text:
August 25

Pre-1600

 * 766 – Emperor Constantine V humiliates nineteen high-ranking officials, after discovering a plot against him. He executes the leaders, Constantine Podopagouros and his brother Strategios.
 * 1248 – The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht.
 * 1258 – Regent George Mouzalon and his brothers are killed during a coup headed by the aristocratic faction under Michael VIII Palaiologos, paving the way for its leader to ultimately usurp the throne of the Empire of Nicaea.
 * 1270 – Philip III, although suffering from dysentery, becomes King of France following the death of his father Louis IX, during the Eighth Crusade. His uncle, Charles I of Naples, is forced to begin peace negotiations with Muhammad I al-Mustansir, Hafsid Sultan of Tunis.
 * 1537 – The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, is formed.
 * 1543 – António Mota and a few companions become the first Europeans to visit Japan.
 * 1580 – War of the Portuguese Succession: Spanish victory at the Battle of Alcântara brings about the Iberian Union.

1601–1900

 * 1609 – Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
 * 1630 – Portuguese forces are defeated by the Kingdom of Kandy at the Battle of Randeniwela in Sri Lanka.
 * 1758 – Seven Years' War: Frederick II of Prussia defeats the Russian army at the Battle of Zorndorf.
 * 1814 – War of 1812: On the second day of the Burning of Washington, British troops torch the Library of Congress, United States Treasury, Department of War, and other public buildings.
 * 1823 – American fur trapper Hugh Glass is mauled by a grizzly bear while on an expedition in South Dakota.
 * 1825 – The Thirty-Three Orientals declare the independence of Uruguay from Brazil.
 * 1830 – The Belgian Revolution begins.
 * 1835 – The first Great Moon Hoax article is published in The New York Sun, announcing the discovery of life and civilization on the Moon.
 * 1875 – Captain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 21 hours and 45 minutes.
 * 1883 – France and Viet Nam sign the Treaty of Huế, recognizing a French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin.
 * 1894 – Kitasato Shibasaburō discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet.

1901–present

 * 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Liaoyang begins.
 * 1912 – The Kuomintang is founded for the first time in Peking.
 * 1914 – World War I: Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary.
 * 1914  – World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven is deliberately destroyed by the German Army. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable volumes and Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts are lost.
 * 1916 – The United States National Park Service is created.
 * 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, which began on August 13, ends with the Red Army's defeat.
 * 1933 – The Diexi earthquake strikes Mao County, Sichuan, China and kills 9,000 people.
 * 1939 – The Irish Republican Army carries out the 1939 Coventry bombing in which five civilians were killed.
 * 1939 – The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power.
 * 1940 – World War II: The first Bombing of Berlin by the British Royal Air Force.
 * 1941  – World War II: Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran: The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union jointly stage an invasion of the Imperial State of Iran.
 * 1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons; a Japanese naval transport convoy headed towards Guadalcanal is turned back by an Allied air attack.
 * 1942  – World War II: Battle of Milne Bay: Japanese marines assault Allied airfields at Milne Bay, New Guinea, initiating the Battle of Milne Bay.
 * 1944 – World War II: Paris is liberated by the Allies.
 * 1945 – Ten days after World War II ends with Japan announcing its surrender, armed supporters of the Chinese Communist Party kill U.S. intelligence officer John Birch, regarded by some of the American right as the first victim of the Cold War.
 * 1945  – The August Revolution ends as Emperor Bảo Đại abdicates, ending the Nguyễn dynasty.
 * 1948 – The House Un-American Activities Committee holds first-ever televised congressional hearing: "Confrontation Day" between Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss.
 * 1950 – To avert a threatened strike during the Korean War, President Truman orders Secretary of the Army Frank Pace to seize control of the nation's railroads.
 * 1958 – The world’s first publicly marketed instant noodles, Chikin Ramen, are introduced by Taiwanese-Japanese businessman Momofuku Ando.
 * 1960 – The Games of the XVII Olympiad commence in Rome, Italy.
 * 1961 – President Jânio Quadros of Brazil resigns after just seven months in power, initiating a political crisis that culminates in a military coup in 1964.
 * 1967 – George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party, is assassinated by a former member of his group.
 * 1980 – Zimbabwe joins the United Nations.
 * 1981 – Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn.
 * 1985 – Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 crashes near Auburn, Maine, killing all eight people on board including peace activist and child actress Samantha Smith.
 * 1989 – Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the last planet in the Solar System at the time, due to Pluto being within Neptune's orbit from 1979 to 1999.
 * 1989  – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404, carrying 54 people, disappears over the Himalayas after take off from Gilgit Airport in Pakistan. The aircraft was never found.
 * 1991 – Belarus gains its independence from the Soviet Union.
 * 1991  – The Battle of Vukovar begins. An 87-day siege of Vukovar by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various Serb paramilitary forces, between August and November 1991 (during the Croatian War of Independence).
 * 1991  – Linus Torvalds announces the first version of what will become Linux.
 * 1997 – Egon Krenz, the former East German leader, is convicted of a shoot-to-kill policy at the Berlin Wall.
 * 2001 – American singer Aaliyah and several members of her record company are killed as their overloaded aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport, Bahamas.
 * 2003 – NASA successfully launches the Spitzer Space Telescope into space.
 * 2005 – Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in Florida.
 * 2006 – Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko is sentenced to nine years imprisonment for money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion.
 * 2011 – Fifty-two people are killed during an arson attack caused by members of the drug cartel Los Zetas.
 * 2012 – Voyager 1 spacecraft enters interstellar space becoming the first man-made object to do so.
 * 2017 – Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Texas as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2004.
 * 2017  – Conflict in Rakhine State (2016–present): One hundred seventy people are killed in at least 26 separate attacks carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, leading to the governments of Myanmar and Malaysia designating the group as a terrorist organisation.

