornelimünster / Walheim , Laurensberg and Richterich . Each city district has its own district council with a district head and its own district office . The district council is elected by the population of the city district in each local election. Some of the city districts are divided into statistical districts for statistical purposes .

The districts of Aachen , which partly coincide with the city districts, form a subdivision of the city area for cadastral purposes .

Independent of these official city structures, there are numerous other place names in Aachen for city districts and districts, localities and settlements that are generally considered to be districts of Aachen .

climate

Weather pillar on the skyscraper at the main station

Aachen and the surrounding area belong to the temperate climate zone and have an oceanic climate, with humid weather, mild winters and relatively balanced temperatures. Due to the location north of the Eifel and the High Fens , the amount of precipitation (on average 805 mm / year) in Aachen is comparatively higher than in Bonn (669 mm / year) due to the prevailing weather conditions from the west. Another effect of the location on the northern edge of the Eifel is the occurrence of foehn in southern air currents.

Due to the city's basin location, inversion weather conditions are more common . Some parts of the city are characterized by an unfavorable air exchange in terms of urban climate. The numerous cold air corridors, which should remain as free of buildings as possible for urban planning purposes, are therefore of great importance for the urban climate. The landscape protection areas (LSG) in the Aachen area also fulfill this mesoclimatic function , which regulates the urban climate .

In the case of strong weather conditions - wind force 3 ( Beaufort scale ) with southerly to westerly wind directions - sufficient air exchange in the valley basin is guaranteed. Stream valleys and green corridors along these wind directions serve as ventilation tracks, e.g. B. the Johannisbachtal . In weather conditions with little exchange (so-called neutral weather), air-hygienic problematic situations can arise. With these only average exchange conditions, weak winds blow from northeast to southwest, so that in this respect stream valleys with such an orientation as z. B. the Beverbachtal fulfill an important ventilation function. However, stable high-pressure weather conditions are problematic, i.e. low-wind, beautiful weather conditions with high solar radiation. Due to the inadequate air currents, the polluted air can hardly be replaced by fresh air. Only the cold air flowing into the valley basin, which forms at night on larger open spaces near the city, ensures a positive exchange of air. Such cold air flows take place z. B. over the Beverbachtal and the Erzbergerallee.

A special feature of the weather forecast for Aachen is the Aachen weather pillar , an approximately 11 meter high light pillar on the roof of the Haus Grenzwacht skyscraper at the main station, which uses the luminous color of its sphere and various time sequences of the glow of the sphere and shaft to indicate the weather forecast for the next day .

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Aachen Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 4.5 6.2 9.8 13.8 18.5 21.5 23 23 19.7 15th 8.9 5.5 O 14.2 Min. Temperature (° C) −1.3 −1.2 1.1 3.6 7.6 10.7 12.4 12.1 9.5 6.3 2.4 −0.2 O 5.3 Precipitation ( mm ) 62.2 48.3 63.6 54.8 73.5 85.9 84.3 77.1 61.6 55 55 71.9 Σ 793.2 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 1.7 2.6 3.6 4.8 6.2 6.1 6.4 6.1 4.9 3.9 2.2 1.5 O 4.2 Rainy days ( d ) 13 10 13 11 12 12 11 10 10 9 12 13 Σ 136 Humidity ( % ) 82 79 76 72 70 72 72 74 77 80 82 83 O 76.6 T e m p e r a t u r 4.5 −1.3 6.2 −1.2 9.8 1.1 13.8 3.6 18.5 7.6 21.5 10.7 23 12.4 23 12.1 19.7 9.5 15th 6.3 8.9 2.4 5.5 −0.2 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec N i e d e r s c h l a g 62.2 48.3 63.6 54.8 73.5 85.9 84.3 77.1 61.6 55 55 71.9   Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Source: Climate Aachen Weather Aachen ; wetterkontor.de

geology

Folded sandstones and shales of the Upper Devonian Condroz - formation below St. Adalbert

Aachen's subsurface is very heterogeneous. The oldest rocks occurring in the urban area are Devonian and Carboniferous sandstones , greywacke , claystones and limestones . The rock formations belong to the slate mountains on the left bank of the Rhine north of the High Fens . In the Upper Carboniferous these rock layers were narrowed, folded and pushed over during the Variscan mountain formation . After the Variscan Mountains unfolded, the area was increasingly leveled over a period of 200 million years.

During the Cretaceous Period , the sea penetrated from the North Sea to the edge of the mountains near Aachen and deposited clays, sands and chalk sediments . While the clays, which were the basis of an important pottery industry not far from Aachen in Raeren , are mainly to be found in the valley basin of Aachen, the heights of the Aachen Forest , the Schneeberg and the Lousberg are formed by deposits of sand and chalk from the Upper Cretaceous . The most recent sediments, which are predominantly found in the north and east of Aachen, are tertiary and quaternary river and wind deposits.

Along the great thrust orbits of the Variscan orbital formation - the Aachen and Burtscheider thrust - today in the urban area, bound to Upper Devonian limestones, over 30 Aachen and Burtscheid thermal springs come to light. In addition, numerous tectonic faults , some of which are still active today , pervade the subsurface of Aachen and belong to the fault system of the Rurgraben. In the past, this fault system has repeatedly made itself felt in Aachen and the entire Cologne Bay through earthquakes , for example in the years 823, 1756 near Düren and 1992 near Roermond .

environmental Protection

In Aachen, in addition to soil, water, noise, climate and landscape protection, the maintenance or restoration of the best possible air quality is of particular importance. In September 2017, the Environmental and Landscape Protection Aachen- Beverau eV was founded; he is a member of the State Conservation and Environment NRW (LNU).

Air quality

The basin location of Aachen city center, the heavy traffic there and the increasing development of open spaces have a negative impact on air hygiene . The EU-relevant pollutant parameters showed fine dust (PM10) and in particular nitrogen oxides (NOx) on Wilhelmstrasse and Adalbertsteinweg in recent years and also currently e.g. Sometimes high to critical daily or annual mean values. These clear excesses of limit values ​​are considered to be harmful to health: there is a risk of an increase in allergies, respiratory infections and cardiovascular diseases as well as an increase in mortality. Previously injured persons are particularly affected. B. with asthma as well as children and adolescents.

In the two spa areas of Burtscheid and Monheimsallee, there are considerably higher requirements than the general EU limit values ​​for fine dust and nitrogen dioxide. After these had not been met for a long time and therefore even the title spa was in danger, studies from 2016 showed compliance with the strict spa area guidelines .

In the case of strong weather conditions, sufficient air exchange in the heavily polluted valley basin is guaranteed. In weather conditions with little exchange (so-called neutral weather), air-hygienic problematic situations can arise. However, stable high pressure weather conditions are problematic.

As part of an air pollution control plan , the Solid Fuel Ordinance came into force on October 9, 2010, with a transition period up to December 31, 2014. In 2015, further measures were defined in the areas of transport and energy. On the instructions of the Cologne District Government, an environmental zone had to be set up from February 1, 2016; it concerns the area within the Aachen outer ring.

The Cologne District Government has been preparing the second update of the Aachen Air Quality Plan since the beginning of 2017. A central point is the examination and possible preparation of a diesel driving ban . A pending lawsuit by the German Environmental Aid (DUH) is aimed at this at the VG Aachen . With a similar petition, the DUH was already successful at the VG Düsseldorf and the VG Stuttgart. The Federal Administrative Court has mostly rejected the leap appeals filed against it . However, if a diesel driving ban is enacted as a measure to keep the air clean, proportionality must be maintained. For this reason, Euro 5 vehicles, for example, should not be banned from traffic before September 1, 2019. In addition, there must be exceptions z. B. for craftsmen or certain groups of residents.

From November 2019 Tempo 30 will be introduced across the board within the Alleenring.

Zoning plan

Due to the high degree of sealing , the Environment Agency also demands the maintenance or expansion of all inner-city, larger, open green areas in order not to endanger an effective fresh air supply.

In the course of the planned reorganization of the land use plan, the city administration is considering converting several cold air generation areas into building land. In contrast, three citizens' initiatives were formed in the summer of 2014 with regard to the Beverau, Schönthal and Grauenhoferweg test areas.

Protected areas

According to the current landscape plan from 1988, 451 hectares of the urban area are protected in 12 nature reserves and a further 8131 hectares in the Aachen landscape protection area. A new landscape plan is currently (2018) in preparation, based on the draft, 1857 hectares would then be protected in 32 NSGs and 8869 hectares in 19 LSGs.

population

According to the 2015 yearbook of the city of Aachen, the population is 253,945, of which 122,032 are female and 131,913 are male.

The unemployment rate in the urban area is currently 9.7 percent (April 2012). At the end of 2009, the proportion of foreigners in Aachen was 13.6 percent. A significant proportion of the foreign residents belonged to the students of the internationally known educational centers of Aachen.

Population development

→ Main article : Population development in Aachen

Population development 1500–2016

In 1855 Aachen had more than 50,000 inhabitants, after this number had been just under 25,000 at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1890, the city's population exceeded 100,000, making it a major city . A few years later it incorporated the district town of Burtscheid from the district of Aachen , whereupon it became the seat of the district administration; today Aachen is the seat of the Aachen city region. The city experienced a population increase of around 63,000 in 1972 through several incorporations - the population rose from 177,000 to around 240,000. On December 31, 2005, the official population for Aachen was 258,208 (only main residences and after comparison with the other state offices ) according to the information and technology of North Rhine-Westphalia (IT.NRW ). The greater increase in the population in 2003 compared to previous years is due to the fact that the city introduced the second home tax in the same year , which prompted many students in particular to exchange their second home for a main residence with the city administration. In 2008, a historic high was reached with 259,269 inhabitants.

In a comparison of the major German cities , Aachen shows an average population increase of 0.67% over the period 2012/2013. As of June 30, 2012, 259,684 residents were registered in Aachen. According to the population forecast of the LDS, the population should grow to 282,500 by 2025 . The 2011 census , however, showed that the previously assumed population was significantly too high. The number of inhabitants determined by the 2011 census on May 9, 2011 is 236,430. Against these census results u. a. the city of Aachen also appealed. By decision of 26 August 2015, the Federal Constitutional Court in a judicial review stopped the deletion of the data collected in the 2011 census provisional for more than six months to give the communities the opportunity to effectively check a possible miscalculation of the number of inhabitants in court and correct if necessary allow. On September 19, 2018, the Federal Constitutional Court decided in a further regulatory review procedure that the methodology of the 2011 census was constitutional. The proceedings of the city of Aachen against the state of North Rhine-Westphalia before the Aachen administrative court were suspended until this decision. After the judgment of the constitutional court, the city of Aachen declared that it was examining whether there was still any prospect of success in this procedure.

In the study on the population forecast published in July 2015 from the Bertelsmann Stiftung's “Wegweiser Kommune” data portal, the numerical development of the population was calculated for cities and municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants and for all rural districts. According to this current forecast, the population of Aachen will decrease continuously in the next few years and will only be 231,310 in 2030, which corresponds to a population decrease of 3.6%.

Aachener Platt

The local dialect of the city, the Aachener Platt or in its own name Öcher ( [ˈœʃʌ] ) Platt , belongs to the Ripuarian language group .

history

Aachen is known for its history and the cultural, architectural and archaeological heritage associated with it. Once a Celtic settlement, which later, in the course of colonization by Roman pioneers , was equipped, among other things, with a religious cult and a thermal bath district comprising several thermal baths and was thus characterized by a high-quality bathing culture - as well as a high standard of living - since ancient times . the vicus was Germanized by Franks around the 5th century after the withdrawal of the Roman troops . This was followed by a period of settling down under initially Merovingian , then Carolingian rule. With the completion of the Carolingian palace complex at the transition to the 9th century, the final constitution took place as the main royal residence of the Frankish empire ruled by Charlemagne , which was at its greatest expansion at this time. Aachen, the 1166 by Emperor I. Frederick Barbarossa with the Karl privilege the town charter was awarded and imperial city was served by the early Middle Ages to the Reformation as a coronation of numerous Roman-German kings and emperors .

→ Main article : History of the city of Aachen

Prehistory and Antiquity

The area around Aachen was discovered at the latest during the Neolithic period between 3000 and 2500 BC. Inhabited by a rural population. From members of this culture, flint was quarried on the Lousberg and excavations in the Aachen Elisengarten, which took place in the second half of the 2000s, suggest a settlement in the Neolithic. Indirect evidence of earlier mining since the Paleolithic (Palaeolithic) was provided by various finds of artifacts made of Lousberg flint in the Lower Rhine Bay and in the Rhine Valley. In the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age , Aachen was settled by Celts , as shown by barrows in the Aachen forest and the excavations in Aachen's Elisengarten.

After the Celts, the Romans settled at the warm springs . A Roman medicinal bath is documented in the 1st century AD. According to the excavation results, it can be assumed that since the birth of Christ there was an urban development built by the Romans about 25 hectares in size - later called Aquae Granni . The Roman baths in Aachen continued to operate in late antiquity .

Franc time

Model of the imperial palace

Octagon of Aachen Cathedral

Excavations at the Elisengarten in 2008/2009 showed that Aachen was continuously populated until 700 even after the Romans withdrew at the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th century.

Frankish graves from the 7th century are evidence of later settlement . The Frankish King Pippin the Younger built a courtyard in Aachen and in 765 ensured that Aachen was first mentioned in writing as an Aquis villa . However, the Carolingian Aachen before the heyday under Charlemagne is not yet comprehensible. The pottery, it is believed, was in Roman tradition and is therefore incorrectly identified as Roman, the previous lack of archaeological evidence for Carolingian houses - which Einhard mentions next to a cemetery - is explained by the fact that Roman buildings were still intact.

Pippin's son Karl, later called Charlemagne , inherited the Frankish Empire and the Aachen court. He overwintered there for the first time in the winter of 768/69. In his later years he stayed there more and more often and expanded it into an imperial palace with a palace and chapel, the so-called Palatine Chapel . The town hall is located on the site of the palace today , and the chapel became the Aachen Cathedral .

Karl's son Ludwig was crowned co-emperor in 813 in the presence of his father on the upper floor of the Palatine Chapel. Charlemagne was buried on January 28, 814 in the forecourt of the chapel. Another coronation took place in the middle of the 9th century in the Aachen Palatine Chapel. Lothar I , the eldest grandson of Charlemagne, was crowned emperor here. Charles III and Arnulf are no longer detectable in Aachen. It was not until Otto I that the use of the Palatinate increased again significantly, a development that broke off again after Heinrich II.

