Aachen
Aachen (/ˈɑːxən/[1][2] German: [ˈʔaːxn̩] (
listen); Aachen dialect: Oche [ˈɔːxə]; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle[a][2][3] French: [ɛks la ʃapɛl]; Latin: Aquae Granni or Aquisgranum; Dutch: Aken) 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). It is also the location of the 1944 Battle of Aachen during World War II where the United States fought Nazi Germany .
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 Flag  Coat of arms | ||||||||||
Location of Aachen within Aachen district .svg) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: 50°46′32″N 06°05′01″E / 50.77556°N 6.08361°ECoordinates: 50°46′32″N 06°05′01″E / 50.77556°N 6.08361°E | ||||||||||
| Country | Germany | |||||||||
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia | |||||||||
| Admin. region | Cologne | |||||||||
| District | Aachen | |||||||||
| Government | ||||||||||
| • Lord mayor | Sibylle Keupen (Greens) | |||||||||
| • Governing parties | CDU / SPD | |||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • Total | 160.85 km2 (62.10 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 173 m (568 ft) | |||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) | |||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) | |||||||||
| Postal codes | 52062–52080 | |||||||||
| Vehicle registration | AC / MON | |||||||||
| Website | aachen | |||||||||
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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.
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.[4]
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.
Aachen Media
Aachen districts and quarters
Presentation of the four "Great Relics" during the Aachen pilgrimage, after a 17th-century painting
The siege of Aachen by the Spanish Army of Flanders under Ambrogio Spinola in 1614
Aachen, engraving from: Martialischer Schau-Platz/ Des Lustreichen und zuglich blutigen Rhein-Strohms : Worinnen Alle Kriege/ Bataillen/ Scharmützel und Schlachten/ ... Verwüstungen/ derer Stadte/ Vestungen ... welche an beyden Ufern ... des Ober-und Nieder-Rheins/ ... bis .../ und einer ... Land-Charte ... ausgezieret, Hofmann, Nürnberg 1690
The modern Elisabethhalle pool
Films shot on 13, 14 and 15 October 1944 in Aachen by US forces.
View of the Old Synagogue in Aachen after its destruction during Kristallnacht, November 1938
The tripoint, where the borders of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet at the Vaalserberg
Notes
References
- ↑ "Aachen". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|work=at position 9 (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Aachen". Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
- ↑ "Aix-la-Chapelle" Archived 2019-04-21 at the Wayback Machine (US) and "Aix-la-Chapelle". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|work=at position 9 (help) - ↑ The new American Desk Encyclopedia. Signet. 1984. p. 9. ISBN 0-451-12803-6.
Other websites
Media related to Aachen at Wikimedia Commons
