About Aachen
Aachen unites tradition with progress. Charlemagne has left his mark throughout the city. The Cathedral – the first monument in Germany to be included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage list – and the gothic City Hall in which 32 German kings celebrated their coronations still form the heart of Aachen’s old city center. But Aachen is by no means just a museum; it is a modern city, open to the world, with political, economic and cultural contacts that reach far beyond Germany’s borders. For instance, at EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Aachen was presented as a European model region, as a fine example of successful structural change and a remarkable instance of a region’s departure from mining and conventional industry to become one of Europe’s major high- tech locations.
This success story is a result of cooperation between the universities and the chambers of industry, research institutions, companies, business establishment centers and the city’s administration. The scientific competence available in Aachen has attracted famous international enterprises and research institutions including Ericsson, Ford, Philips, Takeda Pharma, and Microsoft and enabled the successful placing of up-and- coming technology companies such as Aixtron and Parsytec on the Neuer Markt in Frankfurt. Some 500 new, forward-looking companies providing over 10,000 jobs have grown up since 1985. Aachen’s colleges and universities develop top technologies for rising industries such as information and telecommunication engineering, plastics engineering, computer science, materials science and biotechnology.
Aachen has much to offer in respect of quality of life, too. The city has a flair and atmosphere of its own. The attractive layout of the old city center, the important historic monuments, the wells and baths over the hottest natural springs in Europe, the bustling activity in the streets and squares, the cultural diversity and the many recreational and leisure activities make Aachen an exciting and pleasing whole.