Holy Roman Empire

Otto I was crowned King of East Franconia in Aachen in 936. The city thus remained the coronation site of the German kings ("sedes regia") for the next 600 years . By 1531, 30 German kings were crowned in the Aachen Minster, today's cathedral; the last was Ferdinand I. After the antipope Paschal III. Charlemagne was canonized in 1165, Aachen received on 8 January 1166 as caput civitatum ( "main cities") and as caput et sedes regni Teutonici ( "Main and seat of the German Empire" - sic!) By a Karl privilege designated Freiheitsbrief Emperor Frederick Barbarossa the town charter as well as the market and mint money awarded and became an imperial city . Its inhabitants were freed from feudal submission . The imperial eagle in the city coat of arms dates from this time . On July 29, 1215, Emperor Friedrich II confirmed the city of Aachen all of the rights it had received since Charlemagne.

Aachen with its two city walls, Merian 1645

The construction of the inner city wall goes back to Emperor Barbarossa; it is therefore still called the Barbarossa Wall to this day. Its construction began in 1171. It runs roughly along today's moat ring. In 1248, after a six-month siege, Aachen fell to William of Holland , who was crowned king here. The siege was only successful because the besiegers dammed the water of the streams when they emerged from the basin east of the city and thus flooded a large part of the then walled city area. Richard of Cornwall , who was crowned in Aachen in 1257, promoted the construction of the outer wall , which took about 100 years to build . It ran along the ring of avenues and had eleven city gates and 22 towers. It was not until 1841 that the first residential buildings were built outside of the old town surrounded by these walls ; the Bahnhofsviertel and Theaterstrasse emerged.

Map of the Aachen Empire

In 1336, the imperial city of Aachen was reaffirmed its city rights by Emperor Ludwig IV and extended to the territory of the Aachen Empire . In addition to the urban district located within the Barbarossa Wall, this included the seven quarters located outside the wall, the Aachener Heide, the Stadtbusch and the Reichswald. These outskirts were used, among other things, to provide agricultural and forestry supplies for the city's population and, like the city itself, required special protection in order to protect it from robbery and by enemy troops, which is why it was decided to build the Aachen land moat as a fortification .

The cloth miller was first mentioned in 1258 . For centuries, cloth manufacturing in Aachen was the main economic factor in Aachen.

Due to the rich ore deposits in the area, e.g. B. zinc ore ( calamine ) on Altenberg (today Kelmis ) and in Stolberg , Aachen became a European center of the brass industry and copper processing - especially in the 16th century. With the religious unrest in Aachen during the Reformation and the expulsion of the Protestants, many copper thugs who belonged to this belief left the city and settled in the more liberal surrounding areas ( Vaals and Stolberg).

Albrecht Dürer : The town hall in Aachen

The Aachen sanctuary tour has been carried out since the 13th century, and reached its climax with the display of the Aachen sanctuaries every seven years from 1349 onwards.

Today's Aachen City Hall was built in 1349 on the initiative of the Aachen citizenship under the direction of its incumbent mayor Gerhard Chorus on the remains of the dilapidated royal hall of the imperial palace. The grass house had previously held this function, but was still used for council and court meetings until the 18th century. Another town hall (the Pützer building) was built in 1903 at Katschhof. It was partially destroyed in World War II and demolished in the 1950s; today there is an administration building at this point.

Aachen was politically integrated into the system of imperial circles in 1500 when it became part of the Lower Rhine-Westphalian Empire .

The city began to decline in political importance in the 16th century. With the separation of the Netherlands from the German Empire, Aachen lost its geographical central position and was replaced by Frankfurt as the coronation site. During the Reformation there was massive unrest between Catholics and Protestants .

Modern times

Aachen around 1647, copper engraving by Matthäus Merian

In 1601 Aachen decided for the first time to have its inhabitants counted. This showed that 14,171 residents lived in Aachen, of which only 2829 had citizenship .

Komphausbadstrasse with Rosen, Cornelius and Karlsbad (left), 1727

On May 2, 1656, a fire broke out in the bakery of the baker Peter Maw at the Jakobskirche , which destroyed almost the entire Gothic Aachen. Seven people died and 4,664 homes were destroyed.

In the period that followed, the bath doctor François Blondel , who came from Liège, developed Aachen into one of the most modern bathing resorts in Europe. Since then, the phrase has been circulating in Aachen: “What the fire has destroyed, the water builds up again.” The spa was expanded to include opportunities for idleness and entertainment (casino, ballrooms). The bath gained a certain reputation and was visited by rulers like Tsar Peter I of Russia or the Prussian King Frederick the Great , but men like the composer Georg Friedrich Handel also visited the facility.

The war of devolution between Spain and France ended in 1668 with the First Peace of Aachen . In 1748 a peace congress took place in Aachen, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession with the Second Peace of Aachen . As a result of the French Revolution , armies occupied Aachen in 1794 and united it with France. Numerous cultural assets were deported to Paris. In 1798, Aachen became the administrative seat of the Département de la Roer, which encompasses the Lower Rhine . The Londoner Hof at Aachener Kleinkölnstrasse 18 served as the administration building .

From 1802 to 1825 Aachen was the seat of a bishopric . It was only re-established in 1930 by the Prussian Concordat and subordinated to the Archdiocese of Cologne as a suffragan .

19th century to the present

Reception of Wilhelm II at Aachen City Hall on June 19, 1902

Soldiers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Aachen 1945

Awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 1957 to Paul-Henri Spaak

After the Congress of Vienna , the city was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815 . In 1816 it became the seat of a Prussian district government and a district in the province of the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine , with the city becoming an urban district . From June 27, 1822, the city and the entire administrative district belonged to the Rhine Province .

The introduction of steam power , especially in the cloth industry, the advancing mechanization and the associated unemployment as well as women and child labor at low wages led to riots that were bloodily suppressed by armed citizens and soldiers in 1830. The Rhenish Railway , built from Cologne in the direction of Belgium from 1837 , reached Aachen in 1841 and the Belgian border station at Herbesthal in 1843 .

At the beginning of the First World War, German troops crossed the border with Belgium near Aachen, which was the reason for France and Great Britain to enter the war. After the First World War , part of the Aachen hinterland with the Eupen district and parts of the Monschau and Schleiden districts fell to Belgium in 1918 . Aachen remained occupied by Belgian troops for eleven years. During this time the activities of a separatist movement took place , which called for the separation of the Rhineland from the Prussian- dominated German Empire . On October 21, 1923, Aachen separatists occupied the town hall during a coup. There were bloody clashes between the separatists and the Aachen population, which were only ended by the Belgian occupiers on November 2nd.

The interwar period marked a major turning point in the city's economic life. In particular, the so-called Ruhrkampf , the shifting of the customs border to the Rhine and the increasing smuggling along the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands or the separatist uprising of 1923 hit Aachen hard. In addition, there were reparations payments and, as a negative climax, the global economic crisis from 1929.

In 1933 the city council was dissolved. The leading municipal and state officials were replaced by members of the NSDAP . A sanctuary tour with 800,000 participants took place in 1937, which was viewed as a silent protest against the Nazi regime .

During the November pogroms in 1938 , Jewish shops and apartments in Aachen were devastated or looted. The only synagogue in Aachen was destroyed by fire that night. 552 Aachen Jews were deported and murdered in the years to come.

In World War II, Aachen was severely damaged; 65 percent of the living space was destroyed. In July 1941, the first of five air raids took place. Tens of thousands of deportation victims who had been interned in Belgium came through the border town of Aachen, only to be smuggled through Germany to the concentration camps by Reichsbahn . In 1944, Aachen was forced to be evacuated, which was the first German city to be captured by the Allies on October 21, 1944 after six weeks of fighting ( Battle of Aachen ) . At that time the city only had 11,139 inhabitants. The Americans installed Franz Oppenhoff as the new mayor , who fell victim to an attack after just under five months in office. While a group of the Werwolf vigilante movement was initially held responsible for this, it is now assumed that Oppenhoff, as a collaborator with the Allies, was murdered by the SS and the Luftwaffe on the orders of Heinrich Himmler. Oppenhoffallee was later named after him. Aachen was occupied first by American, then by British and later by Belgian troops.

40 people died between 1945 and 1953 when coffee was smuggled between Belgium and Germany, on the so-called Aachen coffee front . In 1946, 100,000 people lived in Aachen again. On August 23, 1946, the northern part of the previous Rhine province, to which Aachen also belonged, became part of the newly founded state of North Rhine-Westphalia . From April 1, 1949 to August 28, 1958, the western district of Bildchen was a Belgian annex area .

In 1950 the City of Aachen's International Charlemagne Prize was awarded for the first time for outstanding services to unification and peace in Europe .

During the territorial reform of 1972 ( first Aachen law ), the urban area of ​​Aachen was almost tripled by incorporation, the population rose to 237,108. The Aachen district received the expansion it had until it was replaced by the Aachen city region. The Aachen administrative district was dissolved and incorporated into the Cologne administrative district. In the same year, the new Aachen Clinic celebrated its topping-out ceremony, which was officially handed over to RWTH Aachen University in 1985 by the then Prime Minister Johannes Rau .

A new synagogue in Aachen was inaugurated in 1995 with the participation of international guests of honor.

On May 25, 2009 the city received the title Place of Diversity awarded by the federal government .

Incorporations

Area share of the incorporations in today's urban area.

→ Main article : Incorporation into the city of Aachen

Before the incorporation of the previously independent city of Burtscheid , which was carried out on April 1, 1897 , the Aachen urban area was 3,056 hectares . After three further incorporations as well as various smaller border changes and new measurements since 1949, the urban area today covers an area of ​​16,082.9 hectares.

• April 1, 1897: Burtscheid
• April 1, 1906: Forst
• November 1, 1922: Sief , Bildchen and Lichtenbusch
• January 1, 1972: Brand , Eilendorf , Haaren , Kornelimünster , Laurensberg , Richterich , Walheim

The names of the incorporated territories are still preserved in the form of the districts of Aachen . The municipalities incorporated in 1972 and the previous city area became the city ​​districts of Aachen .

Charles Hymn

Beginning of the Aachen hymn, glass window from the 18th century

The Charlemagne hymn Urbs Aquensis is a hymn from the 12th century to Charlemagne , whose glory falls on Aachen. The German translation ("Aachen, Kaiserstadt, du hehre ...") dates from the 19th century and is now played and sung to a melody by Peter Baur as the city ​​anthem on special occasions, e.g. B. annually at the Charlemagne Award ceremony by the festival company.

Religions

In 2014, 46.5% of the population were members of the Catholic and 15.0% of the Protestant Church; 38.5% belonged to other denominations or religions or were non-denominational.

Christianity

Catholic Church St. Michael Burtscheid

Evangelical Trinity Church

The area of ​​the city of Aachen belonged from the beginning to the diocese of Liège or its archdeaconate Hasbanien , dean of Maastricht . In the Middle Ages the Wurm was the border to the Archdiocese of Cologne . The Duke of Jülich had church rights . In 1708 there were 17 monasteries in Aachen . In 1802 Aachen became the seat of its own diocese , which was however repealed in 1825. After that, the area belonged to the Archdiocese of Cologne, before the Diocese of Aachen was re-established as a suffragan diocese of Cologne in 1930 . Aachen Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Aachen and the main church of the city . The Catholic parishes of the city belong within the diocese to the Aachen-Stadt region. Bishop Helmut This has been since 2016 .

The Reformation began in Aachen around 1530 . In the following years, mainly Protestant ( Calvinist ) cloth maker families settled in the city. The first congregation was formed in 1544, but the evangelical residents were barred from all public offices by order of the emperor from 1550. However, the city council was divided and in 1559 the evangelical members left the council, whereupon many Protestants emigrated. In 1576, thanks to the support of the guilds, the majority of the council was again occupied by Protestants. In the period that followed, there was initially one Lutheran and three Reformed congregations. The freedoms did not last long, however, as the imperial ban was imposed on the city in 1598 and the evangelical council resigned as a result. All preaching houses and schools were closed. Many Protestants were expelled. After an uprising by the Protestants in 1611/1612, a Protestant council was temporarily formed again, but in 1614 imperial ban was again imposed and the Protestants were expelled, and in some cases even executed. After that the number of Protestants was very small, but there were always Protestant residents who tried again and again to gain influence in the city. However, since they could not form their own congregations, the Lutheran and Reformed residents joined the congregations in Vaals . A Reformed church was founded there on March 21, 1649, and in 1672 the Hervormde Kerk was built. The Evangelical Lutheran congregation Aachen-Burtscheid-Vaals was founded around 1669, and in 1737 it was the builder of the Lutheran church De Kopermolen .

After the French invasion, the Protestants gradually gained their equality with the Catholics. In 1802 they received the former St. Anna monastery church for their services . The Lutheran and Reformed congregation , which had now been founded , merged in 1837 to form the United Evangelical Congregation. After Aachen had become Prussian in 1815 and the Evangelical Church in Prussia was formed as a uniate church in 1817 , the congregation in Aachen belonged to this church or to its Rhenish provincial church formed in 1826 . 1838 Aachen seat of a superintendent , the present church district of Aachen which later within the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland emerged, which in turn in 1947 by becoming independent of the ecclesiastical province as a national church was built. The Evangelical Church Community of Aachen is divided into four parish areas (Aachen-Mitte, South, West and North), each with several parishes. However, two other communities in the southeast belong to the area of ​​the city of Aachen: Brand belongs to the parish of Stolberg , the places in the Kornelimünster / Walheim district belong to the parish of Kornelimünster-Zweifall. However, the Evangelical Church District Aachen includes not only the parishes in the city and district of Aachen (except Eschweiler) but also Eifel parishes in the Euskirchen district .

In addition to the two large churches, there are numerous Protestant free churches in Aachen , including the Free Evangelical Congregation and the Evangelical Free Church Congregation ( Baptists ). The other Christian associations and congregations include an Old Catholic congregation , free Christian congregations, four different Orthodox congregations , in particular the Greek Orthodox congregation of the town church of St. Michael led by Bishop Evmenios von Lefke , and a Catholic Korean congregation.

A large part of the various Christian communities in Aachen is united in the local ecumenical working group of Christian churches (ACK) in Aachen. These include the Roman Catholic Church , the Evangelical Church , the Greek Orthodox Church , the Russian Orthodox Church , the Serbian Orthodox Church , the Romanian Orthodox Church , the Old Catholic Church , the Baptists, the Free Evangelical Church, the Vineyard -Church, the International Christian Free Church (ICF) and the Lighthouse Christian Center .

The Christian Community , Jehovah's Witnesses , The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Apostolic Community and the New Apostolic Church are also represented in Aachen.

Aachen is the location for the Aachen seminary and the seat of the Catholic aid organizations missio , Misereor and the carol singers .

Judaism

Synagogue Aachen with the Hebrew inscription: "My house should be a house of prayer for all nations!"

