Aachen

Aachen (German pronunciation: [ˈʔaːxən] ( listen)), also known as Bad Aachen (Ripuarian: Óche, Limburgish: Aoke, French: Aix-la-Chapelle, Dutch: Aken, Latin: Aquisgrana) is a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, at the foot of the Eifel and Ardennes Plateaus.[2]  Sometimes in English (especially in old use), the city is referred to as Aix-la-Chapelle (French pronunciation: ​[ɛkslaʃapɛl]). Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and later the place of coronation of the German kings, which is where it gained the reference as the "watering-place of kings."[3] Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost city of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and theNetherlands, 61 km (38 mi) west-southwest of Cologne.[4] [5]  It is located within a former coal-mining region, and this fact was important in its economic history.[5]  RWTH Aachen University, one of Germany's Universities of Excellence, is located in the city.[nb 1] [6]  Aachen's predominant economic focus is on science, engineering, information technology and related sectors. In 2009, Aachen was ranked 8th among cities in Germany for innovation.[7]



Contents
[hide]  *1 Name  ==Name[ edit] == The name Aachen is of uncertain derivation. The location has been inhabited by humans since the Neolithic era, approximately 5000 years ago, attracted to its warm mineral springs. The root Aa, or variants such as Ae, E, Ee, Ie, or IJ, are found in the names of rivers or other water sources throughout Germanic-speaking areas of northern Europe, particularly the Netherlandsand northwest Germany.
 * 1.1 Aachen dialect
 * 2 History
 * 2.1 Early history
 * 2.2 Middle Ages
 * 2.3 16th through 18th centuries
 * 2.4 19th century
 * 2.5 20th century
 * 2.5.1 History of Aachen Jews
 * 2.6 21st century
 * 3 Geography
 * 3.1 Climate
 * 4 Geology
 * 5 Demographics
 * 5.1 Boroughs
 * 5.2 Neighboring communities
 * 6 Main sights
 * 7 Economy
 * 8 Culture
 * 9 Education
 * 10 Sports
 * 11 Transport
 * 11.1 Rail
 * 11.2 Roads
 * 12 Charlemagne Prize
 * 13 Notable residents
 * 14 International relations
 * 14.1 Twin towns and sister cities
 * 15 See also
 * 16 Notes
 * 17 Citations
 * 18 References
 * 19 Further reading
 * 20 External links

These river names are derived from Old Germanic aha or ahwô, meaning "water". These words share an older Indo-Europeanroot with Latin Aquae.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Latin term "Aquae" is the source of the Roman name Aquae granni, which meant "water of Grannus", referring to the Celtic god of healing, that was worshiped in the area.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-munro_3-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[3] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-tourism_9-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8]  However, an alternative etymology attributes the element granni to a Roman official of the name Grenus, who established a Roman military camp in the location under Emperor Hadrian around the year 124. This name became Aix in French, and subsequently Aix-la-Chapelle after the construction of a cathedral in the city under the direction of Charlemagne in the late 8th Century, who had made the city the capital of his empire.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In this manner, the derivative toponyms relating to the term "water" in the Germanic and Romance languages is a case of parallel evolution. The city is known by a variety of different names in other languages: ===Aachen dialect<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen is at the western end of the Benrath line that divides High German to the south from the rest of the West Germanic speech area to the north.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[12] <sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[unreliable source?] The local dialect of the city is called Öcher Platt and belongs to the Ripuarian language group. ==History<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == See also: Free Imperial City of Aachen and Timeline of AachenConstruction of Aix-la-Chapelle, byJean FouquetMedieval architecture in Aachen===Early history<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Flint quarries on the Lousberg, Schneeberg, and Königshügel, first used during Neolithic times (3,000–2,500  b . c .), attest to the long occupation of the site of Aachen, as do recent finds under the modern city's Elisengarten pointing to a former settlement from the same period. Bronze Age (ca. 1600  b . c .) settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows (burial mounds) found, for example, on the Klausberg. During the Iron Age, the area was settled by Celtic peoples<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[13]  who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basin's hot sulphur springs where they worshiped Grannus, god of light and healing.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Later, the 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian, inca. a. d. 124. Instead, the fictitious founder refers to the Celtic god, and it seems it was the Roman 6th Legion at the start of the 1st century that first channelled the hot springs into a spa at Büchel,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[nb 2]  adding at the end of the same century theMünstertherme spa,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[15]  two water pipelines, and a likely sanctuary dedicated to Grannus. A kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was also an extensive residential area, part of it inhabited by a flourished Jewish community.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-jewishencyclopedia.com_18-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[16]  The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid. A temple precinct called Vernenum was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim. Today, all that remains are two fountains in the Elisenbrunnen and the Burtscheid bathhouse.