Pre-1600

 * 1467 – Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 2nd Duke of Alburquerque, Spanish duke (d. 1526)
 * 1491 – Innocenzo Cybo, Italian cardinal (d. 1550)
 * 1509 – Ippolito II d'Este, Italian cardinal and statesman (d. 1572)
 * 1530 – Ivan the Terrible, Russian ruler (d. 1584)
 * 1540 – Lady Catherine Grey, English noblewoman (d. 1568)
 * 1561 – Philippe van Lansberge, Dutch astronomer and mathematician (d. 1632)

1601–1900

 * 1605 – Philipp Moritz, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg, German noble (d. 1638)
 * 1624 – François de la Chaise, French priest (d. 1709)
 * 1662 – John Leverett the Younger, American lawyer, academic, and politician (d. 1724)
 * 1707 – Louis I of Spain (d. 1724)
 * 1724 – George Stubbs, English painter and academic (d. 1806)
 * 1741 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and author (d. 1792)
 * 1744 – Johann Gottfried Herder, German poet, philosopher, and critic (d. 1803)
 * 1758 – Franz Teyber, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1810)
 * 1767 – Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French soldier and politician (d. 1794)
 * 1776 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (d. 1853)
 * 1786 – Ludwig I of Bavaria, King of Bavaria (d. 1868)
 * 1793 – John Neal, American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist (d. 1876)
 * 1796 – James Lick, American carpenter and piano builder (d. 1876)
 * 1802 – Nikolaus Lenau, Romanian-Austrian poet and author (d. 1850)
 * 1803 – Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias (d. 1880)
 * 1812 – Nikolay Zinin, Russian organic chemist (d. 1880)
 * 1817 – Marie-Eugénie de Jésus, French nun and saint, founded the Religious of the Assumption (d. 1898)
 * 1819 – Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American detective and spy (d. 1884)
 * 1829 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1909)
 * 1836 – Bret Harte, American short story writer and poet (d. 1902)
 * 1840 – George C. Magoun, American businessman (d. 1893)
 * 1841 – Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
 * 1845 – Ludwig II of Bavaria, King of Bavaria (d. 1886)
 * 1850 – Charles Richet, French physiologist and occultist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
 * 1867 – James W. Gerard, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Germany (d. 1951)
 * 1869 – Tom Kiely, British-Irish decathlete (d. 1951)
 * 1875 – Agnes Mowinckel, Norwegian actress (d. 1963)
 * 1877 – Joshua Lionel Cowen, American businessman, co-founded the Lionel Corporation (d. 1965)
 * 1878 – Ted Birnie, English footballer and manager (d. 1935)
 * 1882 – Seán T. O'Kelly, Irish journalist and politician, 2nd President of Ireland (d. 1966)
 * 1889 – Alexander Mair, Australian politician, 26th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1969)
 * 1891 – David Shimoni, Belarusian-Israeli poet and translator (d. 1956)
 * 1893 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (d. 1962)
 * 1898 – Helmut Hasse, German mathematician and academic (d. 1975)
 * 1898  – Arthur Wood, English cricketer (d. 1973)
 * 1899 – Paul Herman Buck, American historian and author (d. 1978)
 * 1900 – Isobel Hogg Kerr Beattie, Scottish architect (d. 1970)
 * 1900  – Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)