The Aachen synagogue was rebuilt by the city of Aachen on the site of the old synagogue that was destroyed during the November pogroms in 1938 and handed over to the Jewish community in 1995. The Jewish Community of Aachen with around 1,440 members and its own library also has a Jewish cemetery and its own newspaper.

See also : Jewish cemetery Lütticher Straße (Aachen) , Jewish cemetery Hüls (Aachen) and Jewish cemetery Waldfriedhof (Aachen)

Islam

Islamic Center Aachen ( Bilal Mosque )

In Aachen there are now three mosques , the Yunus Emre Mosque of the Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (DITIB) in Aachen-Ost , the Islamic Center ( IZA ) with the Bilal Mosque and the Mansoor Mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Local community. There are also five other facilities in the form of Islamic cultural centers .

Interreligious Dialogue

In November 2005, the Dialogue of Religions Working Group was set up under the direction of the Aachen Integration Office, in which members of all major world religions take part.

The Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation in Aachen is dedicated to Judeo-Christian dialogue . V.

Cemetery culture in Aachen

Campo Santo - Westfriedhof II Aachen

The deceased of the Roman Aquae Granni were buried outside the city limits at that time on a wasteland on which the Aachener Peterskirche was later built in the 12th century . From the early Middle Ages it was customary to bury the dead in the Münsterkirchhof in the immediate vicinity of the Aachen Minster and thus within the city limits. As the number of inhabitants increased, the Catholic citizens were buried in the vicinity of their respective places of worship or within the churches in specially designed funerary cellars . In contrast, since 1605, the evangelical citizens were buried outside on the edge of the outer city ​​wall of Aachen a few 100 m in front of the Kölntor in the hallway labeled Am Güldenplan . It was no longer occupied from 1899 and is now a listed building as part of the Aachen city garden .

Only after the French invaded in 1794 did the gradual change to a more modern burial culture begin. For health reasons, the occupation troops forbade the use of cemeteries within the city. Two years before the official imperial decree of 1805, it was decided in Aachen to open up a new cemetery area for the Catholic population. It should be located about 700 m east of the Adalbertstore in the east of the city, where the Aachen East Cemetery was opened on August 18, 1803 and placed under the administration of the Alexian Brothers from the Alexian Monastery in Aachen .

In the further course of the 19th century, the lack of burial corridors led the city to purchase a large piece of land on Vaalser Strasse from the Laurensberg community in order to set up the new Aachen West Cemetery . First of all, the facility known as Westfriedhof I was set up south of Vaalser Strasse for Protestant citizens. It serves as a replacement for the Am Güldenplan cemetery and was occupied from January 4, 1889. On May 1, 1890, the Westfriedhof II, north of the street, began to be occupied by Catholics. a. a Campo Santo was built. While the Aachen East Cemetery was initially reserved for the Aachen parishes of St. Adalbert , St. Peter and St. Foillan , the new West Cemetery II served all other parishes at the time.

Due to the population increase in the 20th century, the city of Aachen decided to expand the forest cemetery Aachen for the population from 1930 . This was implemented on the site of a former cholera cemetery at the gates of Burtscheid, where the city had already reserved a larger area as a cemetery of honor . Finally, the Lintert cemetery was opened in 1956 and the Hüls cemetery in 1979, where the only crematorium in Aachen is located. Both the Westfriedhof and the Hüls cemetery also have the only memorials for star children and children who died young. In addition, the incorporated districts of Aachen have their own historically relevant cemeteries, all of which are now subordinate to the city, such as the Burtscheid / Aachen hot mountain cemetery .

The funeral culture in Aachen has been adapted according to modern ideas. From the classic burial in the form of individual and row graves through urn and tree graves to anonymous burials, citizens are left to decide on their type of burial as well as the desired cemetery within the framework of the legal requirements.

politics

Lord Mayor

Lord Mayor Marcel Philipp

See also : Mayor of the Imperial City of Aachen  and Mayor of the City of Aachen

A royal official was initially at the head of the city of Aachen. In 1250 the management passed to the council, which was presided over by a mayor. Members of the council were initially only lifelong lay judges . The guilds were also represented from the 15th century . This was stipulated in the so-called Aachen Gaffelbrief from 1450, which was valid until 1794. However, the guilds could not achieve permanent membership in the council until 1513. The number of members fluctuated several times. At the top were usually two mayors, who only held office for one year and changed office on May 25th . In addition to their council membership, the council members mostly held important special offices in the city. After the French invaded in 1794, the municipal constitution was introduced. Mayor who was mayor . He was assisted by three aldermen and a 30-member council. During the Prussian era, the mayor became the mayor in 1815 . A reorganization of the urban constitution was only introduced in 1845 with the Rhenish municipal code and in 1856 with the Rhenish town code. The city administration continued to consist of the mayor and the council.

During the time of National Socialism, the mayor was appointed by the NSDAP . After the Second World War , the military government appointed a new mayor, and in 1946 it introduced the British-style municipal constitution . Then there was a city ​​council elected by the people , whose members are known as city councilors. The council initially elected the mayor from among its members as chairman and representative of the city, who was active on a voluntary basis . Furthermore, from 1946 the council also elected a full-time senior city director as head of the city administration. 1995 the dual leadership in the city administration was given up. Since then there has only been the full-time mayor. He is chairman of the council, head of the city administration and representative of the city. He was elected directly by the people for the first time in 1999.

Marcel Philipp (CDU) has been Lord Mayor of Aachen since October 21, 2009 .

City council

See also : Results of the local elections in Aachen

The city council elected on May 25, 2014 consists of 76 members. The directly elected Lord Mayor has voting rights and chairs the meetings. The following parties are currently represented in the Aachen Council : CDU (28 members), SPD (20 members), Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen (13 members), Die Linke (5 members), FDP (3 members), Pirate Party (3 members), AfD (2 members) and one member each from the Independent Voters Community and from pro NRW .

City council election 2014

Eligible voters: 194,455, turnout: 52.73%

 %

40

30th

20th

10

0

36.34%

26.00%

16.54%

6.08%

4.46%

3.45%

2.54%

1.84%

2.75%

CDU

SPD

Green

left

FDP

Pirates

AfD

UWG

Otherwise.

Political party	Seats	Proportion of %
CDU	28	36.34
SPD	20th	26.00
Green	13	16.54
The left	5	6.08
FDP	3	4.46
Pirate party	3	3.45
AfD	2	2.54
UWG	1	1.84
PRO NRW	1	1.13

A coalition of CDU and SPD has been in power since September 18, 2014.

coat of arms

Blazon : In gold, a red-armored and red-tongued black eagle .

The city colors are black and gold (black and yellow). Like other former imperial cities (e.g. Besançon , Dortmund , Deventer ), the city of Aachen still has a black eagle on a gold background in its coat of arms. The Aachen coat of arms was last confirmed on January 24, 1980 by the main statute of the city.

• 

  Coat of arms from 1774

• 

  Coat of arms from 1888

• 

  Great coat of arms

• 

  City arms

Twin cities

Sister cities are:

Reims ( France ), since 1967  Halifax / Calderdale ( UK ), since 1979  Toledo ( Spain ), since 1985  Ningbo ( China ), since 1986  Naumburg (Saale) ( Saxony-Anhalt ), since 1988

Arlington ( Virginia , USA ), since 1993  Cape Town ( South Africa ), since 1999  Kostroma ( Russian Federation ), since 2005  Sarıyer ( Turkey ), since 2013

Montebourg ( France ), twin town of Walheim since 1960 (since its incorporation in 1972 it has been transferred to the Aachen district of Kornelimünster / Walheim )

City region Aachen

Through public law agreements with the Aachen district, the city ​​of Aachen has transferred some of its tasks to the Aachen city region , including school administration tasks , the road traffic authority , the immigration authority and parts of the social welfare office .

Economy and Infrastructure

Ford Research Center in Aachen

Lambertz main plant

Isra Vision Parsytec

adesso SE , Aachen location

Upper center

The Regiopole Aachen has numerous educational institutions such as the RWTH , the FH Aachen , the municipal adult education center , various high schools and other educational centers. The city is home to various theaters and museums . With the seat of the urban region of Aachen, the tax office center, the justice center with its respective specialized courts as well as other authorities usual for a big city, the sports facilities , hospitals, including the university clinic as well as several specialist clinics, other institutions for health and social affairs, various credit institutions and specialized shopping facilities for The city meets all the criteria for a regional center for higher-quality needs and other services . It also has connections to several motorways ( A 4 , A 44 , A 544 ), the federal trunk road network and the ICE and Thalys in the long-distance network of Deutsche Bahn (see traffic in Aachen ).

Bad Aachen

Even before the establishment of the Imperial Palace, Aachen was known for its numerous springs that bring high sulfur water to the surface with a temperature of up to 74 ° C. The springs in the Burtscheid district are among the hottest springs in Central Europe . These sources are credited with curing rheumatism and many other diseases. Not least for this reason, Charlemagne finally established the place as an important city. The city of Bad Aachen is allowed to call itself a state-recognized spa town , but this designation is hardly used because the city would then no longer be mentioned in the first place in lists and directories. The official logo of the city also renounces the title of a spa with the name City of Aachen .

Today there is the historic spa park around the Elisenbrunnen in the city center and the modern bathing area of ​​the Carolus Thermen .

Companies

Several major companies from various branches of industry have their headquarters or branches in Aachen.

Since 1934, Philips Deutschland GmbH, one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, has had production facilities in Aachen - initially only for radios, but after the Second World War also a factory for the production of light sources , in which low-voltage halogen lamps and car lamps were manufactured, as well as another for picture tubes . The picture tube factory was closed in 2004, then a state-of-the-art OLED production facility was set up in parts of the subsequently vacant halls , which was sold to OLEDWorks in 2015 . Since the closure of the lighting plant at the end of August 2018, Philips has no longer operated any production facilities in Aachen. Philips has been conducting research in Aachen since 1955. Philips is still represented in Aachen with several research facilities on the Melaten campus and in Rothe Erde.

Aachen is also a center for mechanical engineering, automation, IT, laser and environmental technology, each of which is of great economic importance for the city. Many IT companies, some of which were founded as spin-offs from the university and technical college, have joined forces with research institutes to form the Regina e. V. IT / Informatics Aachen merged.

Aachen is also important as a location for the automotive industry, both due to the local supplier industry (e.g. with a tire factory of Continental AG and a branch of Saint-Gobain ), the development service provider FEV , whose headquarters are in Aachen, and the Ford Research Center Aachen (FFA ) as well as by institutes of the RWTH Aachen which focus on automotive technology. The local automotive industry has largely come together in the euregional network competence center automotive region aachen - euregio maas-rhein (car e.V.) . There are also a number of research companies and high-tech companies , often as offshoots of the universities.

In addition, the production of confectionery by well-known companies such as Zentis (jams, confectionery, fruit preparations ), Lambertz (gingerbread, Printen) and Lindt & Sprüngli (chocolate, pralines ) is important. The Aachener Printen are world famous.

Furthermore, Aachen is the location of Grünenthal (pharmaceutical products) and Talbot Services (rail vehicles and electric cars). Aachen offers good location advantages due to a dense infrastructure with production and services in a very small area, internationality and multilingualism, space for expansion and space for relaxation as well as a large potential of well-trained engineers.

Even the tourism plays an important role (January to June 2017: 241,951 arrivals, 479,928 overnight stays). Since January 1, 2012, an accommodation tax of five percent has been levied on the room rate.

In the past, the production of needles and cloth was the most important economic factor . Several hundred needle factories were located in Aachen. Cloth factories and dye works were located on almost all of the streams . Since the beginning of the 1990s, there has been a very clear structural change. The manufacture of needles and cloths was relocated to the Far East . The last needle factory in Aachen ceased operations at the end of 2004; of the numerous cloth factories, only Becker Fabrics remained. The Aachener Waggonfabrik Talbot , founded in 1838, was the oldest and one of the most important German manufacturers of rail vehicles . The manufacture of shields and transformers was also important . However, these areas have now also been greatly reduced or completely abandoned.

In the insurance sector, Aachen has been able to assert itself within Generali Germany . The associated AachenMünchener insurance company built a new central administration in Aachen city center on the site of the former social court.

Furthermore, logistics is of increasing importance for Aachen: Doc Morris and the Honold Logistik Gruppe operate large shipping logistics centers in the Avantis business park .

Largest employer in the city of Aachen (as of 2009):

rank	Surname	Jobs
1.	RWTH Aachen	10,000
2.	City administration of Aachen	4,500
3.	Generali Germany	2,300
4th	Sparkasse Aachen	2,100
5.	Grünenthal GmbH	1,900
6th	Aachen Printen and Chocolate Factory	1,800
7th	City region Aachen (administration)	1,750
8th.	Lindt & Sprüngli GmbH	1,700
9.	FEV GmbH	1,500
10.	Franz Zentis	1,300
11.	Continental	1,200
12.	Philips light	1,100
13.	FH Aachen	1,000
14th	Talbot / Bombardier	700

traffic

train

The Aachen Hauptbahnhof

The Aachen Main Station is connected to the long-distance transport. The Thalys high-speed train runs 5 times a day on the route from Paris via Brussels - Liège - Aachen - Cologne and on to Essen and Dortmund . The ICE International runs every two hours on the Brussels – Liège – Aachen – Cologne route and on to Frankfurt . Aachen is therefore on an important connection ( PBKA ) of the trans-European rail network . On the second inner-German route from Aachen to Mönchengladbach and from there via Krefeld and Duisburg there is a daily intercity connection to Berlin.

Both routes are also important thoroughfares for freight traffic . The two routes from Aachen to Belgium - for passenger traffic to Brussels via Liège ( HSL 3 ) and for goods traffic to Antwerp via Tongeren (Montzenroute) - are the only rail connections between Germany and Belgium in operation.

Bombardier talent as a Euregio railway

In addition to the main train station, regional traffic also stops at the Aachen West and Aachen-Rothe Erde passenger stations and the Aachen Schanz and Eilendorf stops . Another stop is planned in Richterich and should go into operation in 2019.

Regional rail connections (as of February 2019):

• Regional-Express RE 1 ( NRW-Express ): Aachen Hbf - Düren  - Köln Hbf  - Düsseldorf Hbf  - Duisburg Hbf  - Essen Hbf  - Bochum Hbf  - Dortmund Hbf  - Hamm (Westf)
• Regional-Express RE 4 ( Wupper-Express ): Aachen - Mönchengladbach Hbf  - Düsseldorf Hbf - Wuppertal Hbf  - Hagen Hbf  - Dortmund Hbf
• Regional Express RE 9 ( Rhein-Sieg-Express ): Aachen Hbf - Düren - Köln Hbf - Siegburg / Bonn  - Siegen
• Regional Express RE 18 ( LIMAX ): Aachen Hbf - Herzogenrath - Heerlen - Maastricht
• Regional Express RE 29 ( euregioAIXpress ): Aachen Hbf - Welkenraedt  - Verviers  - Spa
• Regional train RB 20 ( Euregiobahn ): Stolberg  - Eschweiler - Alsdorf  - Herzogenrath  - Aachen Hbf - Stolberg  - Eschweiler  - Langerwehe  - Düren
• Regional train RB 33 ( Rhein-Niers-Bahn ): Aachen Hbf - Mönchengladbach Hbf - Duisburg Hbf

The S-Bahn S 13 of the S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr runs once every night between Aachen and Troisdorf via Cologne and Cologne / Bonn Airport.