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Roman civil administration fell apart in Aachen between the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries. Rome withdrew its troops from the area but the town remained populated. By 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Coll_19-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[17]  and subordinated to their capital, Cologne. ===Middle Ages<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">After Roman times, Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, and Einhard mentions that in 765–6 Pippin spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa ("Et celebravit natalem Domini in Aquis villa et pascha similiter."),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[18]  which must have been sufficiently equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as King of Franks, 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time. This is in dispute, as some history books state that Charlemagne was in fact born in Aachen in 742.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-WB_21-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[19]  He went on to remain there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of thePalatine Chapel in Aachen (since 1929, cathedral) and the palatial presentation halls. Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. After his death, the king was buried in the church which he had built; his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never very widely acknowledged outside the bishopric of Liège where he may still be venerated by tradition.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CVDE_4-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 936, Otto I was crowned king of the kingdom in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne. While Otto II ruled, the nobles revolted and the West Franks, underLothair,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dupuy_22-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[20]  raided Aachen in the ensuing confusion.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[21] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[nb 3]  Aachen was attacked again, this time by Odo of Champagne who attacked the imperial palace while Conradwas absent. He relinquished it quickly and was killed soon thereafter.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[22]  Over the next 500 years, most kings of Germany destined to reign over the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen. Charles IV was not crowned in Aachen after his father John died in battle, due to Aachen siding with Ludwig, in a dispute dating back twenty years. So he was crowned in Bonn.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[23]  The last king to be crowned here was Ferdinand I in 1531.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CVDE_4-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AAE_27-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24]  During the Middle Ages, Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders, achieving a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The city remained a Free imperial city, subject to the Emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours. The only dominion it had was over Burtscheid, a neighbouring territory ruled by a Benedictine abbess. It was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the "Aachener Reich". Even in the late 18th century the Abbess of Burtscheid was prevented from building a road linking her territory to the neighbouring estates of the duke of Jülich; the city of Aachen even deployed its handful of soldiers to chase away the road-diggers. ===16th through 18th centuries<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">As an imperial city, Aachen held certain political advantages that allowed it to remain independent of the troubles of Europe for many years. It remained a direct vassal of the Holy Roman Empire throughout most of the Middle Ages. It also was the site of many important church councils. These included the Council of 837,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[25]  and theCouncil of 1166, a council convened by the antipope Paschal III.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EA_5-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[5]  In 1598, following the invasion of Spanish troops from the Netherlands, Rudolf deposed all Protestant office holders in Aachen and even went as far as expelling them from the city.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[26]  From the early 16th century, Aachen started losing its power and influence. It started with the crowning of emperors occurring not in Aachen but in Frankfurt, followed by the religious wars, and the great fire of 1656.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-eb_30-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[27]  It then culminated in 1794, when the French, led by General Charles Dumouriez,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Coll_19-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[17]  occupied Aachen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AAE_27-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen became attractive as a spa by the middle of the 17th century, not so much because of the effects of the hot springs on the health of its visitors but because Aachen was then – and remained well into the 19th century – a place of high-level prostitution in Europe. Traces of this hidden agenda of the city's history is found in the 18th-century guidebooks to Aachen as well as to the other spas; the main indication for visiting patients, ironically, was syphilis; only by the end of the 19th century had rheuma become the most important object of cures at Aachen and Burtscheid. Aachen was chosen as the site of several important congresses and peace treaties: the first congress of Aachen (often referred to as the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in English) on May 2, 1668,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dupuy1_31-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[28]  leading to the First Treaty of Aachen in the same year which ended the War of Devolution.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[29]  The second congress ended with the second treaty in 1748, ending the War of the Austrian Succession.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CVDE_4-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[30]  In 1789, there was a constitutional crisis within the Aachen government.