Plural: Aachens

(French Aix-la-Chapelle).
German cathedral city and spa in the administrative region (German Land) of North Rhine–Westphalia, 72 km/45 mi SW of Cologne; population (1991) 244,400. It has thriving electronic, glass, and rubber industries, and is one of Germany’s principal railroad junctions. Aachen was the Roman Aquisgranum, and from the time of Charlemagne until 1531 the German emperors were crowned here. Charlemagne was born and buried in Aachen, and founded the cathedral 796.
The 14th-century town hall, containing the hall of the emperors, is built on the site of Charlemagne's palace.
In World War II, Aachen was the first German city to be taken by the Allies when it was captured by the US 1st Army Oct 1944.
City W Germany near Belgian and Dutch borders population 241,861.