The Aachen – Maastricht railway is the oldest international railway in the Netherlands, but it has been interrupted at Vetschau since the 1990s . Museum trains of the Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij have been running on the section from Vetschau, in the Aachen city area, to Schin op Geul since 1995 . Since 2011 there have been unrealized plans to reactivate the Aachen – Vetschau – Avantis –Kerkrade section as part of the Via Avantis project . Instead, the LIMAX regional express has been running hourly from Aachen via Herzogenrath and Heerlen to Maastricht since 2019.

Burtscheider railway viaduct on an engraving from around 1860

In terms of railway history, Aachen has two special features to offer: the oldest still used railway tunnel in Germany, the Buschtunnel , and the Burtscheider Viaduct . Not far from Aachen, near the Belgian town of Moresnet, is the famous Göhl valley viaduct , which was renovated in 2004. At the end of these measures there was a big ceremony with fireworks ; A tour in wagons of the legendary Orient Express was also offered.

The traditional wagon factory Talbot on Jülicher Strasse produced freight and passenger wagons, such as double-decker wagons for the Dutch state railway or the Talent , until the early 1990s . After the takeover by the Canadian group Bombardier (since then Talbot-Bombardier ), a large part of the production was relocated to East Germany and the Czech Republic and the plant was sold on June 30, 2013. After the takeover by Talbot Services , railway vehicles and also electric vehicles of the StreetScooter type will continue to be built in Aachen .

The Vennbahn , built from 1882 to 1889, connected the industrial areas of Aachen and Eschweiler with that of Luxembourg. Already between the two world wars, the transport volume decreased noticeably, since Luxembourg had terminated the customs union with Germany.

Transportation

Natronbahn of Aachen inventor Moritz Honigmann in 1884

The Öcher Long Wajong

Mercedes-Benz CapaCity at Aachen Central Station

In 1974 the lines of the Aachen tram and the Aachen trolleybus were shut down at the same time . Since then, local public transport in the city has been limited to buses for years . Since 2001 the Euregiobahn has stopped at four ( Aachen Eilendorf , Aachen-Rothe Erde , Aachen Hbf and Aachen West ), since 2004 ( Aachen Schanz ) at five train stations or stops in the city of Aachen, but neither serves the inner-city routes with the highest passenger frequency it opens up the Aachen city center.

The bus routes and the Euregiobahn are integrated into the Aachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV) and also go to neighboring countries, such as B. to Heerlen (NL), Kerkrade (NL), Kelmis (B) or Eupen (B). There are several express bus routes u. a. to Alsdorf / Aldenhoven / Jülich (line 220 / SB20), Heerlen (line 44), Eschweiler (line 52), Roetgen / Simmerath (line SB63), Stolberg (line 125), Walheim (line 135), Herzogenrath (line 147) , Baesweiler (line 151) and Maastricht (line 350 of the Dutch Arriva ).

The public transport in the city is mainly operated by ASEAG (Aachener Straßenbahn und Energieversorgungs-AG) with a total of 101 bus routes (as of 2017). Line 14 is operated jointly with the Belgian TEC (Transport en Commun), line 44 with the Dutch department of Arriva . The central points of the Aachen route network are the bus station and the Elisenbrunnen , which are served by many of the Aachen bus routes.

There is a separate night bus network in Aachen . This consists of nine lines (N1 to N9) that serve the most important traffic routes on a route that has been modified compared to day-to-day operations. The night lines run on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays at 01:30, 02:30 and 03:30 from the Elisenbrunnen / bus station. The lines run out of the city in a star shape.

Since September 2005, two double articulated buses of the type Van Hool AGG 300 have been in service on lines 5 and 45 between the university clinic and Driescher Hof and Brand. In February 2008, due to the successful trial operation, six more buses of this type were put into service for traffic on the two lines. At the CHIO Aachen and at the Alemannia games , ASEAG also offers guests the opportunity to be transported from Aachen main station to the Soers Sports Park with the C-Shuttle, which is mostly served by double articulated buses.

Based on considerations to connect the new development areas of RWTH Aachen, Campus Melaten and Campus West as well as the university clinic / medical faculty of the university with the central campus at Templergraben and the city center, new plans for the construction of a light rail were presented to the public . In addition, the tram should be reintroduced . At the beginning, a line was planned for the so-called campus railway from the university clinic via Campus Melaten, Campus West, central campus to the Aachen bus station, then via Rothe Erde station and Trierer Platz to Brand. As part of the so-called target concept, a second line from Vaals (border) to Würselen (Kaninsberg) was considered. On March 10, 2013, a council decision took place. With a turnout of around 43 percent, there was a two-thirds majority against the Campusbahn. The corresponding planning was then discontinued.

With the lines 227, 028 and 158 of the long-distance bus company MFB MeinFernbus , Aachen has corresponding connections to Munich , Krefeld , Cologne and Berlin .

A flexible bus line, the NetLiner , has been available in the south of Aachen since December 2017 , after the NetLiner was already introduced as an on- call bus in the Monschau area .

Road connection

Aachen motorway junction (renovation 2011)

At the junction Aachen to meet federal motorways A4 , A44 and A544 . The A 4 leads to Cologne and the Vetschau border crossing into the Netherlands, the A 44 to Düsseldorf and Belgium. The A 544 connects the Aachen junction with Europaplatz in the east of Aachen. The A 4 from Cologne to the Aachener Kreuz and from there the A 44 in the direction of Belgium is signposted as the European route E 40 . The E 314 runs from the Vetschau border crossing to the Aachen motorway junction. Furthermore, the federal highways B 1 , B 1a , B 57 , B 258 and B 264 run through the city area.

See also : List of street names in Aachen-Mitte

bicycle

Logo of the edge hiking trail Grünroute

The city of Aachen is a member of the working group for pedestrian and bicycle-friendly cities, communities and districts in North Rhine-Westphalia . Despite the very high proportion of students, bicycle traffic is low compared to other student-dominated cities, which is related to the steep gradients in the inner city area and the wide spread of university buildings across the urban area. The city of Aachen is connected to a number of cycle paths :

• The 524-kilometer moated castle route connects more than 130 castles on the edge of the Eifel and in the Cologne Bay .
• The green route leads 370 km along the most beautiful natural areas between Beringen in Belgium, Heerlen in the Netherlands and Düren in Germany through the Aachen Revier , one of the former largest coal mining areas in Europe.
• The Vennbahnradweg leads, mostly on the route of the old Vennbahn, from Aachen through the German-Belgian border area to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg .
• The NRW soccer route starts in Aachen and runs 800 kilometers across North Rhine-Westphalia. So far it is the only adventure bike path in North Rhine-Westphalia that has been laid out under a popular and transnational theme. The legend route of German football opens up next to football cult locations like the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen or the Borusseum in Dortmund's Westfalenstadion and of course the Aachen Tivoli also the tourist highlights in North Rhine-Westphalia.
• The 2-country route (2LR for short) meanders 270 kilometers between Aachen and Nijmegen through the country on the Maas and Lower Rhine. As a route with many faces , the 2LR offers a mix of nature and culture.
• The 480 kilometer long Kaiser route runs from Aachen to Paderborn and is named after Charlemagne. The route is based on the presumed route that the imperial army took in 775 on its crusade into the Saxon territory .
• The 1045 kilometer long Mittelland route ( D route 4) leads from Aachen via Bonn , Siegen , Erfurt , Jena and Chemnitz to Zittau .
• The 733 kilometer pilgrimage route (D7) leads from Aachen via Cologne , Düsseldorf , Duisburg , Münster , Osnabrück , Bremen and Hamburg to Flensburg .

aviation

Tower and terminal of Maastricht Aachen Airport

Around 30 km from the city center in the Netherlands is the international Maastricht Aachen Airport , which is served by, among others, Transavia and Ryanair (from / to Girona , Valencia and Pisa ) in charter traffic . Aachen-Merzbrück airfield is designed for smaller aircraft . The airports Cologne / Bonn (90 km) and Düsseldorf (90 km) can be reached from Aachen main station with the RE 1 line and with occasional night trips on the RE 4 and S 13 lines. Due to the train connection, the regular bus connections (Airport-Aixpress) that had existed up to that point were also discontinued on October 31, 2004. There is also the Belgian airport Liège around 50 km away.

media

Print media

Aachen newspaper publisher

The two daily newspapers Aachener Nachrichten (the first German post-war newspaper ) and Aachener Zeitung (until March 1996 Aachener Volkszeitung ) both appear in the newspaper publishing house Aachen . Most of the editorial offices have now been merged for economic reasons. The Aachener Zeitung / NRZ appeared until 1975 with a local section for Aachen city and country.

In addition, several monthly, free city ​​magazines appear in Aachen : Bad Aachen , Klenkes , moviebeta as well as the bimonthly, also free family and children's magazine King Kalli . In addition, there are two weekly advertising papers that also belong to the Aachener Zeitungsverlag: Super Wednesday (formerly Aachener Woche ) and Super Sonntag .

News agency

Founding house of the Reuters news agency

The internationally renowned news agency Reuters , later headquartered in London, was founded by Paul Julius Reuter in Aachen in 1850 (since April 17, 2008 Thomson Reuters , New York).

In addition, the first German journalism school was located in Aachen after the Second World War.

The Meyer & Meyer publishing house , which mainly publishes non-fiction sports books, is based in Aachen.

Radio and television

Aachen is the seat of a studio of the West German Broadcasting Corporation (WDR) . This is where the hourly short messages for the Aachen region broadcast on WDR 2 on weekdays are produced, as is the WDR television magazine Lokalzeit from Aachen , which is moderated by Sonja Fuhrmann, Mareike Bokern and Ralf Raspe. Raspe finished his presenter job at the local time on August 21, 2020. With center.tv there was a local television station for Aachen and the region since May 5, 2009, both in the regional cable television network of Unitymedia analog (channel S18) and digital ( DVB -C ), as well as a live stream on the Internet worldwide. Operations ceased on April 1, 2014. The TV learning channel nrwision bundles TV programs about Aachen or from TV makers from Aachen in its media library.

Two local radios broadcast in Aachen . On the one hand, Radio Aachen (100.1 MHz) with headquarters in Bahnhofstrasse, which is close to the center, and on the other hand, Antenne AC with headquarters in neighboring Würselen-Broichweiden. Both stations had unsuccessfully parted with the main radio program Radio NRW , but took over the program from Radio NRW again . The fact that a relatively small city like Aachen operates two local radio stations is due to the original structure of the local radio system in North Rhine-Westphalia, which provided for a separate station for each district and each urban district: The frequency FM 100.1 ( Mulleklenkes transmitter ) was used for the city Aachen intended the frequency 107.8 ( transmitter Aachen-Stolberg ) for the district of Aachen.

In addition, the University Radio Aachen (slogan: “We are the others”) has been broadcasting since May 3, 2006 on the frequency 99.1 MHz with the broadcasting location Rütscher Strasse on a high-rise. The station can be heard on the cable network on 95.35 MHz. The university radio received a license on March 24, 2006 from the State Institute for Media in North Rhine-Westphalia and broadcasts a moderated live program about four hours a day. At the other times music is played from the computer. The musical selection is essentially of a non-commercial style with an emphasis on electronic music. The transmitter is financed from a contribution of 0.50 euros, which every RWTH student has to pay with the re-registration. Antenne AC has been broadcasting since October 4, 2010, making it the successor to 107.8 Antenne AC and Radio Aachen .

During the 5th season, from January 7th to Ash Wednesday, until 2003 Radio Alaaf (97.7 MHz) broadcast Öcher Carnival hits 24 hours in cooperation with Radio Aachen and operator Gottfried Kern. In 2009, Internet broadcasting was resumed, based in Würselen-Broichweiden .

Due to the proximity to the border, a large number of Belgian and Dutch stations can also be received, including German-speaking private radio stations from East Belgium : Fantasy Dance FM 96.7 and 100'5 Das Hitradio .

Public facilities

Chamber of Crafts Aachen

Aachen is the seat of the following institutions and bodies or corporations under public law :

• Aachen Chamber of Crafts - Chamber district: City of Aachen and districts of Aachen, Heinsberg , Düren and Euskirchen
• Aachen Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Chamber district: City of Aachen and districts of Aachen, Heinsberg, Düren and Euskirchen
• Aachen correctional facility , with 865 prison places one of the largest in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
• Justice Center Aachen, 2004–2007 extension of the old court building in place of the old prison, since December 2007 / January 2008 the seat of all courts located in Aachen ( Regional Court Aachen , District Court Aachen , Labor Court Aachen , Administrative Court Aachen , Social Court Aachen ) and the Aachen Public Prosecutor's Office.
• Aachen University Hospital , an institution under public law
• Weather station Aachen , climate reference station of the German Weather Service in Aachen- Orsbach

Medical supplies

University Hospital Aachen

The largest hospital in Aachen is the Aachen University Hospital on the western outskirts. It is the largest connected hospital building in Europe. Its construction started in 1971 and was inaugurated in 1985. Because of the combination of teaching, research and health care under one roof, it is one of the largest hospital buildings ever. The aesthetics of its extraordinary architecture of outstanding elevator shafts and ventilation ducts running uncovered both externally and internally is not without controversy, but is repeatedly compared with the Center Georges-Pompidou and has led to the building being “the most important testimony of high-tech architecture in Germany” Monument protection was placed.

Other hospitals in Aachen include

• the Franziskushospital on Morillenhang in the city center,
• the Luisenhospital on Boxgraben in the city center,
• the Marienhospital in the Burtscheid district ,
• the Alexian Hospital in the city center.

Education and Research

Main building of the RWTH Aachen

Technical college

The Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH), which was founded in 1870 under the name of the Königlich Rheinisch-Westfälische Polytechnische Schule zu Aachen , is one of the largest and most traditional technical universities in Europe. In addition to scientific and technical subjects and medicine, several languages, various humanities and social sciences and architecture are also offered. In addition, the RWTHextern Citizens' Forum regularly organizes lectures for interested citizens in order to communicate results and developments from research and teaching to the outside world.