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[31] ===19th century<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">On 9 February 1801, the Peace of Lunéville removed the ownership of Aachen and the entire "left bank" of the Rhine from Germany and granted it to France.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Coll_19-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[17]  In 1815, control of the town was passed to Prussia, by an act that was passed by the Congress of Vienna.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AAE_27-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24]  The third congress took place in 1818 to decide the fate of occupied Napoleonic France.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">By the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation swept away most of the city's medieval rules of production and commerce, although the entirely corrupt remains of the city's medieval constitution were kept in place (compare the famous remarks of Georg Forster in his Ansichten vom Niederrhein) until 1801, when Aachen became the "chef-lieu du département de la Roer" in Napoleon's First French Empire. In 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Prussia took over and the city became one of its most socially and politically backward centres until the end of the 19th century.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CVDE_4-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]  Administered within the Rhine Province, by 1880 the population was 80,000. Starting in 1838, the railway from Cologne to Belgium passed through Aachen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[32]  The city suffered extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions up to 1875 when the medieval fortifications were finally abandoned as a limit to building operations and new, less miserable quarters were built in the eastern part of the city, where drainage of waste liquids was easiest. In December 1880, the Aachen tramway network was opened, and in 1895 it was electrified.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[33]  In the 19th century and up to the 1930s, the city was important for the production of railway locomotives and carriages, iron, pins, needles, buttons, tobacco, woollen goods, and silk goods. ===20th century<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">After World War I, Aachen was occupied by the Allies until 1930.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AAE_27-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24]  Aachen was one of the locations involved in the ill-fated Rhenish Republic. On 21 October 1923 an armed band took over city hall. Similar actions took place in Munchen-Gladbach, Duisburg, and Krefeld. This Republic lasted only about a year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[34]  Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II. The city and its fortified surroundings were laid siege to from 12 September–21 October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1d_38-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[35]  with the 3rd Armored Division assisting from the south.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[36]  Around 13 October the US 2nd Armored Division played their part, coming from the north and getting as close asWuerselen,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[37]  while the 30th Infantry Division played a crucial role in completing the encirclement of Aachen on 16 October 1944.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[38]  With reinforcements from the US 28th Infantry Division<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[39]  the Battle of Aachen then continued involving direct assaults through the heavily defended city, which finally forced the German garrison to surrender on 21 October 1944.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1d_38-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[35]  Aachen was the first German city to be captured by the Allies, and its residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-baker2004_43-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[40]  The city was destroyed partially – and in some parts completely – during the fighting,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CVDE_4-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]  mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders. Damaged buildings included the medieval churches of St. Foillan, St. Paul and St. Nicholas, and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral was largely unscathed. Only 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders. Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff, was assassinated by an SS commando unit. ====History of Aachen Jews<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">During the Roman period, Aachen was the site of a flourishing Jewish community. Later, during the Carolingian empire, a Jewish community was found near the royal palace.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-jewishencyclopedia.com_18-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[16]  In 802, a Jew named Isaac accompanied the ambassador of Charlemagne to Harun al-Rashid. During the 13th Century, many Jews converted to Christianity, as shown in the records of the Church of St. Marry. In 1486, the Jews of Aachen offered gifts to Maximilian the first during his coronation ceremony. In 1629, the Aachen Jewish community was expelled from the city. In 1667, six Jews were allowed to return. Most of the Aachen Jews settled in the nearby town ofBurtscheid. On 16 May 1815, the Jewish community of the city offered an homage in its synagogue to the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm the third. A Jewish cemetery was acquired in 1851. 1,345 Jews lived in the city in 1933. The synagogue was destroyed during Kristallnacht in 1938. In 1939, after emigration and arrests, 782 Jewsremained in the city. After World War II, only 62 Jews lived there. In 2003, 1,434 Jews were living in Aachen, occasionally suffering of antisemitic incidents at its community facilities.