1901–present

 * 1902 – Stefan Wolpe, German-American composer and educator (d. 1972)
 * 1903 – Arpad Elo, Hungarian-American chess player, created the Elo rating system (d. 1992)
 * 1905 – Faustina Kowalska, Polish nun and saint (d. 1938)
 * 1906 – Jim Smith, English cricketer (d. 1979)
 * 1909 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1993)
 * 1909  – Michael Rennie, English actor and producer (d. 1971)
 * 1910 – George Cisar, American baseball player (d. 2010)
 * 1910  – Dorothea Tanning, American painter, sculptor, and poet (d. 2012)
 * 1911 – Võ Nguyên Giáp, Vietnamese general and politician, 3rd Minister of Defence for Vietnam (d. 2013)
 * 1912 – Erich Honecker, German politician (d. 1994)
 * 1913 – Don DeFore, American actor (d. 1993)
 * 1913  – Walt Kelly, American illustrator and animator (d. 1973)
 * 1916 – Van Johnson, American actor (d. 2008)
 * 1916  – Frederick Chapman Robbins, American pediatrician and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
 * 1916  – Saburō Sakai, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (d. 2000)
 * 1917 – Mel Ferrer, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2008)
 * 1918 – Leonard Bernstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1990)
 * 1918  – Richard Greene, English actor (d. 1985)
 * 1919 – William P. Foster, American bandleader and educator (d. 2010)
 * 1919  – George Wallace, American lawyer, and politician, 45th Governor of Alabama (d. 1998)
 * 1919  – Jaap Rijks, Dutch Olympic medalist (d. 2017)
 * 1921 – Monty Hall, Canadian television personality and game show host (d. 2017)
 * 1921  – Bryce Mackasey, Canadian businessman and politician, 20th Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 1999)
 * 1921  – Brian Moore, Northern Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 1999)
 * 1923 – Álvaro Mutis, Colombian-Mexican author and poet (d. 2013)
 * 1923  – Allyre Sirois, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2012)
 * 1924 – Zsuzsa Körmöczy, Hungarian tennis player and coach (d. 2006)
 * 1925 – Thea Astley, Australian journalist and author (d. 2004)
 * 1925  – Hilmar Hoffmann, German film and culture academic (d. 2018)
 * 1925  – Stepas Butautas, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (d. 2001)
 * 1927 – Althea Gibson, American tennis player and golfer (d. 2003)
 * 1927  – Des Renford, Australian swimmer (d. 1999)
 * 1928 – John "Kayo" Dottley, American football player (d. 2018)
 * 1928  – Darrell Johnson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2004)
 * 1928  – Karl Korte, American composer and academic (d. 2022)
 * 1928  – Herbert Kroemer, German-American physicist, engineer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2024)
 * 1930 – Sean Connery, Scottish actor and producer (d. 2020)
 * 1930  – György Enyedi, Hungarian economist and geographer (d. 2012)
 * 1930  – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (d. 2003)
 * 1930  – Crispin Tickell, English academic and diplomat, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations (d. 2022)
 * 1931 – Regis Philbin, American actor and television host (d. 2020)
 * 1932 – Anatoly Kartashov, Soviet aviator and cosmonaut (d. 2005)
 * 1933 – Patrick F. McManus, American journalist and author (d. 2018)
 * 1933  – Wayne Shorter, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2023)
 * 1933  – Tom Skerritt, American actor
 * 1934 – Lise Bacon, Canadian judge and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
 * 1934  – Eddie Ilarde, Filipino journalist and politician (d. 2020)
 * 1935 – Charles Wright, American poet
 * 1936 – Giridharilal Kedia, Indian businessman, founded the Image Institute of Technology & Management (d. 2009)
 * 1937 – Jimmy Hannan, Australian television host and singer (d. 2019)
 * 1937  – Virginia Euwer Wolff, American author
 * 1938 – David Canary, American actor (d. 2015)
 * 1938  – Frederick Forsyth, English journalist and author
 * 1939 – John Badham, English-American actor, director, and producer
 * 1940 – Wilhelm von Homburg, German boxer and actor (d. 2004)
 * 1941 – Marshall Brickman, Brazilian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1941  – Mario Corso, Italian footballer and coach (d. 2020)
 * 1941  – Ludwig Müller, German footballer (d. 2021)
 * 1942 – Nathan Deal, American lawyer, and politician, 82nd Governor of Georgia
 * 1942  – Ivan Koloff, Canadian wrestler (d. 2017)
 * 1944 – Conrad Black, Canadian historian and author
 * 1944  – Jacques Demers, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and politician
 * 1944  – Anthony Heald, American actor
 * 1944  – Andrew Longmore, British lawyer and judge
 * 1945 – Daniel Hulet, Belgian cartoonist (d. 2011)
 * 1945  – Hannah Louise Shearer, American screenwriter and producer
 * 1946 – Rollie Fingers, American baseball player
 * 1946  – Charles Ghigna, American poet and author
 * 1946  – Charlie Sanders, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
 * 1947 – Michael Kaluta, American author and illustrator
 * 1947  – Keith Tippett, British jazz pianist and composer (d. 2020)
 * 1948 – Ledward Kaapana, American singer and guitarist
 * 1948  – Nicholas A. Peppas, Greek chemist and biologist
 * 1949 – Martin Amis, British novelist (d. 2023)
 * 1949  – Rijkman Groenink, Dutch banker and academic
 * 1949  – John Savage, American actor and producer
 * 1949  – Gene Simmons, Israeli-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
 * 1950 – Willy DeVille, American singer and songwriter (d. 2009)
 * 1950  – Charles Fambrough, American bassist, composer, and producer (d. 2011)
 * 1951 – Rob Halford, English heavy metal singer-songwriter
 * 1951  – Bill Handel, Brazilian-American lawyer and radio host
 * 1952 – Kurban Berdyev, Turkmen footballer and manager
 * 1952  – Geoff Downes, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
 * 1952  – Duleep Mendis, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
 * 1954 – Elvis Costello, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