University of Applied Sciences

Main building of the FH Aachen

The second largest university in Aachen is the Aachen University of Applied Sciences, founded in 1971 with locations in Aachen and Jülich. The University of Applied Sciences has numerous international courses in many scientific and technical subjects as well as in economics and design.

University of Music and Dance Cologne

Aachen is also the location of a department of the Cologne University of Music and Dance . The Aachen department, the former Grenzlandkonservatorium Aachen , is not only characterized by its qualified teaching activities, but also by intensive cooperation with the city opera and the symphony orchestra of the city of Aachen, which has been firmly regulated by a cooperation agreement since 1993. For example, joint opera productions, but also special artistic-musical project work take place here from case to case. The Aachen Theater also offers music students the opportunity to complete job-related internships in their departments.

Aachen Theater School for acting, directing and musicals

Theater school in the baroque factory

The Theaterschule Aachen is a recognized vocational school that is eligible for BAföG . She has also benefited in recent years from the regulation of the cooperation agreement of the Cologne University of Music and Dance to complete job-related internships in its departments within the Aachen Theater. It has its seat in the rooms of the baroque factory .

Catholic college

Catholic college

The Catholic University of North Rhine-Westphalia (KatHO NRW, until 2008 KFH NW) was founded in 1971 (as Katholische Fachhochschule NW) by merging several higher technical colleges for social work , social education and curative education and an institute for religious education into one college. In a German comparison of social work studies, the university regularly takes top positions in the CHE university ranking . In addition to Aachen, there are other departments of this university in Cologne , Münster and Paderborn . This makes KatHO NRW the largest German, state-recognized university in church sponsorship.

The Catholic University for Church Music St. Gregorius goes back to the Church Music School St. Gregorius, founded in 1881, which was converted into a university in 2000 and still had 22 students in the winter semester 2005/2006 - but it was closed on March 31, 2007. This university was sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cologne and the dioceses of Aachen , Essen and Trier .

The sisters of the poor child Jesus founded the Clara Fey College (Clara Fey School) for home education in September 1967 . In 1970 it was converted into a technical school for social pedagogy and was directed in this form by Sister Leonie for 22 years. In 1991 the school was subordinated to the diocese of Aachen as a new sponsor. Under the new headmaster, Nottebaum, elementary education was also offered as a new branch of training. In 2001 the one-year vocational school course was added. In 2002 the range of training was expanded to include the higher vocational school in health and social services. The school has grown from eight to 240 students at the beginning. At the end of 2004 the diocese of Aachen announced the closure of the school in 2007/2008. This is the end of the 40-year history of the Clara Fey School.

Other facilities

Aachen drama school

Other educational institutions are:

• the Aachen Drama School (ASS)
• the Volkshochschule Aachen (VHS)
• the work and education center Bleiberger Fabrik
• the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT)
• the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT)
• the FOM University
• the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME)
• the former State Environment Agency Aachen (StUA) (now a branch of the Cologne District Government)
• the Textiles & Flooring Institute GmbH (TFI) - German Carpet Research Institute e. V.

Science meeting point

With the topic of energy life - enough life energy for everyone? Aachen was one of the ten German cities to be the meeting place for science in the 2009 Science Year.

military

Aachen has been a garrison location since 1818. The Yellow Barracks was built in 1881, followed by the Red Barracks as a simple functional building . Troops of the Prussian Army, the French Army, the Reichswehr, the Wehrmacht and the Belgian Army were stationed here.

Belgian military in Aachen 1945–1992

→ Main article : Belgian armed forces in Germany

After the Second World War, the Belgian military maintained the following locations in Aachen:

• Camp pirot
• Camp Gabrielle Petit ("Camp Hitfeld")
• Camp NAMEN (part of today's Theodor-Körner-Kaserne )
• Camp Steenstrate (part of today's Theodor-Körner-Kaserne)
• Camp RONSELE (the former Gallwitz barracks and today's Dr. Leo Löwenstein barracks )
• Camp Tabora (today's Lützow barracks)

armed forces

Aachen is the location of three Bundeswehr barracks : the Dr. Leo Löwenstein barracks , the Lützow barracks and the Theodor Körner barracks . They are three of the four barracks of the Land Systems Engineering Training Center . As part of the realignment of the Bundeswehr , according to the stationing concept 2011 , the number of posts at the Aachen location is to be reduced from 950 to 800.

For the existing barracks in Aachen, an on-site training area of the Bundeswehr with an area of ​​224.9 hectares is available on a site between Brand and Stolberg (Brander Heide). It primarily serves the Land Systems Technology Training Center (entsZTLS). Former shooting ranges of the Aachen barracks are now out of order.

Attractions

and display information about the image

View of the city of Aachen

Aachen Cathedral

→ Main article : Aachen Cathedral

Aachen Cathedral (seen from Katschhof)

The Aachen Cathedral, originally built as the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne , is the symbol of the city of Aachen. The dome was completed around the year 800 and was the largest free-floating dome north of the Alps for around 400 years. The architectural model was the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna , which was begun in 526 under Archbishop Ecclesius under Gothic rule and completed in 547 under Bishop Maximian under Byzantine rule. The marble throne of Charlemagne still stands on the upper floor of the Aachen octagon , 30 German kings were crowned on it between 936 and 1531.

The addition of the monumental choir hall from 1414 is considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the windows of which are 27 meters high and represent the tallest of this building era and, with their over 1000 square meters of glass, earned the building the nickname of the Glass House of Aachen . In the center of the choir polygon is the golden Charlemagne Shrine from 1215 with the bones of Charlemagne, behind the altar is the famous Maria Shrine . It was completed in 1239 and contains the four Aachen sanctuaries, which have been shown to pilgrims from all over the world every seven years on the Aachen sanctuary tour since 1349 .

The numerous chapels that were added over the centuries mainly date from the High Gothic period.

The treasury of Aachen Cathedral contains the most important church treasure north of the Alps. In addition to the Lothar cross (around 1000) and the silver, partly gilded bust of Charlemagne (around 1349), the marble sarcophagus, in which Charlemagne was probably buried in 814, is exhibited here.

The ensemble of Cathedral and Cathedral Treasury was in 1978 the first German cultural monument and second world cultural monument World Heritage List of UNESCO added.

Aachen City Hall

→ Main article : Aachen City Hall

Aachen City Hall (seen from Katschhof)

The Gothic town hall was built on the foundation walls of the palace auditorium of the Carolingian imperial palace in the 14th century by the citizens of Aachen under the direction of their incumbent mayor Gerhard Chorus . Only the Granus Tower bears witness to the original development from the time of Charlemagne.

The coronation hall is on the first floor. Five frescoes by the Aachen artist Alfred Rethel adorn the walls, they show legendary scenes from the life of Charlemagne. Furthermore, copies of the imperial regalia ( imperial orb, imperial crown, swords) and the imperial evangelist , a manuscript from the school of Charlemagne, can be seen.

On the ground floor, richly furnished rooms testify to the splendor of the free imperial city in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the town hall was converted into a baroque city ​​palace.

Leaning against the town hall are smaller extensions that together form the Zum Postwagen restaurant today.

As part of the Route Charlemagne such as - almost all premises of the town hall in the years 2008 and 2009, White Hall , the council meeting hall , the Coronation Hall , the Master Craftsmen's Court , the Peace Hall and the Master Craftsmen's Kitchen - opened to the public. A new permanent exhibition and the audio-visual guide Aixplorer offer the opportunity to explore the building in its historical significance.

Medieval city fortifications

Ponttor

→ Main article : Aachen city wall

The city ​​fortifications , consisting of two wall rings and numerous towers , still bear witness today. Two of the former 11 mighty city gates have been preserved:

The Ponttor at the end of Pontstraße is one of the few remaining medieval double gates in the Rhineland. It was built in the second half of the 13th century as part of the outer wall ring.

The Marschiertor at the end of Franzstraße dates from 1257 and is one of the largest still preserved city gates in Western Europe. In the past, its premises were used as the main arsenal, but the Marschiertor has been used for a wide variety of purposes over the centuries: at times as a junk room, in between as a shelter for the homeless, later as a youth hostel and finally as a home for the Hitler Youth . Today the large city gate is in the care of the Oecher Penn city guard and was extensively restored in the 1960s.

Other preserved structures of the old city fortifications are the Marienburg on Ludwigsallee, the Lange Turm on Turmstrasse, the Lavenstein on Boxgraben, the Pfaffentürmchen near the Westpark, the Adalbertsturm on Kaiserplatz and the remains of the Barbarossamauer in several places along the moat ring.

Church building

St. Adalbert

→ Main article : List of sacred buildings in Aachen

After the cathedral, the provost church of St. Adalbert , consecrated in 1005, is the second oldest church in the city. The former monastery church of St. Kornelius in the Kornelimünster district , which was founded in the 9th century, was expanded into today's five-aisled basilica in several stages after a fire in the 14th century. The church of St. Foillan , which stands next to the cathedral, was built in 1480 on the site of a previous building from the 12th century. After the city fire of 1656, St. Peter's Church was rebuilt in 1717 in the Baroque style. In the 18th century the Burtscheid churches of St. Johann and St. Michael were rebuilt as baroque churches. The Frankenberg district , which was built at the end of the 19th century, was given a Protestant church in 1899 with the Trinity Church and a Catholic church in 1910 with the Sacred Heart Church. The Church of St. Corpus Christi , built in 1930, was the first modern church building in Aachen. As the youngest new Catholic church to date in Aachen, the Marienkirche was built in 1979–1981 on the site of a neo-Gothic predecessor, the youngest Protestant church is the Galilee Church on Vaalser Strasse , which was inaugurated in 2018 .

Grass house

Grass house

→ Main article : Grass house (Aachen)

At the fish market there is the so-called grass house , the facade of which comes from the oldest town hall in the city and is dated to 1267, but probably stands on even older foundation walls. After the construction of the new town hall (completion in 1349) it served first as a court of law, but later also as a prison and place of execution. In 1886 the building got its present form with the three pointed arch windows and was converted into the city archive. In the seven ogival figure niches are the statues of the six electors who elected Rudolf I of Habsburg (this is the seventh figure in the middle) as king in 1273 . For a long time it was believed that the statues were seven electors, but they first met in full in 1298 to elect Albrecht I of Austria as king. The statues are only copies that were replaced in 1882 as part of a comprehensive restoration of the figure frieze according to plans by the Aachen builder Robert Ferdinand Cremer . Only one original figure is still preserved, the others are considered lost. The Aachen City Archives were housed in the grass house until 2011 . As part of the Route Charlemagne project , the grass house will represent the theme of Europe and, among other things, will accommodate a European classroom .

Löwenstein House

Löwenstein House

→ Main article : House Löwenstein (Aachen)

The Löwenstein house on the market was built around the same time as the Aachen town hall and was probably completed in 1345. Along with the cathedral and town hall, it is one of the few Gothic buildings that survived the great city ​​fire of 1656 .

The original use of the house is unknown. The still-preserved Staufer cellar vaults, which were made of the same stone and in the same style as in the house in Brussels , which was a few decades older, directly across the street from Pontstrasse , indicate that it may have been a restaurant or a wine house . Later it was used as a residence for wealthy Aachen citizens.

A special feature of the Löwenstein house, which is used by the city today, is the figure of St. Nepomuk in the niche below the corner tower. It dates from 1747 and is a reminder of the Bohemian cleric Johannes Nepomuk .

Today the Löwenstein house is used, among other things, by the central carnival archive and museum of the Aachen Carnival Committee .

The information point for the Route Charlemagne is located in Haus Löwenstein . As part of this project, the economic and socio-historical development of Aachen will be dealt with later.

Elisenbrunnen

Elisenbrunnen at night

→ Main article : Elisenbrunnen

The Elisenbrunnen lobby is located on Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz . The classicist building by the state building inspector Johann Peter Cremer and the Berlin master builder Karl Friedrich Schinkel was completed in 1827 and is one of the city's landmarks along with the town hall and cathedral. In the Second World War completely destroyed on July 14, 1943, he was faithfully reconstructed 1,953th The old, original columns are said to have been stored on the Lousberg for a long time and now adorn the outside area of ​​the Carolus Thermen .

The Elisenbrunnen consists of an open foyer with a porch and a pavilion on the left and right with several rooms. The warm, highly sulphurous thermal water of the Kaiserquelle (52 ° C) flows from two drinking fountains . Until 1938, the thermal water was served in a drinking room in the basement of the domed hall. Stone plaques in the hall in 1883 are reminiscent of the celebrities who drank the water from the Kaiserquelle as spa guests. These include Peter the Great , Frederick the Great , Giacomo Casanova and Georg Friedrich Handel .

Other buildings worth seeing

Couven pavilion in Burtscheid

In Burtscheid , three important buildings by the Aachen builder Johann Joseph Couven are close together: the churches of St. Johann-Baptist and St. Michael above the Burtscheid spa park and the Nuellens garden house directly in the Burtscheid spa park . The pavilion was only built there in 1961. Originally, this building, built in 1740, stood in the garden of the Hotel Nuellens, then from 1927 on Seilgraben No. 34 as part of what was then the first Couven Museum in Haus Fey , which was destroyed during the Second World War. After the ruins were removed, the pavilion was dismantled and stored in the city's building yards until it was rebuilt. The Haus zum Horn and the Haus Zum güldenen Verken , which housed the former Marianneninstitut , are on Jakobstrasse ; both buildings are listed residential buildings. Aachen's highest church is the Catholic Church of St. Jakob on Jakobsplatz at 87 meters . Construction of this church began in 1881. In 1886 the church, which was partly built from stones from the old city wall, was completed and consecrated. Its tower was only completed after the old Jakobskirche was demolished. The so-called Hubertus lights are located at the handle of the tower at a height of about 80 meters. At the Hubertus Festival (November 3rd) as well as at Christmas and Easter you can see the colorful garland of lights light up all over the city.

Other listed buildings in Aachen include the house Monheim , the Granusturm , the House Golden Rose , the Domkeller , the Castle House Classen , the old spa , which Büchelpalais and the house red castle .

See also : List of architectural monuments in Aachen

Fountains and monuments

Karlsbrunnen on the market square

Aachen Klenkes monument

In front of the town hall is the Karlsbrunnen , which shows Charlemagne with orb and scepter. It is the oldest still in function fountain monument in the city. The fountain bowl was cast in Aachen in 1620, the baroque stone setting (1735) and the bronze fish (1738) were added later by Aachen city architect Johann Joseph Couven. When the French marched in 1792, the statue of Charles was taken to Paris as spoils of war, but was recovered in 1804 through successful negotiations with the incumbent Mayor Johann Wilhelm Gottfried von Lommessem from Aachen and was ceremoniously erected again a year later.