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[41] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[42]  In Jewish texts, the city of Aachen was called Aish, or Ash (אש). ===21st century<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The city of Aachen has developed into a technology hub as a by-product of hosting one of the leading universities of technology in Germany with the RWTH Aachen(Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule), known especially for mechanical engineering, automotive and manufacturing technology as well as for its research and academic hospital Klinikum Aachen, one of the largest medical facilities in Europe. ==Geography<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == The three country point: the tripoint of the border between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen lies on the tripoint of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium in the middle of the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion, which contains an open valley basin and includes tributaries of the Wurm and the Rur rivers. The city is located in the basin of the Meuse, directly on the northern edge of the Eifel region of the Rhenish Massif, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of the High Fens.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The highest point of Aachen measures 410 m Normalnull (NN) and lies in the far southeast of the city. The lowest point is 125 m NN and is located in the north, on the border with the Netherlands. The length of the city border is 87.7 km (54.5 mi), 23.8 km (14.8 mi) of which border Belgium and 21.8 km (13.5 mi) border the Netherlands. From north to south, the city is 21.6 km (13.4 mi) at its widest, and from east to west, it is 17.2 km (10.7 mi).<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed] ===Climate<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">As the westernmost city in Germany<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-munro_3-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[3]  (and close to the Low Countries), Aachen and the surrounding area belongs to a temperate climate zone, with humid weather, mild winters, and warm summers. Because of its location north of the Eifel and the High Fens and its subsequent prevailing westerly weather patterns, rainfall in Aachen (on average 805 mm/year) is comparatively higher than, for example, Bonn (with 669 mm/year). Another factor in the local weather forces of Aachen is the occurrence of Foehn winds on the southerly air currents, which results from the city's geographic location on the northern edge of the Eifel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-climate_46-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[43]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Because the city is surrounded by hills, it suffers from inversion-related smog. Some areas of the city have become Urban heat islandsas a result of poor heat exchange, both because of the area's natural geography, as well as from human activity. The city's numerous cold air corridors, which are slated to remain as free as possible from new construction, therefore plays an important role in the urban climate of Aachen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[44]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The January average is 3.0 °C (37 °F), while the July average is 18.5 °C (65 °F). Precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year. ==Geology<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Layered sandstone and claystoneformation from the Devonian period below St. Adalbert Church in Aachen<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The geology of Aachen is very structurally heterogeneous. The oldest occurring rocks in the area surrounding the city originate from the Devonian period and include carboniferous sandstone, Graywacke, claystone and limestone. These formations are part of the Rhenish Massif, north of the High Fens. In the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous geological period, these rock layers were narrowed and folded as a result of the Variscan orogeny. After this event, and over the course of the following 200 million years, this area has been continuously flattened. Anderson, Ernest Masson (2012). Healy, David, ed.Faulting, Fracturing and Igneous Intrusion in the Earth's Crust 367 (367). Geological Society of London. ISBN 1-86239-347-8.ISSN 0305-8719.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">During the Cretaceous period, the ocean penetrated the continent from the direction of the North Sea up to the mountainous area near Aachen, bringing with it clay, sand, and chalk deposits. While the clay (which was the basis for a major potteryindustry in nearby Raeren) is mostly found in the lower areas of Aachen, the hills of the Aachen Forest and the Lousberg were formed from upper Cretaceous sand and chalk deposits. More recent sedimentation are mainly located in the north and east of Aachen and were formed through tertiary and quaternary river and wind activities.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Along the major thrust fault of the Variscan orogeny, there are over 30 thermal springs in Aachen and Burtscheid. Additionally, the subsurface of Aachen is traversed by numerous active faults that belong to the Rurgraben fault system, which has, in the past, been responsible for numerous earthquakes, including the 1756 DürenEarthquake<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-duerenEQ_49-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[46]  and the 1992 Roermond earthquake,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Roermond_50-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[47]  which was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Netherlands. ==Demographics<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Age distribution of Aachen's population<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen has 236,420 inhabitants (as of 9 May 2011), of whom 116,340 are women, and 120,090 are men.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Zensus_2011_51-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[48]  The age distribution is as follows: under 3 years: 5,500; 3 to 5 years: 5,340; 6 to 14 years: 17,000; 15 to 17 years: 6,060; 18 to 24 years: 31,060; 25 to 29 years: 23,270; 30 to 39 years: 29,680; 40 to 49 years: 34,030; 50 to 64 years: 40,880; 65 to 74 years: 23,030; 75 years and older: 20,570. (as of 9 May 2011). The average age as of December 2010 was 40.8 years.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The unemployment rate in the city is, as of April 2012, 9.7 percent.