Aachen, the Coronation City

By 765, King Pepin of the Franks was bathing in the baths of Aachen. His son, Charlemagne, built his imperial palace influenced by Germanic, Roman, and Byzantine architecture proclaimed Aachen to be his favorite residence. This effectively made Aachen the center of the entire Frankish Empire and the city came to be known as the “second Rome.”

The Aachen Cathedral built by Charlemagne was the first German monument to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Between 813 and 1531, 38 kings were crowned in the cathedral.

Nowadays, the people of Aachen finds themselves at the center of Europe. People from this region can live, work, study, and shop in three different countries. Unlike almost anywhere else, people here directly experience the idea of “European togetherness.”