 * 1954  – Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, Scottish lawyer and politician, First Minister of Scotland
 * 1955 – John McGeoch, Scottish guitarist (d. 2004)
 * 1955  – Gerd Müller, German businessman and politician
 * 1956 – Matt Aitken, English songwriter and record producer
 * 1956  – Takeshi Okada, Japanese footballer, coach, and manager
 * 1956  – Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (d. 1986)
 * 1957 – Sikander Bakht, Pakistani cricketer and sportscaster
 * 1957  – Simon McBurney, English actor and director
 * 1957  – Frank Serratore, American ice hockey player and coach
 * 1958 – Tim Burton, American director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1958  – Christian LeBlanc, American actor
 * 1959 – Ian Falconer, American author and illustrator (d. 2023)
 * 1959  – Steve Levy, American lawyer and politician
 * 1959  – Bernardo Rezende, Brazilian volleyball coach and player
 * 1959  – Lane Smith, American author and illustrator
 * 1959  – Ruth Ann Swenson, American soprano and actress
 * 1960 – Ashley Crow, American actress
 * 1960  – Georg Zellhofer, Austrian footballer and manager
 * 1961 – Billy Ray Cyrus, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
 * 1961  – Dave Tippett, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1961  – Ally Walker, American actress
 * 1961  – Joanne Whalley, English actress
 * 1962 – Taslima Nasrin, Bangladeshi author
 * 1962  – Theresa Andrews, American competition swimmer and Olympic champion
 * 1962  – Vivian Campbell, Northern Irish rock guitarist and songwriter
 * 1962  – Michael Zorc, German footballer
 * 1963 – Miro Cerar, Slovenian lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Slovenia
 * 1963  – Shock G, American rapper and producer (d. 2021)
 * 1963  – Tiina Intelmann, Estonian lawyer and diplomat
 * 1964 – Azmin Ali, Malaysian mathematician and politician
 * 1964  – Maxim Kontsevich, Russian-American mathematician and academic
 * 1964  – Blair Underwood, American actor
 * 1965 – Cornelius Bennett, American football player
 * 1965  – Tim Cain, American video game designer
 * 1965  – Sanjeev Sharma, Indian cricketer and coach
 * 1965  – Mia Zapata, American singer (d. 1993)
 * 1966 – Albert Belle, American baseball player
 * 1966  – Robert Maschio, American actor
 * 1966  – Derek Sherinian, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
 * 1966  – Terminator X, American hip-hop DJ
 * 1967 – Tom Hollander, English actor
 * 1967  – Jeff Tweedy, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
 * 1968 – David Alan Basche, American actor
 * 1968  – Yuri Mitsui, Japanese actress, model, and race car driver
 * 1968  – Stuart Murdoch, Scottish singer-songwriter
 * 1968  – Spider One, American singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1968  – Rachael Ray, American chef, author, and television host
 * 1968  – Takeshi Ueda, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1969 – Olga Konkova, Norwegian-Russian pianist and composer
 * 1969  – Cameron Mathison, Canadian actor and television personality
 * 1969  – Catriona Matthew, Scottish golfer
 * 1969  – Vivek Razdan, Indian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
 * 1970 – Doug Glanville, American baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1970  – Debbie Graham, American tennis player
 * 1970  – Robert Horry, American basketball player and sportscaster
 * 1970  – Adrian Lam, Papua New Guinean-Australian rugby league player and coach
 * 1970  – Jo Dee Messina, American singer-songwriter
 * 1970  – Claudia Schiffer, German model and fashion designer
 * 1971 – Jason Death, Australian rugby league player
 * 1971  – Nathan Page, Australian actor
 * 1972 – Marvin Harrison, American football player
 * 1973 – Fatih Akın, German director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1974 – Eric Millegan, American actor
 * 1974  – Pablo Ozuna, Dominican baseball player
 * 1975 – Brad Drew, Australian rugby league player
 * 1975  – Petria Thomas, Australian swimmer and coach
 * 1976 – Damon Jones, American basketball player and coach
 * 1976  – Javed Qadeer, Pakistani cricketer and coach
 * 1976  – Alexander Skarsgård, Swedish actor
 * 1977 – Masumi Asano, Japanese voice actress and producer
 * 1977  – Andy McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1977  – Jonathan Togo, American actor
 * 1978 – Kel Mitchell, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1978  – Robert Mohr, German rugby player
 * 1979 – Marlon Harewood, English footballer
 * 1979  – Philipp Mißfelder, German historian and politician (d. 2015)
 * 1979  – Deanna Nolan, American basketball player
 * 1981 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
 * 1981  – Jan-Berrie Burger, Namibian cricketer
 * 1981  – Camille Pin, French tennis player
 * 1982 – Jung Jung-suk, South Korean footballer (d. 2011)
 * 1982  – Nick Schultz, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1983 – James Rossiter, English race car driver
 * 1984 – Florian Mohr, German footballer
 * 1984  – Anya Monzikova, Russian-American model and actress
 * 1986 – Rodney Ferguson, American footballer
 * 1987 – Stacey Farber, Canadian actress
 * 1987  – Velimir Jovanović, Serbian footballer
 * 1987  – Blake Lively, American model and actress
 * 1987  – Amy Macdonald, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1987  – Justin Upton, American baseball player
 * 1987  – Adam Warren, American baseball player
 * 1987  – James Wesolowski, Australian footballer
 * 1988 – Angela Park, Brazilian-American golfer
 * 1988  – Giga Chikadze, Georgian mixed martial artist and kickboxer
 * 1989 – Hiram Mier, Mexican footballer
 * 1990 – Max Muncy, American baseball player
 * 1992 – Miyabi Natsuyaki, Japanese singer and actress
 * 1992  – Ricardo Rodriguez, Swiss footballer
 * 1994 – Edmunds Augstkalns, Latvian ice hockey player
 * 1994  – Caris LeVert, American basketball player
 * 1998 – China Anne McClain, American actress and singer
 * 2003 – Rebeka Jančová, Slovak alpine ski racer

