
Coat of Arms of Aachen

Flag of Aachen
Aachen, known as Aix-la-Chapelle in French, is a border city in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. Aachen was founded as the Roman spa of Aquae Granni, and its name itself means "stream" in Old High German. Aachen became the preferred medieval residence of Charlemagne, and it served as the coronation site of 31 Holy Roman Emperors from 936 to 1531. Aachen was a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire from 1166 to 1801 when it was incorporated into the French First Republic. After the Napoleonic Wars, Aachen was given to Prussia.
Aachen is currently a major city of innovation, with RWTH Aachen University being one of Germany's leading higher technology institutes. In 2015, Aachen had a population of 245,885 people.