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[49]  At the end of 2009, the foreign-born residents of Aachen made up 13.6 percent of the total population.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-StatJahrbuch2009_53-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[50]  A significant portion of foreign residents are students at RWTH Aachen University.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[51] ===Boroughs<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The city is divided into seven administrative districts, or boroughs, each with its own district council, district leader, and district authority. The councils are elected locally by those who live within the district, and these districts are further subdivided into smaller sections for statistical purposes, which each sub-district named by a two-digit number.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The districts of Aachen, including their constituent statistical districts, are:

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Regardless of official statistical designations, there are 50 neighborhoods and communities within Aachen, here arranged by district:
 * Aachen-Mitte: 10 Markt, 13 Theater, 14 Lindenplatz, 15 St. Jakob, 16 Westpark, 17 Hanbruch, 18 Hörn, 21 Ponttor, 22 Hansemannplatz, 23 Soers, 24 Jülicher Straße, 25 Kalkofen, 31 Kaiserplatz, 32 Adalbertsteinweg, 33 Panneschopp, 34 Rothe Erde, 35 Trierer Straße, 36 Frankenberg, 37 Forst, 41 Beverau, 42 Burtscheid Kurgarten, 43 Burtscheid Abbey, 46 Burtscheid Steinebrück, 47 Marschiertor, 48 Hangeweiher
 * Brand: 51 Brand
 * Eilendorf: 52 Eilendorf
 * Haaren: 53 Haaren (including Verlautenheide)
 * Kornelimünster/Walheim: 61 Kornelimünster, 62 Oberforstbach, 63 Walheim
 * Laurensberg: 64 Vaalserquartier, 65 Laurensberg
 * Richterich: 88 Richterich

===Neighboring communities<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The following cities and communities border Aachen, clockwise from the northwest: Herzogenrath, Würselen, Eschweiler, Stolberg and Roetgen (which are all in thedistrict of Aachen); Raeren, Kelmis and Plombières (Lüttich Province in Belgium) as well as Vaals, Gulpen-Wittem, Simpelveld, Heerlen and Kerkrade (all in Limburg Province in the Netherlands). ==Main sights<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Theater Aachen<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen Cathedral was erected on the orders of Charlemagne in AD 796<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EA_5-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[5]  and was, on completion, the largest cathedral north of the Alps. It was modeled after the Basilica of San Vitale, in Ravenna, Italy,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AAE_27-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24]  and was built by Odo of Metz.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EA_5-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[5]  On his death, Charlemagne's remains were interred in the cathedral and can be seen there to this day. The cathedral was extended several times in later ages, turning it into a curious and unique mixture of building styles. For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen Cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. The church built by Charlemagne is still the main attraction of the city.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[53]  In addition to holding the remains of its founder, it became the burial place of his successor Otto III. In the upper chamber of the gallery, Charlemagne's marble throne is housed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-young2_57-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[54] Aachen Cathedral has been designated as aUNESCO World Heritage Site.
 * Aachen-Mitte: Beverau, Bildchen, Burtscheid, Forst, Frankenberg, Grüne Eiche, Hörn, Lintert, Pontviertel, Preuswald, Ronheide, Rosviertel, Rothe Erde, Stadtmitte, Steinebrück, West
 * Brand: Brand, Eich, Freund, Hitfeld, Niederforstbach
 * Eilendorf: Eilendorf, Nirm
 * Haaren: Haaren, Hüls, Verlautenheide
 * Kornelimünster/Walheim: Friesenrath, Hahn, Kitzenhaus, Kornelimünster, Krauthausen, Lichtenbusch, Nütheim, Oberforstbach, Sief, Schleckheim, Schmithof, Walheim
 * Laurensberg: Gut Kullen, Kronenberg, Laurensberg, Lemiers, Melaten, Orsbach, Seffent, Soers, Steppenberg, Vaalserquartier, Vetschau
 * Richterich: Horbach, Huf, Richterich

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The city hall, dated from 1330,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-WB_21-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[19]  lies between two central places, the Markt (market place) and the Katschhof (between city hall and cathedral). The coronation hall is on the first floor of the building. Inside you can find five frescoes by the Aachen artist Alfred Rethel which show legendary scenes from the life of Charlemagne, as well as Charlemagne's signature. It also contains the hall of the emperors,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EB_58-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[55]  along with replicas of the imperial crown jewels.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-young2_57-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[54]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Grashaus, a late medieval house at the Fisch Markt, is one of the oldest non-religious buildings in downtown Aachen. It hosted the city archive. The Grashaus was the former city hall before the present building took over this function.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Elisenbrunnen is one of the most famous sights of Aachen. It is a neo-classical hall covering one of the city's famous fountains. It is just a minute away from the cathedral. Just a few steps in south-eastern direction lies the 19th-century theatre.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Also of note are two remaining city gates, the Ponttor, one half-mile northwest of the cathedral, and the Kleinmarschiertor, close to the central railway station. There are also a few parts of both medieval city walls left, most of them integrated into more recent buildings, but some others still visible. There are even five towers left, some of which are used for housing.