Aachen City Hall

My disappointment over not being able to enter the UNESCO World Heritage site listed Aachen Cathedral was somewhat alleviated by the presence of an imposing structure just across the cathedral. I was aware that Aachen is known for it’s connection to Charlemagne who made Aachen the capital of his empire. The cathedral is one of the monuments which were built during his time on the throne. It is thus not surprising to me to see a large structure not too far away from the cathedral. All along I assumed that this structure must be the palace. I was only partially right. This structure is the Aachen City Hall.

The Aachen City Hall was built from the remnants of the old palace which somehow didn’t make it to the present day. However, parts of the old palace were incorporated into the new structure which looks a lot like a palace. It was Christmas when I visited so there was a Christmas market in front and behind the city hall building. I guess wherever there is a large open space, they will set up a Christmas market and why not. I was relieved to see that there are people entering the city hall building and they look like tourists. This actually feels more like entering through the back door since the door isn’t very impressive or grand. I hope that things would improve from here.

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