The fountain bowl, called Eäzekomp (in High German: pea bowl) by the Aacheners , survived the Second World War as one of the few fountain monuments in the city. After all bronze figures had been melted down for the purpose of ammunition production, the shell was buried on the grounds of the horse show in the Aachen Soers. The original statue of Charlemagne was hidden in a box filled with sand in the vault of the town hall. In the early 1950s, both elements returned to their place unscathed, with the statue no longer looking at the town hall since then, instead turning its back to it. Later, however, the statue of Charles was replaced by a copy. The original can be seen today in the coronation hall of the town hall.

The dolls fountain by the Aachen sculptor Bonifatius Stirnberg from 1975 is on Krämerstrasse . The bronze figures, which are equipped with joints, invite children in particular to play. The figures symbolize typical figures of Aachen life: Canon, market woman, professor, horseman, harlequin and fashion doll.

The money cycle is located on the corner of Hartmannstrasse and Ursulinerstrasse and was created in 1977 by the sculptor Professor Karl-Henning Seemann . The six bronze figures on the edge of the fountain show the handling of money, the circular movement of the water stands for the constant flow of money.

The Klenkes memorial created by the sculptor Hubert Löneke in 1970 is located on the Holzgraben . The term Klenkes stands for the raised little finger, which among the Aacheners, especially in the past, but still today, is considered a distinguishing mark around the world. It goes back to the then flourishing needle industry, in which the little finger was used during the final inspection to disengage damaged needles with the little finger .

The Türelüre-Lißje -Brunnen from 1967 is also by Hubert Löneke . It stands on the corner of the Rennbahn / Klappergasse and represents an old children's song in Aachen, according to which a group of three boys prevent a girl from using a toilet, whereupon a small stream eventually emerges flows through the Klappergasse.

The Bahkauv (brook calf) is located on the Büchel between Elisenbrunnen and Markt , a monument to a legendary figure who used to roam the Aachen brooks and who, according to the legend, jumped on the back of drunken husbands returning home.

There are numerous other well-worth seeing fountains and monuments throughout the city, such as B. the chicken thief on the chicken market, the defensive blacksmith on Jakobstraße, the Fischpüddelchen on the fish market and Hotmannspief on Alexanderstraße. The tall fountain of the large fountain on Europaplatz is particularly noticeable when it is illuminated at night .

See also : List of monuments, fountains and sculptures in Aachen , List of stumbling blocks in Aachen and ways against forgetting

Parks

Obelisk on the Lousberg

Pond in Kaiser-Friedrich-Park

The Elisengarten is worth mentioning because of its location directly behind the drinking and foyer of the Elisenbrunnen . It is the only park within the Alleenring and was redesigned in 2009. After discovering archaeologically interesting finds from Roman times and the Middle Ages during the preparatory work , the city administration decided to have excavations carried out there , as it is the only area in the city center that has never been built on in modern times. In addition to the Elisengarten, there are only a few larger green spaces in the heavily built-up city center of Aachen, such as Lindenplatz and Sandkaulpark .

The Kurpark Monheimsallee is located in the northeast of the city behind the new Kurhaus , Quellenhof and Eurogress . On the spacious area there is plenty of space for sporting activities, a barbecue area, the Carolus Thermen with beer garden, the former station of the Aachen weather station and a small vineyard with exactly 99 vines. The Farwickpark borders directly on the Kurpark .

The second spa center in the city is the Kurpark Burtscheid with the spa park terraces and thermal baths in the center of Burtscheid. From the Burtscheid district (near the Burtscheider Kurpark), the Gillesbachtal green belt also leads to the Aachen forest.

In the heart of the Frankenberger Quarter with its partly preserved old architecture is the Frankenberger Park with the Frankenberg Castle . Not far away is the Kennedypark , which opened in 1966, with the pillars of the former Yellow Barracks as well as the skate park and a stage.

The park on the Lousberg was laid out by the Aachen citizenship back in 1807 and is therefore the oldest park in Europe built by citizens. Today there are still remnants of the original park development such as the Kerstensche Pavilion, the obelisk erected during the French occupation in 1807 and the remaining columns of the Belvedere. The 48-meter-high Belvedere water tower dates from 1956 . Until March 2011, the upper floor was used as a restaurant area.

In the west of the city is the Westpark , it was created in 1882 by the textile manufacturer Emil Lochner . At that time there was a zoo with 50 giant snakes, of which only one pond remains today.

The Aachen Euregiozoo is located in the Drimborner Grove . On 8.9 hectares, it is home to over 1200 animals of 210 species and a two hectare lake.

The Kaiser-Friedrich-Park around the Hangeweiher is located in the south of the city. In the park there is a boat rental, an excursion restaurant and a playground; Directly adjacent are the Hangeweiher swimming pool and open-air pool, a tennis court, the park of the old clinic and the public observatory .

Numerous other small parks (e.g. Von-Halfern-Park and Ferberpark Burtscheid ) can be found outside the center, and the Aachener Wald recreation area with the border triangle Germany-Belgium-Netherlands and the two reservoirs Diepenbenden and Kupferbach are also worth mentioning.

Culture

Museums

Couven Museum

Ludwig Forum for International Art

The home and history museum of the city of Aachen, formerly in Frankenberg Castle , has been housed in the then newly opened Center Charlemagne at Katschhof since 2014 . The permanent exhibition leads through different epochs of Aachen's history from early times and Roman antiquity through the Carolingian period to the present. In addition, temporary exhibitions on a key topic with reference to Aachen's history are shown twice a year in a separate area.

The Center Charlemagne also serves as the central starting point and contact point for the Route Charlemagne , which was set up in 2008 , a museum and educational project that depicts the history of Charlemagne and the urban development of Aachen in their European context. The cathedral (religion theme), town hall (power), grass house (Europe), couven and newspaper museum (lifestyle and media) as well as the Elisenbrunnen (bathing culture) and the SuperC of RWTH Aachen (science) are integrated into the Route Charlemagne as stations the cultural festival across the borders .

The Couven Museum in Haus Monheim am Hühnermarkt contains a remarkable furniture collection from Rococo , early Classicism , Napoleonic Empire style and Biedermeier . The house itself was built in 1663 and rebuilt in rococo style in 1786 by Jakob Couven , the son of the famous builder Johann Joseph Couven, on behalf of the pharmacist and Aachen mayor Andreas Monheim .

The International Newspaper Museum is located in the Great House of Aachen on Pontstrasse, one of the few surviving Aachen town houses from the Gothic period . It deals with international press history from the 17th to the 20th century.

The Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum is named after its greatest donors Barthold Suermondt and the couple Irene and Peter Ludwig and was founded in 1883 by the Aachen Museum Association . Since 1901 it has resided in the city palace Villa Cassalette , named after the builder Eduard Cassalette, the grandson of the founder of the Aachen scratching factory Cassalette , Peter Joseph Cassalette, in Wilhelmstrasse. In addition to paintings and sculptures from the 12th to 20th centuries, tapestries and goldsmithing, the collection also has extensive glass painting holdings from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. A collection of antiquities with the main theme of Attic vase painting as well as a copper engraving cabinet comprising 10,000 hand drawings, watercolors and graphics with masterpieces from Albrecht Dürer , Rembrandt and Francisco de Goya to contemporary artists complete the offer.

The Ludwig Forum for International Art is located in the former Brauer umbrella factory on Jülicher Strasse. The building, designed in the Bauhaus style by Aachen architect Josef Bachmann , was built in 1928 and completely gutted and rebuilt by the city of Aachen in 1988. The museum, which opened in 1991, is based on the modern art collection of the couple Irene and Peter Ludwig. Furthermore, the museum offers changing exhibitions of applied art , a library for the art of the 20th and 21st centuries, a restoration workshop and the outdoor sculpture park. The Association of Friends of the Ludwig Forum, together with the City of Aachen, awards the Aachen Art Prize every two years .

See also : List of museums in the Aachen city region

theatre

theatre

In 1822, construction of the theater began according to plans by Johann Peter Cremer . The theater opened in 1825. The best-known and largest theater in Aachen has three venues with the Large House, Kammerspiele and Mörgens in Mörgensstrasse, where operas, operettas, plays, musicals, ballet, concerts and readings take place. At the Aachen Theater were u. a. Herbert von Karajan (from 1935 to 1942) and Wolfgang Sawallisch (from 1953 to 1958) general music directors . From 2002 onwards, Marcus R. Bosch led the orchestra, in August 2012 Kazem Abdullah took over the position, who was succeeded in August 2018 by Christopher Ward .

Since August 2005, Michael Schmitz-Aufterbeck General intendant of Aachen stages.

Furthermore, in Aachen there is the Grenzlandtheater , which is operated by Grenzlandtheater Aachen des Kreis Aachen GmbH , the Aachener Stadtpuppenbühne Öcher Schängche , several small theaters such as Theater K. , DAS-DA-Theater , Theater 99, Theater Brand, Bühne 78 , as well as various small theaters , cabarets and independent theater groups ( aixpertentheater , Blackout Theater , Poetic attack , Actor's nausea , K (l) AN ART , Öcher Nölde , Flying change - improvisational theater , Noticeably Theater and others). The city's dialect stages are the Alt-Aachener Bühne and the Aachener Heimattheater .

music

The boy choir

Carmina Mundi

In addition to the Aachen City Symphony Orchestra , which most recently attracted national attention under its conductors Marcus R. Bosch (General Music Director 2002 to 2012) and Kazem Abdullah (General Music Director 2012 to July 2017) and has been directed by Christopher Ward since August 2018, there are also a number of internationally known musicians choirs like the existing since 1820 Symphonic choir Aachen , the Madrigal choir of Aachen , the boy choir Aachen , Carmina Mundi , the Aachen chamber choir , the Aachener Bachverein or Aachen Cathedral choir and Cappella Aquensis the musical life of the city at. There is also a youth symphony orchestra , choir and orchestra from the Collegium Musicum of RWTH Aachen University and the Aachen student orchestra . From 1959 to 2017 there were the master concerts in Aachen, through which international artists and orchestras came to the city. They were discontinued from the 2017/18 season and there will be a new program concept from 2018/19. The International Chorbiennale has traditionally been held in Aachen every two years since 2009 .

The music spectrum in Aachen is not reduced to classical music alone. The singing ensemble einKlang z. B. stands for modern a cappella arrangements and the interpretation of gospel music . The Aachen Big Band has established itself in jazz. In the Musikbunker Aachen, a former air raid shelter from the Second World War, 120 rehearsal rooms are available for bands and musicians of all styles of music. The book Tonarten einer Stadt , published in 2018, reports on the entire musical life since the Carolingian era .

For fans of contemporary dance, the now renowned cross-border Pacemaker Festival has been held since 1993 , which is held annually for two weeks in spring with first-class dance companies and an extensive supporting program in Aachen, Heerlen and Kerkrade .

In 1959 Germany's first discotheque opened in Aachen under the name Scotch Club .

In July 1970, the Soers one of the first major continental found in Reitstadion open air - music festivals take place, the open-air pop festival Aachen , u. a. with Pink Floyd and Deep Purple .

Other facilities

Old Kurhaus

For many years after the Second World War , Aachen was the city in Germany with the most cinemas spread across the entire city. Due to the spread of television , many cinemas have been closed and also rebuilt or even demolished over the decades. Most of today's cinemas in Aachen are modern halls - historical halls (with one exception) can no longer be found today. As of April 2019, there are 19 halls at four venues in Aachen. There are also regular open-air film screenings at various locations in the city and, with the film studio, a student cinema project at RWTH with weekly film screenings. A curious situation arose in the early summer of 2004 when the UFA-Palast in the city center closed its gaming operations without much notice. At first there was no cinema in the city of Aachen showing current films. However, some art house cinemas included popular feature films in their programs at short notice. There were and are enough multiplex cinemas in the vicinity of Aachen. The former Elysée cinema, located opposite the city theater, later housed a restaurant and discotheque, but has since been demolished (2018). The UFA cinema Gloria-Palast, dating from 1950, was used as a vegetable sales stand after it was abandoned and vacant, and was completely demolished in 2008 for the new building of the Kaiserplatz-Galerie (today AquisPlaza).

Barockfabrik cultural center

• Casino Aachen in the Tivoli Stadium
• Eurogress Aachen : International event and congress center, located directly at the city park.
• Old Kurhaus in the city center with a sound bridge and ballroom: concerts, exhibitions, etc.
• Barockfabrik cultural center
• Bleiberger Factory cultural center
• City of Aachen Music School
• Malteserkeller (jazz club, 1957 to 2011)
• City library Aachen with a large central library as well as several district libraries and Fabian book bus . The holdings can be researched using an online catalog.
• In the listed observatory on the slope pond, guided tours and public observations of the sky are carried out on a regular basis.
• Franco-German cultural institute
• Minigolf : There are several mini golf courses in Aachen: in the city park, at Gut Entenpfuhl in the Aachen forest , at the Hotel Buschhausen and in the Walheim leisure area .
• Future workshop : In Aachen, citizen participation processes in urban planning with the help of future workshops have a long tradition. For example, from 1995–1996, the municipal environmental agency commissioned future workshops for the ecological city ​​of the future as part of a North Rhine-Westphalian state program , and in August 2005 the urban planning office started the Frankenberger Viertel plus workshop.

Foundations

The city of Aachen has several local foundations, for example the Aachen Foundation Kathy Beys and the community foundation Lebensraum Aachen .

Regular major events

Bill Clinton was the Charlemagne Prize of mayor in 2000 Jürgen Linden handed

Öcher Bend

There are two major awards of medals each year in Aachen: The International Charlemagne Prize in Aachen is awarded on Ascension Day for special services to European unification .

In contrast to the Charlemagne Prize, personalities who have contributed from "below" to improving understanding between peoples and people have been awarded the Aachen Peace Prize on the World Day of Peace since 1988 .

The Aachen Carnival is also a major event. These include the children's procession on Carnival Sunday, the Rose Monday procession and the wild hustle and bustle of the ladies on Fat Thursday. The order against the seriousness of animals should also be emphasized , which can definitely be described as a recognized cultural prize. It is given to people, mostly politicians, who have distinguished themselves through their particular “humor in office”.

The Öcher Bend , the Aachen fair , was mentioned for the first time in 1413 . At that time still in the city center, since 1927 the Bendplatz near the Westbahnhof has been converted into a fairground twice a year (in April and August). The Aachen Christmas market takes place around the cathedral and town hall during Advent and is one of the three largest and most beautiful Christmas markets in Germany. 50,000 people visit the Christmas market every day, one and a half million annually.

The Euregio Economic Show opens its doors every year in spring. It is a well-known consumer fair that extends over ten days. It first took place in 1986 and grew every year. The event, known colloquially as EUREGIO , comes up with topics such as beautiful living, home and garden, fashion and beauty, etc. as well as new special topics every year. Numerous markets take place in Aachen throughout the year. The best known are the European artisan market in the city center and the historical fair in Aachen-Kornelimünster.

