Aachen

Aachen
Municipality
View of Aachen
Flag Seal
Aachen
Coordinates: 50°46′34.0″N 6°05′01.6″E
Country	Germany
State	Nordrhein-Westfalen
Regierungsbezirk	Köln
District	Aachen
Government
• Mayor	Sibylle Keupen
Area
• Total	160.8 km^2 (62.1 sq mi)
Population  (January 1, 2001)
• Total	236,420
• Density	1,470/km^2 (3,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
Postal code(s)	52062–52080
Area code(s)	0241, 02405, 02407, 02408
CIN	05334002
Website	Official website

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 .

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.^[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.

Notes

1. UK: /ˌɛks lə ʃəˈpɛl/, US: /ˌɛks lɑː ʃɑːˈpɛl, ˌeɪks-/

References

1. "Aachen". Oxford Dictionaries UK Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
2. "Aachen". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
3. "Aix-la-Chapelle" Archived 2019-04-21 at the Wayback Machine (US) and "Aix-la-Chapelle". Oxford Dictionaries UK Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
4. The new American Desk Encyclopedia. Signet. 1984. p. 9. ISBN 0-451-12803-6.

Other websites

Media related to Aachen at Wikimedia Commons