Description
Aachen, sometimes called Bad Aachen, and traditionally known in France and the United Kingdom as Aix-la-Chapelle, is a spa and border town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a residence of Charlemagne, and later the coronation place for German kings.Aachen is the westernmost city of Germany, near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 61km west-southwest of Cologne in a former coal-mining area. RWTH Aachen University is in the city. Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology. In 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation.NameThe name "Aachen" is a modern descendant, like southern German "Ach(e)", "Aach", meaning "river" or "stream", of Old High German "ahha", meaning "water" or "stream", which directly translates (and etymologically corresponds to) Latin Aquae, referring to the springs. The location has been inhabited by humans since the Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, attracted to its warm mineral springs. Latin Aquae figures in Aachen's Roman name Aquae granni, which meant 'Grannus' waters', referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshiped at the springs. This word became Åxhe in Walloon and Aix in French, and subsequently Aix-la-Chapelle after Charlemagne had a cathedral built there in the late eighth century and then made the city his empire's capital.
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