There is also a lot on offer at music festivals : as part of the Aachen cultural summer , renowned musicians from rock , pop , jazz and classical music played on the Katschhof between the cathedral and the town hall until 2006 . The jazz festival Lust auf Jazz took place on a Saturday in spring . Numerous jazz bands appear on different stages or march through the city center. Both events were merged in 2007 under the title Aachen September Special . The Aachen Bach Days, organized by the Aachen Bach Association , take place every year in November .

Since 2003, the dance sport weekend Tanzen im Dreiländereck , also called dancing in the 3LE , has taken place every year. It is a cross-border multi-surface tournament at three venues, which was originally initiated as a joint event by four Aachen dance sports clubs. The event offers dance tournaments in all classes and a large evening event over two days. Judges from Belgium and the Netherlands are also used.

Various institutions offer an open day throughout the year . These include the Heritage Day , the Day of Architecture , the Long Night of Museums , Aachen long night of the churches and the Aachen Theater Day . The RWTH also offers the Science Night and the Dies academicus.

Every mid-November there is a screening of the film Die Feuerzangenbowle at the RWTH , not only for students and with a total of around 6000 spectators. Afterwards there are various public and private festivals where Feuerzangenbowle is served. From a literary point of view, the Aachen Literature Days , the Aachen Children's and Young People's Book Weeks and the city's ideal and financial support for the Walter Hasenclever Literature Prize are worth mentioning . Jewish Culture Days in the Rhineland is the name of a large-scale program with very different cultural areas in which the city has been participating regularly since 2002. The focus is on the encounter between Jewish and non-Jewish worlds.

Culinary specialties

Printen

Poschweck

Aachen's epicurean specialty is the printe , a gingerbread cookie with lots of aromatic spices , often covered with chocolate and richly decorated. Apart from between the different types (such as chocolate print, honey print, princess print or herb print), a fundamental distinction must be made between hard and soft print. All print types are available (depending on the manufacturer and selection) as hard and soft prints or in intermediate stages. The confectionery manufacturers Lambertz and Lindt have a factory outlet in Aachen.

At Easter in Aachen traditionally the Poschweck is eaten, a yeast pastry with raisins, almonds, nuts, lemon peel and orange peel.

In addition, according to the Aachener Nachrichten , the streusel roll invented in Aachen, a soft roll with sprinkles that is hardly known outside of Aachen.

Until recently, a top-fermented beer was brewed in Aachen, the Öcher Lager , which is related to Kölsch . This included the Degraa brewery , which closed in 1989 and is still remembered by a few breweries. Since the end of 2010 there is again a top-fermented beer called Lennet Bier, named after the Aachen original Lennet Kann . Between 2011 and 2014 Degraa was also available again in the city, here it was a Pils. Production stopped in 2014.

Hearty specialties are the Aachen sauerbraten , which is served differently than the Rhenish sauerbraten , the Aachen Christmas liver sausage and the puttes (blood sausage), the so-called "Öcher caviar". Puttes are fried with mashed potatoes and Kompes ( sauerkraut ) or smoked with mustard with bread.

The so-called Morre-Jemöß (potatoes are cooked with carrots and onions) is also very popular; there is also ribs or bratwurst with mustard.

Sports

Sports facilities and swimming pools

Small swimming pool in the Elisabethhalle

The city of Aachen has five indoor swimming pools, whereby the Elisabethhalle deserves a special mention, as it is located directly in the city center and both pools have been built in largely preserved Art Nouveau architecture . Another facility for swimming is the Hangeweiher open-air pool, right next to the lake of the same name in Kaiser-Friedrich-Park , whose open-air pool season runs from May 1st to the last Sunday before September 16th. As a special device that apply Carolus Thermen in Aachen with a large spa range and mineral - thermal water from the source Rose (47 ° C).

In the city of Aachen you will also find numerous sports fields and sports halls of various types that are suitable for various sports. This also includes an ice rink, the Tivoli climbing hall and a bouldering hall . The Tivoli Stadium is Aachen's soccer stadium. There are three other stadiums in Aachen, the Aachener Waldstadion , the Ludwig-Kuhnen- Stadium and the riding stadium of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV), in which the CHIO tournament is held every year .

societies

Logo of the Alemannia Aachen

Tivoli stadium of Alemannia Aachen

TK Kurhaus Lambertz Aachen: German tennis champion 2012

C-Team of the Aachen TSC blue-silver

CHIO square in Aachen (2004)

Dressage stadium Aachen

Starting shot for the Lousberglauf 2006

Aachen sports clubs are successful in a wide variety of sports. In football , Alemannia Aachen should be mentioned in particular , who played in the 1st Bundesliga for the first time after 36 years in the 2006/07 season , but was relegated again after a year. The old Tivoli Stadium with a capacity of 21,632 spectators was located on Krefelder Strasse. Of these, 3632 were covered seats and 5800 were covered standing places. The demolition of the old stadium began on September 26, 2011.

On May 17, 2008 the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new stadium in the Soers Sports Park took place. The new Tivoli Stadium has a capacity of 32,960 seats. It was opened on August 12, 2009 with a friendly match against the Belgian football club Lierse SK , the result was a 2-2. On August 17, 2009, Alemannia's first competitive match against FC St. Pauli took place in the new stadium, which they lost 5-0.

After two bankruptcies, Alemannia Aachen has been playing in the Regional Football League West since the 2013 season .

The second team of Alemannia last played in the 2016/17 season in the Landesliga Mittelrhein II and was then logged off from ongoing game operations as part of the second bankruptcy and the associated significant restructuring, as was the affiliated junior performance center.

The PTSV women's volleyball team, the “ Ladies in Black Aachen ”, has been playing in the women's German volleyball league since the 2008/09 season (in the first few years for Alemannia Aachen). The first men's team of the PTSV to play in the 3rd volleyball league won the German championship title in 1961 .

Furthermore, the DJK-BTB Aachen (Burtscheider Turnerbund) is active in handball in the Middle Rhine Oberliga. There are also many other clubs in almost all the leagues below.

The Aachen ice hockey club last played in the 2012/13 season in the NRW League , but was withdrawn from the game at the end of the season.

In boxing, the MTK Boxing Aachen association formed two German champions, one German runner-up, five NRW and five Middle Rhine champions from its ranks. The association was awarded for the best youth work in the Aachen district in 2006. In the ranks of the Pound4Pound Box Promotion Aachen, founded in 2005 and converted into a GmbH in 2010, Jessica Balogun from Aachen is the European and World Champion (as of August 2010) of the GBU and WFC associations in three weight classes. At Pound4Pound Boxpromotion Aachen, Mario Guedes Jr., at times (August 2010) the youngest boxing professional in Germany, also boxes .

In Aachen itself there are also many small and four large athletics clubs: Alemannia Aachen, the Aachener TG , DJK Frankenberg Aachen and the DLC Aachen with its strong triathlon department. The most famous athletes in recent years are Rita Wilden (Alemannia Aachen, former world record holder and Olympic participant over 200 m), Walter Rennschuh (DLC-Aachen, multiple senior world champion in technical disciplines and in sprints), Jens Dautzenberg (Alemannia Aachen, multiple German champion over 400 m), André Collet (Aachen TG, multiple German champion and age group world champion in the 100 km run ), Peter Schumm (Alemannia Aachen, multiple German, European and world champion in sports walking ) and triathlete Astrid Stienen , 2013 European champion at Ironman Germany in Frankfurt am Main in age group 30 and world champion in age group 30 at Ironman Hawaii .

The Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV, originally just Laurensberger Rennverein) was founded in 1898 to organize public horse races. In 1924, the association acquired the tournament grounds in the Soers , where horse races were also held as riding and driving tournaments, from which the international CHIO Aachen competition developed. The club's main stadium in the Soers can hold up to 50,000 spectators, making it one of the largest riding stadiums in the world.

With the dance sport club TSC Schwarz-Gelb Aachen , Aachen was the world champion in Latin American formation three times in a row - 1996, 1997 and 1998 - and 1992 . Due to a merger in 2012 with the Aachen TSC Blau-Silber , four teams are now starting again in the DTV division . There is also a department for wheelchair dancing at TSC Schwarz-Yellow Aachen . Other important dance sport clubs in Aachen are the TSC Grün-Weiß Aquisgrana Aachen with over 900 members of all age groups (as of 2011), the largest dance sport club of the DTV in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the dance sport center Aachen .

In tennis , TK Kurhaus Aachen has been playing in the Bundesliga since 2004 and was German runner-up in 2005 and German champion in 2008 (no loss points), 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In lacrosse , the 1st men's team of FC Inde Hahn won the German championship in 2006.

In basketball , the first men's team of the SG Aachen was promoted to the 2nd regional league in 2006 . The last great successes of an Aachen basketball department were the wins of the German basketball championship with Alemannia Aachen in 1963 and 1964. In the youth basketball division, Brander TV has made a good name for itself since its basketball department was founded in 1995 and is among the top 30 of more than 290 basketball clubs in NRW. From the U12 to the U18 M , all age groups are represented in the youth regional league. In 2008, Haarener TE and Brander TV came together to form the Brand-Haaren syndicate and have since formed the largest basketball club in the Aachen area. In 2009 The 4 Tigers won the German championship title in the German Street Basketball Championship, all members of the Brander Turnverein 1883 e. V., trained by Josephina Hoffmann (José).

The first men's team at Rugby Club Aachen was promoted to the 1st Bundesliga for the first time in 2012, but is now playing successfully in the 2nd Bundesliga. In hockey, the first men's team of the Aachen Hockey Club has been back in the regional league since 2019.

The American Football Club Aachen Vampires has existed since 2005 , plays its home games in the Ludwig-Kuhnen Stadium in Burtscheid and currently (2018) competes in the Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen [IV].

Upwards Aachen plays in the 1st Bundesliga . The Aachener SV from 1856 , the oldest chess club in the Aachen Chess Association, is represented with its first team in the 2nd Bundesliga group West. There are six other chess clubs in Aachen.

With the Karlsschützengilde before 1198 Aachen e. V. Aachen owns the oldest club in Germany, which was originally responsible for the protection of the Aachen Palatine Chapel, but has now successfully specialized in the field of Olympic shooting disciplines and which has a recognized performance base in Eilendorf.

Other nationally and internationally successful Aachen sports clubs are the Aachener swimming association 06 in swimming , the SV Neptun Aachen 1910 in art and tower diving , the Burtscheider gymnastics club in trampoline gymnastics , the BTB Aachen in handball and the general gymnastics club Aachen in wheel gymnastics .

Events

Aachen is known for large equestrian events. This is where the CHIO Aachen takes place every year, the world's largest show jumping , dressage and carriage driving tournament and the only one in the Concours Hippique International Officiel category in Germany. 2006 found WEG (World Equestrian Games) in Aachen and nine years later with the FEI European Championships 2015 again an event of comparable size.

For more than 20 years, the 5555 meter long Lousberglauf with more than 2000 participants has taken place every year in July , which leads around the Lousberg with an altitude of about 75 m. Another run is the 18 km long ATG winter run of the Aachener TG , which always takes place on the third Sunday in December. With over 2000 runners, it is one of the largest fun runs in the region. The end of each year is the New Year's Eve run organized by DLC Aachen with up to 2,500 participants through the Aachen city center.

The Domspringen, a pole vault competition, has been held annually between the cathedral and the town hall on the Katschhof since 2005 .

Every year several nights throughout the summer distributed Skate Nights place where drive skaters, roller skaters, etc. on closed roads around the city and the surrounding area.

Also once a year, in December, the well-known place in Aachen Unicup - Hockey Tournament held between the RWTH faculties of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and medicine. The annual soap box race between RWTH Aachen University and FH Aachen belongs more to the area of fun sports .

The International Aachen City Championship in boxing has been held since 2002 . This tournament, which takes place every year in December in the Josefshaus , is organized and hosted by MTK Boxing Aachen .

The Alemanni Cup, a badminton tournament , has been held every June since 2005 .

Personalities

In the course of history, the city of Aachen has made 18 people honorary citizens; these can be found in the list of honorary citizens of Aachen .

Personalities born in Aachen as well as other important persons for Aachen are listed in the list of personalities of the city of Aachen .

literature

In order of appearance.

• Albert Huyskens : Aachen local history. Published by Albert Huyskens on behalf of the city of Aachen and the district of Aachen in cooperation with numerous experts. La Ruelle's Accident Printing Office , Aachen 1924.
• Heinz Cüppers , Walter Sage :  Aachen. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 1, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1973, ISBN 3-11-004489-7 , pp. 1-4.
• Erich Stephany : Aachen ( Deutsche Lande - German Art ), with recordings by Michael Jeiter. Deutscher Kunstverlag , Munich / Berlin 1974.
• Michael Schmitt: City folder Aachen. In: Heinz Stoob, Wilfried Ehbrecht, Jürgen Lafrenz, Peter Johannek (eds.): German city atlas . Volume IV, Part 1. Acta Collegii Historiae Urbanae Societatis Historicorum Internationalis. Series C. Dortmund-Altenbeken 1989, ISBN 3-89115-031-8 .
• Anke Schütt: Aachen sagas and legends. with drawings by Manfred Victor. Einhard Verlag, Aachen 1998, ISBN 3-930701-47-2 .
• Gerhard Curdes : The development of the Aachen urban space. The influence of models and innovations on the shape of the city. Dortmund sales for building and planning literature. Dortmund 1999, ISBN 3-929797-37-2 .
• Achim Walder: Worth seeing in Aachen, the Euregio and Northern Eifel . Focus on culture, history, landscape of the region, Walder Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-936575-19-3 .
• Ulrike Schwieren-Höger, Jörn Sackermann: Aachen. Pictures, traces, backgrounds , GEV (Grenz-Echo Verlag), Eupen 2005, ISBN 90-5433-200-X .
• Michael Römling: Aachen - history of a city. Tertulla-Verlag, Soest 2007, ISBN 978-3-9810710-2-3 .
• Bruni Mahlberg-Gräper, Guido Bertemes: Out and about in Aachen and the surrounding area. 2nd edition, GEV, Eupen 2010, ISBN 3-86712-001-3 .
• Memorial book project for the victims of the Shoah from Aachen eV: Memorial book for the victims of the Shoah from Aachen . Rimbaud Verlagsgesellschaft, Aachen 2019, ISBN 978-3-89086-311-5 .