Pre-1600

 * AD 79 – Pliny the Elder, Roman commander and philosopher (b. 23)
 * 274 – Yang Yan, Jin Dynasty empress (b. 238)
 * 306 – Saint Maginus, Christian hermit and martyr from Tarragona
 * 383 – Gratian, Roman emperor (b. 359)
 * 471 – Gennadius I, patriarch of Constantinople
 * 766 – Constantine Podopagouros, Byzantine official
 * 766  – Strategios Podopagouros, Byzantine general
 * 985 – Dietrich of Haldensleben, German margrave
 * 1091 – Sisnando Davides, military leader
 * 1192 – Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1142)
 * 1258 – George Mouzalon, regent of the Empire of Nicaea
 * 1270 – Louis IX of France (b. 1214)
 * 1270  – Alphonso of Brienne (b. c. 1225)
 * 1271 – Joan, Countess of Toulouse (b. 1220)
 * 1282 – Thomas de Cantilupe, English bishop and saint (b. 1218)
 * 1322 – Beatrice of Silesia, queen consort of Germany (b. c. 1292)
 * 1327 – Demasq Kaja, Chobanid
 * 1330 – Sir James Douglas, Scottish guerrilla leader (b. 1286)
 * 1339 – Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham (b. 1260)
 * 1368 – Andrea Orcagna, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect
 * 1482 – Margaret of Anjou wife of Henry VI and Queen of England (b. 1429)
 * 1485 – William Catesby, supporter of Richard III (b. 1450)
 * 1554 – Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, English soldier and politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1473)
 * 1592 – William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (b. 1532)
 * 1600 – Hosokawa Gracia, Japanese aristocrat and Catholic convert (b. 1563)

1601–1900

 * 1603 – Ahmad al-Mansur, Sultan of the Saadi dynasty (b. 1549)
 * 1631 – Nicholas Hyde, Lord Chief Justice of England (b.c. 1572)
 * 1632 – Thomas Dekker, English author and playwright (b. 1572)
 * 1688 – Henry Morgan, Welsh admiral and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica (b. 1635)
 * 1699 – Christian V of Denmark (b. 1646)
 * 1711 – Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1656)
 * 1742 – Carlos Seixas, Portuguese organist and composer (b. 1704)
 * 1774 – Niccolò Jommelli, Italian composer and educator (b. 1714)
 * 1776 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1711)
 * 1794 – Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian diplomat (b. 1727)
 * 1797 – Thomas Chittenden, Governor of the Vermont Republic, and first Governor of the State of Vermont (b. 1730)
 * 1815 – Stephen Badlam, American artisan and military officer (b. 1815)
 * 1819 – James Watt, Scottish engineer and instrument maker (b. 1736)
 * 1822 – William Herschel, German-English astronomer and composer (b. 1738)
 * 1867 – Michael Faraday, English physicist and chemist (b. 1791)
 * 1882 – Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, Estonian physician and author (b. 1803)
 * 1886 – Zinovios Valvis, Greek lawyer and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1791)
 * 1892 – William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1808)
 * 1900 – Friedrich Nietzsche, German philologist, philosopher, and critic (b. 1844)