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">St. Michael's Church, Aachen was built as a church of the Aachen Jesuit Collegium in 1628. It is attributed to the Rhine mannerism and a sample of a local Renaissance-architecture. The rich façade remained unfinished until 1891 when the historistic architect Peter Friedrich Peters added to it. The church is a Greek Orthodox church today, but the building is used also for concerts because of its good acoustics.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Jewish synagogue in Aachen which was destroyed at the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht) on 9 November 1938, was reinaugurated on 18 May 1995.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[56] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[57] One of the contributors for the reconstructions of the synagogue was Jürgen Linden, the Lord Mayor of Aachen from 1989 to 2009.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">There are numerous other notable churches and monasteries, a few remarkable 17th- and 18th-century buildings in the particular Baroque style typical of the region, a Jewish synagogue, a collection of statues and monuments, park areas, cemeteries, among others. Among the museums in the town are the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, which has a fine sculpture collection and the Aachen Museum of the International Press, which is dedicated to newspapers from the 16th century to the present.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EB_58-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[55]  The area's industrial history is reflected in dozens of 19th- and early 20th-century manufacturing sites in the city.


 * <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:inherit;">Aachen Rathaus (city hall)
 * <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:inherit;">Aachen Cathedral


 * <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:inherit;">Elisenbrunnen in Aachen

==Economy<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Ford Research Center, Aachen<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">There have been a number of spin-offs from the university's IT technology department.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]
 * <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:inherit;">In the Carolus Thermen named forCharlemagne

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen was the administrative centre for the coal-mining industries in neighbouring places to the northeast.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Products manufactured in or around<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[clarification needed]  Aachen include electronics, chemicals, plastics, machinery, furniture, metal products, textiles, glass, cosmetics, rubber products, foodstuffs (chocolate and candy), and needles and pins.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AAE_27-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Cohen_55-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[52] Though once a major player in Aachen's economy, today glassware and textile production make up only 10% of total manufacturing jobs in the city.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-name_12-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[11] ==Culture<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Aachen is also famous for itscarnival (Karneval, Fasching), in which families dress in colorful costumes<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 1372, Aachen became the first coin-minting city in the world to regularly place an Anno Domini date on a general circulationcoin, a groschen.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Scotch-Club in Aachen was the first discothèque; it has been open since 19 October 1959. Klaus Quirini as DJ Heinrich was the first DJ ever.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The local specialty of Aachen is an originally hard type of sweet bread, baked in large flat loaves, called Aachener Printen. Unlike Lebkuchen, a German form of gingerbread sweetened with honey, Printen use a syrup made from sugar. Today, a soft version is sold under the same name which follows an entirely different recipe. ==Education<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == The main building of RWTH Aachen UniversityTypical Aachen street with early 20th-century Gründerzeit houses<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">RWTH Aachen University, established as Polytechnicum in 1870, is one of Germany's Universities of Excellence with strong emphasis on technological research, especially for electrical and mechanical engineering, computer sciences, physics, and chemistry. The university clinics attached to the RWTH, the Klinikum Aachen, is the biggest single-building hospital in Europe.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[58]  Over time, a host of software and computer industries have developed around the university. It also maintains a botanical garden (theBotanischer Garten Aachen).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">FH Aachen, Aachen University of Applied Sciences (AcUAS) was founded in 1971. The AcUAS offers a classic engineering education in professions like Mechatronics, Construction Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering. German and international students are educated in more than 20 international or foreign-oriented programs and can acquire German as well as international degrees (Bachelor/Master) or Doppelabschlüsse (double degrees). Foreign students account for more than 21% of the student body.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen - Abteilung Aachen (Catholic University of Applied Sciences Northrhine-Westphalia - Aachen department) <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[59]  offers its some 750 students a variety of degree programmes: social work, childhood education, nursing, and co-operative management. It also has the only programme of study in Germany especially designed for mothers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[60]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Cologne University of Music) is one of the world’s foremost performing arts schools and one of the largest music institutions for higher education in Europe<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[61]  with one of its three campuses in Aachen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[62]  The Aachen campus substantially contributes to the Opera/Musical Theatre master’s program by collaborating with the Theater Aachen and the recently established musical theatre chair through the Rheinische Opernakademie.