Web links

Commons : Aachen  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Aachen  - sources and full texts

Wiktionary: Aachen  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wikiquote: Aachen  - Quotes

Wikivoyage: Aachen  - Travel Guide

Portal: City Region Aachen  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the topic City Region Aachen

• Website of the city of Aachen
• Portal City History and Urban Development Aachen . Working Group for Monument Preservation and Institute for Urban Development and Regional Planning of RWTH Aachen University .
• Geoportal Aachen , interactive map service with numerous layers, e.g. B. Administrative organization, monument protection, etc.
• AachenWiki

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population of the municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia on December 31, 2019 - update of the population based on the census of May 9, 2011. State Office for Information and Technology North Rhine-Westphalia (IT.NRW), accessed on June 17, 2020 .   ( Help on this )
2. ^ State recognition of health resorts - Aachen (Monheimsallee and Burtscheid) - Decree of the Minister for Labor, Health and Social Affairs of September 12, 1974 - VI B 3 - January 56, 2001.
3. ^ Andrea Herch: Bad Aachen . In: Werner Käß, Hanna Käß (ed.): German bath book . Gebrüder Borntraeger Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 3-510-65241-X , p. 207.
4. ↑ It is generally assumed that the city of Aachen waived the option of renaming itself Bad Aachen , mainly because it would lose its position at the beginning of alphabetical lists. Archival evidence for this has not yet been found - possibly because there has always been such a consensus in Aachen that there has never been a motion to the contrary or a city council debate.
5. ↑ "Aquae" - without addition - z. B. in parts of the Franconian Reichsannalen .
6. ^ Andreas Schaub: Thoughts on settlement continuity in Aachen between the Roman and Carolingian times . In: Bonner Jahrbuch 208 (2008), p. 162; Hans Ulrich Nuber, Gabriele Seitz: The milestones of Caracalla from the year 212 AD on the road to (Aquae) Poebianae / Faimingen . In: Jörg Biel et al. (Hrsg.): Landesarchäologie. Festschrift for Dieter Planck (= research and reports on prehistory and early history in Baden-Württemberg , volume 100). Stuttgart 2009, 319 f.
7. ^ Andreas Schaub, Klaus Scherberich, Karl Leo Noethlichs, Raban von Haehling: Kelten, Römer, Merowinger. In: City of Aachen and Aachener Geschichtsverein (ed.): Aachen - From the beginnings to the present. Volume 1: From Prehistory to the Carolingians. Aachen 2011, ISBN 978-3-87519-251-3 , p. 256.
8. ↑ Height reference point 60685 in the Aachen geoportal, accessed on March 25, 2019
9. ↑ Overall urban climate report, p. 17ff .; 36 , accessed July 29, 2015
10. ↑ Städteregion Aachen (Hrsg.): Landscape protection areas  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ). Information on the city region's internet portal.
11. ^ City of Aachen on the subject of air pollution control, under "Weather conditions", 1st paragraph
12. ^ City of Aachen on the subject of air pollution control, under "Weather conditions", 3rd and 4th paragraph
13. ^ City of Aachen on the topic of air pollution control, under "Weather conditions", 2nd paragraph
14. ↑ Climate atlas NRW - cold air drains ( Memento from July 29, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
15. ^ City of Aachen on the topic of air pollution control, under "Fresh and cold air supply", 1st paragraph
16. ↑ Cold air map 2015
17. ^ Environment site of the city of Aachen
18. ^ [Homepage of the Environmental and Landscape Protection Aachen-Beverau eV]
19. ↑ Aachener Nachrichten of July 13, 2017, p. 15 “When it comes to air pollution control, the city feels left alone”, 2nd column
20. ↑ Current measured values
21. ^ City of Aachen on air pollution control, under "Air hygiene"
22. ↑ City of Aachen on the subject of air quality in residential areas, under "Fine dust and nitrogen oxides"
23. ↑ Aachener Nachrichten of July 3, 2013 Air pollution: The title "Bad" is in danger
24. ↑ City of Aachen on the topic of air pollution control, under "spa areas"
25. ↑ http://www.aachen.de/DE/stadt_buerger/umwelt/luft-stadtklima/festbrennstoff_verordnung/index.html
26. ^ City of Aachen on air pollution control, at the beginning
27. ↑ Documents for the clean air plan Aachen
28. ↑ Contact to the Cologne District Government
29. ↑ Aachener Nachrichten of July 13, 2017, p. 22 "When it comes to air pollution control, the city must now deliver quickly", penultimate column
30. ↑ BVerwG press release on the diesel driving ban from February 27, 2018.
31. ↑ Aachen is preparing Tempo 30 against a diesel driving ban. In: welt.de . October 26, 2019, accessed October 26, 2019 . 
32. ^ City of Aachen on the subject of air pollution control, under "Green areas", 2nd paragraph
33. ↑ Test areas, status: summer 2014 .
34. ↑ Oliver Schmetz: Three citizens' initiatives around the Beverau . In: Aachener Zeitung from August 4, 2014.
35. ↑ Preliminary draft landscape plan Aachen, May 2018
36. ↑ http://www.aachen.de/DE/stadt_buerger/pdfs_stadtbuerger/pdf_statistik/statistisches_jahrbuch_2015.pdf
37. ^ Aachen: More unemployed again . In: Aachener Nachrichten , May 2, 2012. Retrieved on August 6, 2012.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) 
38. ↑ Population . aachen.de. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
39. ↑ Internationalization Report 2006 (RWTH Aachen University, PDF) ( Memento from June 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
40. ^ Population in the Cologne district . Information and technology North Rhine-Westphalia (IT.NRW). Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved on May 14, 2016.
41. ↑ Aachener Zeitung from June 19, 2008.
42. ↑ Census: Aachen is the big loser . In: Aachener Nachrichten , May 31, 2013. 
43. ^ Population of the city of Aachen, 2011 census . Information and Technology North Rhine-Westphalia, Statistics Division. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
44. ^ Aachener Nachrichten of September 2, 2015, title page
45. ↑ Press release of the BVerfG from September 1st, 2015
46. ^ Regulations on the 2011 census in accordance with the constitution. Press release. Federal Constitutional Court, September 16, 2018, accessed on November 25, 2018 . 
47. ↑ Robert Esser: Offset? City of Aachen loses millions of euros. In: Aachener Zeitung. September 20, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018 . 
48. ↑ Municipal data: Demographic change. Population projections . wegweiser-kommune.de. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
49. ↑ Aachener Zeitung, July 10, 2015, p. 9 (“Is the region losing all along the line?”)
50. ↑ Thomas R. Kraus: From the prehistory to the Carolingians . In: Aachener Geschichtsverein (Hrsg.): Aachen: From the beginnings to the present . tape 1 . Mayersche Buchhandlung, Aachen 2011, ISBN 978-3-87519-251-3 , p. 205 .
51. ↑ 3D reconstruction of the Münstertherme. Retrieved October 30, 2012 . 
52. ^ Andreas Schaub: Aachen in Roman times from an archaeological point of view . In: Raban von Haehling , Andreas Schaub (Hrsg.): Römisches Aachen. Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2598-2 , pp. 162-168.
53. ↑ Archaeological work. City of Aachen, accessed on February 6, 2017 . 
54. ↑ Christoph Keller: Archaeological research in Aachen. Catalog of the sites in the city center and in Burtscheid , Zabern, Mainz 2004, p. 48 f.
55. ↑ Harald Müller, Judith Ley, Frank Pohle, Andreas Schaub: Pfalz and vicus Aachen in Carolingian times , in: Thomas R. Kraus (ed.): Aachen. From the beginning to the present , vol. 2: Karolinger - Ottonen - Salier 765-1137 , Mayersche, Aachen 2013, p. 323.
56. ↑ Caspar Ehlers: Places of rule. Medieval royal palaces , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2002, p. 134.
57. ↑ In summary, cf. Harald Müller, Andreas Schaub: The Palatinate settlement. Aachen in Carolingian times. In: Frank Pohle (ed.): Charlemagne - Charlemagne. Places of power. Essays. Sandstein, Dresden 2014, ISBN 978-3-95498-092-5 , pp. 246-253.
58. ↑ Caspar Ehlers: Places of rule. Medieval royal palaces , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2002, p. 138 f.
59. ↑ This translation provides, for example, Bernd Remmler: Search for traces, the Carolingians. The lost palaces of Charlemagne , Berlin 2010, p. 81.
60. ↑ Amalie Fößel: Quasi centrum Europae. Why there was no capital in the medieval German Empire . In: Unikate Universität Duisburg Essen , Volume 34, Essen 2009, ISBN 978-3-934359-34-5 , p. 50.
61. ^ Joseph Berchtold: The development of state sovereignty in Germany in the period from Friedrich II up to and including the death of Rudolf von Habsburg, discussed under constitutional law (habilitation thesis). Munich 1863, pp. 108-109 .
62. ↑ Kölner Königschronik VIII to 1248; Continuation de Guillaume de Tyr - dite du manuscript de Rothelin, chap. 39, see also this map
63. ^ District division of the administrative district of Aachen, in the official gazette of the government of Aachen 1816, p. 10
64. ^ Henning Krumrey: Vole in the archive. In: Focus 40/2008, p. 31; Peter Longerich, Himmler, p. 736 with note 99. The judgment: Proceedings Ser. No. 173, complex of offenses: crimes of the final phase, defendants: Hi., Ilse (acquittal); S., Johannes (acquittal). Court decisions: Aachen Regional Court # 491022. Crime scene: Aachen. Time of crime: 450325 (that is March 25, 1945). Victims: civilians. Nationality: German. Office: Police HSSPF West in Düsseldorf , Werwolf Aachen. Subject matter of the proceedings: shooting of the mayor of Aachen appointed by the Americans by a 'werewolf squad' on Himmler's orders. Published in Justice and Nazi Crimes, Volume 5 Information online ( Memento from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
65. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 305 .
66. ↑ Holger A. Dux : Aachen from A to Z . Aschendorff, Münster 2003, ISBN 3-402-05465-5 , p. 402
67. ↑ Aachen Statistical Yearbook 2014
68. ^ Central Council of Jews in Germany: Jüdische Gemeinde Aachen
69. ^ Internet site of the Mansoor Mosque , accessed on April 19, 2015
70. ^ Dialogue of Religions in Aachen
71. ^ Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation. Retrieved October 30, 2012 . 
72. ^ City of Aachen - Council election May 25, 2014 - Distribution of seats ( Memento from December 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Accessed December 21, 2014
73. ^ City of Aachen - Council election May 25, 2014 - Overall result ( Memento from December 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Accessed December 21, 2014
74. ^ Coalition agreement between CDU and SPD in the City Council of Aachen 2014-2020 . City Aachen. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
75. ↑ Aachen's twin cities
76. ↑ Aachen city region
77. ↑ Philips: OLED division sold, 65 layoffs. In: Aachener Zeitung . April 28, 2015, accessed February 28, 2019 . 
78. ↑ Philips closes last production facility in Aachen. In: wdr.de . July 27, 2018, accessed February 28, 2019 . 
79. ↑ See also City of Aachen (Hrsg.): Business location Aachen - location advantages ( Memento of April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ).
80. ^ City of Aachen (ed.): Accommodation statistics Aachen (PDF; 22 kB).
81. ^ "New Perspectives" - Real Estate Report 2009 (PDF; 1.4 MB) City of Aachen. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
82. ^ Richterich stop . City Aachen. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
83. ↑ Markus Vogten: "Via Avantis": By train directly from Maastricht to Aachen . Aachen Transport Association . August 24, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
84. ↑ Berthold Strauch: 175 years of Talbot: With the great railway tradition into the new future . In: Aachener Nachrichten , Aachener Zeitungsverlag , June 20, 2013. Accessed November 9, 2013. 
85. ↑ ASEAG: Press Service . In: ASEAG - The good start . ( aseag.de [accessed December 27, 2017]).
86. ^ Limburg. Retrieved October 30, 2017 . 
87. ↑ Arrival and parking at the CHIO 2017. In: ASEAG - The good start. Retrieved October 30, 2017 . 
88. ↑ Campusbahn-An innovative transport concept for Aachen . City Aachen. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
89. ↑ Campusbahn: The train has left . In: Aachener Nachrichten , Zeitungsverlag Aachen , March 11, 2013. Accessed November 9, 2013. 
90. ↑ NetLiner for the south of Aachen . In: ASEAG - The good start . ( aseag.de [accessed December 27, 2017]).
91. ↑ NetLiner for Monschau . In: ASEAG - The good start . ( aseag.de [accessed December 27, 2017]).
92. ↑ center.tv Aachen ( Memento from November 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
93. ^ TV from Aachen at nrwision. nrwision , accessed February 28, 2015 . 
94. ↑ The History of Our Courthouse. Information on the history of our courthouse. Retrieved January 23, 2015 . 
95. ^ Catholic University of Church Music St. Gregorius. Retrieved October 30, 2012 . 
96. ↑ Rainer Monnartz: The garrison and military history of the cities of Aachen, Eschweiler and Stolberg . 1814-1960. Helios, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86933-043-3 , Prussian Period (1814–1918), 1880–1899: Aachen, p. 20 .
97. ↑ Rainer Monnartz: The garrison and military history of the cities of Aachen, Eschweiler and Stolberg . 1814-1960. Helios, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86933-043-3 , Prussian Period (1814–1918), 1880–1899: Aachen, p. 21 .
98. ↑ www.museum-bsd.de: Belgian barracks in Aachen ( Memento from December 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
99. ↑ www.legerdienst.be: Belgian barracks in Aachen
100. ↑ BMVg - The stationing of the Bundeswehr in Germany (October 2011) (PDF; 3.4 MB)
101. ↑ BT-Drs. 17/9367 , p. 8
102. ↑ Sarah Lena Gombert: Bundeswehr is planning more exercise missions in Aachen. In: Aachener Zeitung . May 27, 2019, accessed June 6, 2020 . 
103. ^ City of Aachen (Ed.): Aachen City Hall. Retrieved October 30, 2012 . 
104. ^ Page on the renovation of the Elisengarten ( memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the city of Aachen
105. ^ Aachener Zeitung: Time travel becomes a show for the citizens
106. ↑ Kennedypark ( Memento of February 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on January 5, 2012.
107. ^ Report from the Aachener Nachrichten
108. ^ Official website of the Route Charlemagne
109. ↑ Christian Rein: Aachen's new general music director is Christopher Ward. In: Aachener Nachrichten. February 28, 2018, accessed August 13, 2019 . 
110. ^ Page of Musikbunker Aachen eV ( Memento from January 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
111. ↑ We let water in the hall: How DJ Heinrich invented the disco . In: Aachener Zeitung. July 28, 2009.
112. ^ Aachen Kaiserplatz . Aachen-kaiserplatz.de. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
113. ↑ Lennet beer on the net
114. ↑ Degraa Pils online ( Memento from July 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
115. ↑ Clubs according to size ( memento from August 6, 2012 on WebCite ) (PDF; 18 kB) on Tanzsport.de
116. ^ City of Aachen: honorary citizen of the city of Aachen

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 3, 2007 .