1901–present

 * 1904 – Henri Fantin-Latour, French painter and lithographer (b. 1836)
 * 1908 – Henri Becquerel, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
 * 1916 – Mary Tappan Wright, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1851)
 * 1921 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic (b. 1886)
 * 1924 – Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general and politician (b. 1818)
 * 1924  – Velma Caldwell Melville, American editor, and writer of prose and poetry (b. 1858)
 * 1925 – Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Austrian field marshal (b. 1852)
 * 1930 – Frankie Campbell, American boxer (b. 1904)
 * 1931 – Dorothea Fairbridge, South African author and co-founder of Guild of Loyal Women (b. 1862)
 * 1936 – Juliette Adam, French author (b. 1836)
 * 1938 – Aleksandr Kuprin, Russian pilot, explorer, and author (b. 1870)
 * 1939 – Babe Siebert, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1904)
 * 1940 – Prince Jean, Duke of Guise (b. 1874)
 * 1942 – Prince George, Duke of Kent (b. 1902)
 * 1945 – John Birch, American soldier and missionary (b. 1918)
 * 1956 – Alfred Kinsey, American biologist and academic (b. 1894)
 * 1965 – Moonlight Graham, American baseball player and physician (b. 1879)
 * 1966 – Lao She, Chinese novelist and dramatist (b. 1899)
 * 1967 – Stanley Bruce, Australian lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1883)
 * 1967  – Oscar Cabalén, Argentine race car driver (b. 1928)
 * 1967  – Paul Muni, Ukrainian-born American actor (b. 1895)
 * 1967  – George Lincoln Rockwell, American commander, politician, and activist, founded the American Nazi Party (b. 1918)
 * 1968 – Stan McCabe, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1910)
 * 1969 – Robert Cosgrove, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1884)
 * 1970 – Tachū Naitō, Japanese architect and engineer, designed the Tokyo Tower (b. 1886)
 * 1971 – Ted Lewis, American singer and clarinet player (b. 1890)
 * 1973 – Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám, Hungarian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1875)
 * 1976 – Eyvind Johnson, Swedish novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
 * 1977 – Károly Kós, Hungarian architect, ethnologist, and politician (b. 1883)
 * 1979 – Stan Kenton, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1911)
 * 1980 – Gower Champion, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1919)
 * 1981 – Nassos Kedrakas, Greek actor and cinematographer (b. 1915)
 * 1982 – Anna German, Polish singer (b. 1936)
 * 1984 – Truman Capote, American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
 * 1984  – Viktor Chukarin, Ukrainian gymnast and coach (b. 1921)
 * 1984  – Waite Hoyt, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1899)
 * 1988 – Art Rooney, American businessman, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (b. 1901)
 * 1990 – Morley Callaghan, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1903)
 * 1995 – Doug Stegmeyer, American bass player and producer (b. 1951)
 * 1998 – Lewis F. Powell, Jr., American lawyer and Supreme Court justice (b. 1907)
 * 1999 – Rob Fisher, English keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1956)
 * 2000 – Carl Barks, American author and illustrator (b. 1901)
 * 2000  – Frederick C. Bock, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
 * 2000  – Jack Nitzsche, American pianist, composer, and producer (b. 1937)
 * 2000  – Allen Woody, American bass player and songwriter  (b. 1955)
 * 2001 – Aaliyah, American singer and actress (b. 1979)
 * 2001  – Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
 * 2001  – Üzeyir Garih, Turkish engineer and businessman, co-founded Alarko Holding (b. 1929)
 * 2001  – Ken Tyrrell, English race car driver and businessman, founded Tyrrell Racing (b. 1924)
 * 2002 – Dorothy Hewett, Australian author and poet (b. 1923)
 * 2003 – Tom Feelings, American author and illustrator (b. 1933)
 * 2005 – Peter Glotz, Czech-German academic and politician (b. 1939)
 * 2006 – Noor Hassanali, Trinidadian-Tobagonian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1918)
 * 2007 – Benjamin Aaron, American lawyer and scholar (b. 1915)
 * 2007  – Ray Jones, English footballer (b. 1988)
 * 2008 – Ahmad Faraz, Pakistani poet (b. 1931)
 * 2008  – Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (b. 1964)
 * 2009 – Ted Kennedy, American politician (b. 1932)
 * 2009  – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1940)
 * 2011 – Lazar Mojsov, Macedonian politician (b. 1920)
 * 2012 – Florencio Amarilla, Paraguayan footballer, coach, and actor (b. 1935)
 * 2012  – Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
 * 2012  – Roberto González Barrera, Mexican banker and businessman (b. 1930)
 * 2012  – Donald Gorrie, Scottish politician (b. 1933)
 * 2013 – Ciril Bergles, Slovene poet and translator (b. 1934)
 * 2013  – António Borges, Portuguese economist and banker (b. 1949)
 * 2013  – William Froug, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1922)
 * 2013  – Liu Fuzhi, Chinese academic and politician, 3rd Minister of Justice for China (b. 1917)
 * 2013  – Raghunath Panigrahi, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
 * 2013  – Gylmar dos Santos Neves, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
 * 2014 – William Greaves, American director and producer (b. 1926)
 * 2014  – Marcel Masse, Canadian educator and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1936)
 * 2014  – Nico M. M. Nibbering, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1938)
 * 2014  – Uziah Thompson, Jamaican-American drummer and producer (b. 1936)
 * 2014  – Enrique Zileri, Peruvian journalist and publisher (b. 1931)
 * 2015 – José María Benegas, Spanish lawyer and politician (b. 1948)
 * 2015  – Francis Sejersted, Norwegian historian and academic (b. 1936)
 * 2016 – Marvin Kaplan, American actor (b. 1927)
 * 2017 – Rich Piana, American bodybuilder (b. 1971)
 * 2018 – John McCain, American politician (b. 1936)
 * 2019 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian business magnate and engineer (b. 1937)
 * 2022 – Mable John, American blues vocalist (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast day:
 * Æbbe of Coldingham
 * Aredius
 * Genesius of Arles
 * Genesius of Rome
 * Ginés de la Jara (or Genesius of Cartagena)
 * Gregory of Utrecht
 * Joseph Calasanz
 * Louis IX of France
 * Blessed Ludovicus Baba
 * Blessed Ludovicus Sasada
 * Blessed Luis Sotelo
 * Menas of Constantinople
 * Blessed Miguel de Carvalho
 * Patricia of Naples
 * Blessed Pedro Vásquez
 * Thomas de Cantilupe (or of Hereford)
 * August 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Day of Songun (North Korea)
 * Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Uruguay from Brazil in 1825.
 * Soldier's Day (Brazil)

