Aachen is a German city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has a population of 247,380 (2018).
Aachen is also known as Aix-la-Chapelle in French and traditional English as Aix-la-Chapelle.
It is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 61 kilometres (38 mi) west south west of Cologne.
Aachen is known for its excellent mineral springs and has been a health resort since the 1st century AD.
The city is rich in historical associations and is thought to be the birthplace of Charlemagne. During his reign (800–14), Charlemagne made the city a center of Carolingian culture and had his palace erected in Aachen.
When the Anglo Saxon Northumbrian Alcun entered his service in 782. Charlemagne began a kind of academy around his court at Aachen. On the advice of Alcuin many literate Christians from Britain and Ireland came over to man these schools. His court academy provided for education of young nobles and even particularly bright poor boys. It was probably the first school to give classical education for the laity.
Charlemagne built a Palace church at Aachen in 796 in the style of the 6th century San Vitalie at Ravenna, Italy. This became Aachen cathedral but today only the chapel survives.
Aachen was the coronation site for Holy Roman emperors from 936 until 1562, when the site was moved to Frankfurt am Main.
One of the first major outbreaks of dancing mania, wherein crowds of people danced themselves to exhaustion, took place in Aachen in 1374, before spreading to other cities and countries.
During the French Revolution, Aachen was occupied by the French and in 1801 was formally ceded to France. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Aachen was acquired by Prussia.
The city was badly damaged in World War II. It was the first major German town captured by the Allies on October 21, 1944.
Noteworthy structures include the town hall, built in 1353 on the ruins of Charlemagne’s palace, and the cathedral (the chancel of which was built in the 13th–14th century), which contains Charlemagne’s tomb.
Since 1950, a committee of Aachen citizens has annually awarded the Charlemagne Prize (German: Karlspreis) for service to European cooperation. It is traditionally awarded on Ascension Day at the City Hall.
Products manufactured in Aachen include electrical goods, glass and rubber products. It also has a thriving information technology industry and is one of Germany's principal railway junctions.
Source Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia
Aachen is also known as Aix-la-Chapelle in French and traditional English as Aix-la-Chapelle.
It is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 61 kilometres (38 mi) west south west of Cologne.
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Aachen is known for its excellent mineral springs and has been a health resort since the 1st century AD.
The city is rich in historical associations and is thought to be the birthplace of Charlemagne. During his reign (800–14), Charlemagne made the city a center of Carolingian culture and had his palace erected in Aachen.
When the Anglo Saxon Northumbrian Alcun entered his service in 782. Charlemagne began a kind of academy around his court at Aachen. On the advice of Alcuin many literate Christians from Britain and Ireland came over to man these schools. His court academy provided for education of young nobles and even particularly bright poor boys. It was probably the first school to give classical education for the laity.
Charlemagne built a Palace church at Aachen in 796 in the style of the 6th century San Vitalie at Ravenna, Italy. This became Aachen cathedral but today only the chapel survives.
Aachen was the coronation site for Holy Roman emperors from 936 until 1562, when the site was moved to Frankfurt am Main.
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| Construction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by Jean Fouquet |
One of the first major outbreaks of dancing mania, wherein crowds of people danced themselves to exhaustion, took place in Aachen in 1374, before spreading to other cities and countries.
During the French Revolution, Aachen was occupied by the French and in 1801 was formally ceded to France. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Aachen was acquired by Prussia.
The city was badly damaged in World War II. It was the first major German town captured by the Allies on October 21, 1944.
Noteworthy structures include the town hall, built in 1353 on the ruins of Charlemagne’s palace, and the cathedral (the chancel of which was built in the 13th–14th century), which contains Charlemagne’s tomb.
Since 1950, a committee of Aachen citizens has annually awarded the Charlemagne Prize (German: Karlspreis) for service to European cooperation. It is traditionally awarded on Ascension Day at the City Hall.
Products manufactured in Aachen include electrical goods, glass and rubber products. It also has a thriving information technology industry and is one of Germany's principal railway junctions.
Source Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia
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