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in: Cities, Europe, Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia

Aachen

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Aachen (Bad Aachen, French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle), is a spa and border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Charlemagne, and, from 936 to 1531, the place where thirty-one Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans.

Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 38 miles (61.16 kilometers) west south west of Cologne in a former coal-mining area. One of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology, the RWTH Aachen University is located in the city. Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology. In 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation.

Geography[]

Aachen is located in the middle of the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion, close to the border tripoint of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The city of Heerlen in the Netherlands lies nearby, as does Eupen, the capital of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, both located about 12.4 miles (19.96 kilometers) from Aachen's city center. Aachen lies near the head of the open valley of the Wurm (which today flows through the city in canalised form), part of the larger basin of the Meuse, and about 19 miles (30.58 kilometers) north of the High Fens, which form the northern edge of the Eifel uplands of the Rhenish Massif.

The maximum dimensions of the city's territory are 13.4 miles (21.57 kilometers) from north to south, and 10.7 miles (17.22 kilometers) from east to west. The city limits are 54.5 miles (87.71 kilometers) long, of which 14.8 miles (23.82 kilometers) border Belgium and 13.5 miles (21.73 kilometers) the Netherlands. The highest point in Aachen, located in the far southeast of the city, lies at an elevation of 410 meters above sea level. The lowest point, in the north, and on the border with the Netherlands, is at 125 meters.

Climate[]

As the westernmost city in Germany (and close to the Low Countries), Aachen and the surrounding area belongs to a temperate climate zone, with humid weather, mild winters, and warm summers. Because of its location north of the Eifel and the High Fens and its subsequent prevailing westerly weather patterns, rainfall in Aachen (on average 805 mm/year) is comparatively higher than, for example, in Bonn (with 669 mm/year). Another factor in the local weather forces of Aachen is the occurrence of Foehn winds on the southerly air currents, which results from the city's geographic location on the northern edge of the Eifel.

Because the city is surrounded by hills, it suffers from inversion-related smog. Some areas of the city have become urban heat islands as a result of poor heat exchange, both because of the area's natural geography and from human activity. The city's numerous cold air corridors, which are slated to remain as free as possible from new construction, therefore play an important role in the urban climate of Aachen.

The January average is 3.0 °C (37 °F), while the July average is 18.5 °C (65 °F). Precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year.

Sister/Twin Cities[]

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