title: August 25


text:
Aachen

Aachen (, ; French: Aix-la-Chapelle; Oche ; Aquae Granni or Aquisgranum) is the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants.

Aachen is located at the northern foothills of the High Fens and the Eifel Mountains. It sits on the Wurm River, a tributary of the Rur, and together with Mönchengladbach, it is the only larger German city in the drainage basin of the Meuse. It is the westernmost larger city in Germany, lying approximately 61 km west of Cologne and Bonn, directly bordering Belgium in the southwest, and the Netherlands in the northwest. The Vaalserberg, highest elevation in the European Netherlands, with the three-country point on its summit, is located within Aachen's city limits. The city lies in the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion and is the seat of the district of Aachen (Städteregion Aachen).

The once Celtic settlement was equipped with several thermae in the course of colonization by Roman pioneers settling at the warm Aachen thermal springs around the 1st century. After the withdrawal of the Roman troops, the vicus Aquae Granni was Germanized by the Franks around the 5th century. This was followed by a period of sedentism under first Merovingian and then Carolingian rule. With the completion of the Carolingian Palace of Aachen at the transition to the 9th century, Aachen was finally constituted as the main royal residence of the Frankish Empire ruled by Charlemagne. Because of that the city is sometimes called cradle of Europe. After the Treaty of Verdun, the city found itself within the borders of Middle Francia, until it became part of East Francia after the Treaty of Meerssen (870). It subsequently was a city within the Holy Roman Empire and was granted city rights in 1166 by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, becoming an imperial city. It served as the coronation site where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans from 936 (Otto the Great) to 1531 (Ferdinand I), until Frankfurt am Main became the preferred place of coronation.

One of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology, the RWTH Aachen University (Rheinisch-Westfälisch Technische Hochschule Aachen), is located in the city. Its university hospital Uniklinikum Aachen is Europe's largest single-building hospital. Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology. In 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation.

The regional dialect spoken in the city is a Central Franconian, Ripuarian variant with strong Limburgish influences from the dialects in the neighbouring Netherlands. As a Rhenish city, Aachen is one of the main centres of carnival celebrations in Germany, along with Cologne and Mainz. The culinary specialty for which the city is best known is Aachener Printen, a type of gingerbread.

Etymology
The name Aachen is a modern descendant, like southern German Ach(e), Aach, meaning "river" or "stream", from 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 "waters of Grannus", referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs. This word became Åxhe in Walloon and Aix in French, and subsequently Aix-la-Chapelle after Charlemagne had his palatine chapel built there in the late 8th century and then made the city his empire's capital.

As a spa city, Aachen had the right to name itself Bad Aachen, but chose not to. Aachen's name in French and German evolved in parallel. The city is known by a variety of different names in other languages:

Early history
Flint quarries on the Lousberg, Schneeberg, and Königshügel, first used during Neolithic times (3000–2500 BC), attest to the long occupation of the site of Aachen, as do recent finds under the modern city's Elisengarten pointing to a former settlement from the same period. Bronze Age (around 1600 BC) settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows (burial mounds) found, for example, on the Klausberg. During the Iron Age, the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basin's hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus, god of light and healing.

Later, the 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian, around 124 AD. Instead, the fictitious founder refers to the Celtic god, and it seems it was the Roman 6th Legion at the start of the 1st century AD that first channelled the hot springs into a spa at Büchel, adding at the end of the same century the Münstertherme spa, two water pipelines, and a probable sanctuary dedicated to Grannus. A kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was also an extensive residential area. The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid. A temple precinct called Vernenum was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim. Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the Elisenbrunnen and the Burtscheid bathhouse.

