Aachen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aachen Aachen
Aachen City Hall (rear)
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Cologne
District	Urban district
Elevation	266 m (873 ft)
Population
• Total	258,770
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	52062–52080
Dialling codes	0241 / 02405 / 02407 / 02408
Vehicle registration	AC
Website	www.aachen.de

Free Imperial City of Aachen / Aix-la-Chapelle Freie Reichsstadt Aachen
1306–1801
Status	Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire
Capital	Aachen
Government	Republic
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Settlement founded	ca 6th millennium BC
• Gained Reichsfreiheit	1306
• Otto I crowned Emperor	936
• Fire devastated city	1656
• First Treaty ended     War of Devolution	May 2 1668
• Second Treaty ended War     of Austrian Succession	April–May 1748
• Annexed by France	1801
• Third Treaty handles     post-Napoleonic France	October–November 1818
Succeeded by Roer (department)

Aachen is a German city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has about 260,000 inhabitants and a well-known university, the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH).

History

The Romans built a spa over hot water springs here in ancient times.

In the Middle Ages, it was the capital city of the Frankish emperor, Charlemagne. The city was called Aix-la-Chapelle by the French.

Aachen Cathedral

Charlemagne ordered the building of a cathedral in 786 AD. He was buried in a tomb in this cathedral. German emperors were crowned in the cathedral in Aachen until 1531.

European countries made two important peace agreements in Aachen. In 1668, the first treaty (agreement) ended the War of Devolution between France and the alliance of England, Holland and Sweden. The treaty allowed France to keep most of the towns it had captured in Flanders the year before. In 1748, the second treaty ended the War of the Austrian Succession. In this war, France, Prussia, and other nations tried to take territory from the Austrian Empire. The treaty said that Maria Theresa of Austria was the ruler of these territories. It also gave Prussia the territory of Silesia.

Since 1972, Aachen has been part of the Cologne Government Region.

Images for kids

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  Construction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by Jean Fouquet

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  Presentation of the four "Great Relics" during the Aachen pilgrimage, after a 17th-century painting

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  The siege of Aachen by the Spanish Army of Flanders under Ambrogio Spinola in 1614

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  View of Aachen in 1690

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  The modern Elisabethhalle pool

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  View of the Old Synagogue in Aachen [de] after its destruction during Kristallnacht, November 1938

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  The tripoint, where the borders of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet at the Vaalserberg

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  Layered sandstone and claystone formation from the Devonian period below St. Adalbert Church in Aachen

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  Ford Research Center, Aachen

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  StreetScooter Work as DHL delivery van (2016)

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  Aachen is also famous for its carnival (Karneval, Fasching), in which families dress in colourful costumes

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  The main building of RWTH Aachen University

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  Typical Aachen street with early 20th-century Gründerzeit houses

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  Another example of Aachen early 20th-century Gründerzeit houses

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  New Tivoli, home ground of Alemannia Aachen

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  Bi-articulated bus of the city's transit authority ASEAG, at the university hospital bus stop

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  Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, wearing the Charlemagne Prize awarded to her in 2008

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  Grashaus

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  Elisenbrunnen in Aachen

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  Aachen Theatre

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  Neues Kurhaus

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  Carolus Thermen, thermal baths named after Charlemagne

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  A statue commemorating David Hansemann