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The German Army's Technical School (Technische Schule des Heeres und Fachschule des Heeres für Technik) is in Aachen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MeerOpitz1998_66-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[63] ==Sports<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == New Tivoli, home ground ofAlemannia Aachen<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The annual CHIO (short for the French term Concours Hippique International Officiel) is the biggest equestrian meeting of the world and among horsemen considered to be as prestigious for equitation as the tournament of Wimbledon for tennis. Aachen hosted the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games and 2011 CHIO Aachen.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The local football team Alemannia Aachen had a short run-out in Germany's first division, after its promotion in 2006. However, the team could not sustain its status and is now back in the fourth division. The stadium "Tivoli", opened in 1928, served as the venue for the team's home games and was well known for its incomparable atmosphere throughout the whole of the second division.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GdawietzLeroi2007_67-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[64]  Before the old stadium's demolition in 2011, it was used by amateurs, whilst the Bundesliga Club held its games in the new stadium "Neuer Tivoli" – meaning New Tivoli- a couple of metres down the road. The building work for the stadium which has a capacity of 32.960, began in May 2008 and was completed by the beginning of 2009.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The city's biggest tennis club, "TC Grün Weiss", annually hosts the ATP Tournament.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Ladies In Black womans volleyball team (part of the "PTSV Aachen" sports club since 2013) plays in the first German volleyball league (DVL) since 2008. ==Transport<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Bi-articulated bus of the city's transit authority ASEAG, at the university hospital bus stop===Rail<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen's railway station, the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), was constructed in 1841 at the Cologne-Aachen railway line and replaced in 1905, moving it significantly closer to the city centre. It serves main lines to Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Liègeas well as branch lines to Heerlen, Alsdorf, Stolberg and Eschweiler. ICE high speed trains from Brussels via Cologne toFrankfurt am Main and Thalys trains from Paris to Cologne also stop at Aachen Central Station. Four RE lines and two RB lines connect Aachen with the Ruhrgebiet, Mönchengladbach, Liège, Düsseldorf and the Siegerland. The Euregiobahn, a regional railway system, reaches several minor cities in the Aachen region.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">There are four smaller stations in Aachen: Aachen West, Aachen Schanz, Aachen-Rothe Erde and Eilendorf. Slower trains stop at these. Aachen-West has developed priority with the expansion of RWTH Aachen University. ===Roads<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen is connected to the Autobahn A4 (West-East), A44 (North-South) and A544 (a smaller motorway from the A4 to theEuropaplatz near the city centre). There are plans to eliminate traffic jams as the Aachen road interchange ==Charlemagne Prize<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, wearing the Charlemagne Prize awarded to her in 2008Main article: Charlemagne Prize<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Since 1950, a committee of Aachen citizens annually awards the Charlemagne Prize (German: Karlspreis) to personalities of outstanding service to the unification of Europe. It is traditionally awarded on Ascension Day at the City Hall. Most recently in 2014, the Charlemagne Award was awarded to Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Belgium.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[65]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen was awarded in the year 2000 to the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, for his special personal contribution to co-operation with the states of Europe, for the preservation of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights in Europe, and for his support of the enlargement of the European Union. In 2004, Pope John Paul II's efforts to unite Europe were honoured with an 'Extraordinary Charlemagne Medal', which was awarded for the only time ever. ==Notable residents<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == House of the family of the "founding father" of modern architecture Mies van der Rohe*Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, moved to Aachen and made it the capital of his empire. ==International relations<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany===Twin towns and sister cities<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Aachen is twinned with:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-en-db_70-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[67] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Calderdale_71-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[68]
 * King Ethelwulf of Wessex, father of Alfred the Great was born in Aachen.
 * Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the founders of modern architecture and the last director of the Bauhaus during its period in Dessau and Berlin, was born in Aachen.
 * In 1850 Paul Julius Reuter founded the Reuters News Agency in Aachen which transferred messages between Brussels and Aachen using carrier pigeons.
 * Anne Frank's mother, Edith Frank, was born in Aachen.
 * The city is the home of the German band Unheilig.
 * World famous classical and crossover violinist, and child prodigy, David Garrett was born in Aachen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[66]