Roman civil administration in Aachen eventually broke down as the baths and other public buildings (along with most of the villae rusticae of the surrounding countryside) were destroyed around AD 375 at the start of the migration period. The last Roman coin finds are from the time of Emperor Gratian (AD 375–383). Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated. By 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne. During the Roman period, Aachen was the site of a flourishing Jewish community.

Middle Ages
After Roman times, Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons as it is located between the Rhineland and northern France. Einhard mentions that in 765–766 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa (Et celebravit natalem Domini in Aquis villa et pascha similiter) ("and [he] celebrated the birth of the Lord [Christmas] in the town Aquis, and similarly Easter"), which must have been sufficiently equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks, 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time. He remained there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of the Palatine Chapel (since 1930, cathedral) and the Palace.

Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. During the Carolingian empire, a Jewish community lived near the royal palace. In Jewish texts, the city of Aachen was called Aish or Ash (אש). In 797, Isaac, a Jewish merchant, accompanied two ambassadors of Charlemagne to the court of Harun al-Rashid. He returned to Aachen in July 802, bearing an elephant called Abul-Abbas as a gift for the emperor. After Charlemagne's death, he was buried in the church which he had built; his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the Karlsschrein, the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never officially acknowledged by the Roman Curia as such. In 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks under Lothair raided Aachen in 978. Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne, who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent. Odo relinquished it quickly and was killed soon afterwards. The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176. Over the next 500 years, most kings of Germany destined to reign over the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen. The original audience hall built by Charlemagne was torn down and replaced by the current city hall in 1330. During the 13th century, many Jews converted to Christianity, as shown in the records of the Aachen Minster (today's Cathedral). In 1486, the Jews of Aachen offered gifts to Maximilian I during his coronation ceremony. The last king to be crowned here was Ferdinand I in 1531.

During the Middle Ages, Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders; it achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The city remained a free imperial city, subject to the emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours. The only dominion it had was over Burtscheid, a neighbouring territory ruled by a Benedictine abbess, which was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the "Aachener Reich".

As an imperial city, Aachen held certain political privileges that allowed it to remain independent of the troubles of Europe for many years. It remained a direct vassal of the Holy Roman Empire throughout most of the Middle Ages. It was also the site of many important church councils, including the Council of 837 and the Council of 1166, a council convened by the antipope Paschal III.

Manuscript production
Aachen has proved an important site for the production of historical manuscripts. Under Charlemagne's purview, both the Ada Gospels and the Coronation Gospels may have been produced in Aachen. In addition, quantities of the other texts in the court library were also produced locally. During the reign of Louis the Pious (814–840), substantial quantities of ancient texts were produced at Aachen, including legal manuscripts such as the leges scriptorium group, patristic texts including the five manuscripts of the Bamberg Pliny Group. Finally, under Lothair I (840–855), texts of outstanding quality were still being produced. This however marked the end of the period of manuscript production at Aachen.

16th–18th centuries

In 1598, following the invasion of Spanish troops from the Netherlands, Rudolf deposed all Protestant office holders in Aachen and even went as far as expelling them from the city. From the early 16th century, Aachen started to lose its power and influence. First the coronations of emperors were moved from Aachen to Frankfurt. This was followed by the religious wars and the great fire of 1656. After the destruction of most of the city in 1656, the rebuilding was mostly in the Baroque style. The decline of Aachen culminated in 1794, when the French, led by General Charles Dumouriez, occupied Aachen.

In 1542, the Dutch humanist and physician Francis Fabricius published his study of the health benefits of the hot springs in Aachen. By the middle of the 17th century, the city had developed a considerable reputation as a spa, although this was in part because Aachen was then – and remained well into the 19th and early 20th century – a place of high-level prostitution. Traces of this hidden agenda of the city's history are found in the 18th-century guidebooks to Aachen as well as to the other spas.

The main indication for visiting patients, ironically, was syphilis; only by the end of the 19th century had rheumatism become the most important object of cures at Aachen and Burtscheid.

Aachen was chosen as the site of several important congresses and peace treaties: the first congress of Aachen (often referred to as the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in English) on 2 May 1668, leading to the First Treaty of Aachen in the same year which ended the War of Devolution. The second congress ended with the second treaty in 1748, ending the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1789, there was a constitutional crisis in the Aachen government, and in 1794 Aachen lost its status as a free imperial city.

In 1629, the Aachen Jewish community was expelled from the city. In 1667, six Jews were allowed to return. Most of the Aachen Jewish community settled in Burtscheid. As recently as the late 18th century the Abbess of Burtscheid was still prevented from building a road linking her territory to the neighbouring estates of the duke of Jülich; the city of Aachen deployed its handful of soldiers to chase away road-diggers.

19th century
On 9 February 1801, the Peace of Lunéville removed the ownership of Aachen and the entire "left bank" of the Rhine from Germany (the Holy Roman Empire) and granted it to France. In 1815, control of the town was passed to the Kingdom of Prussia through an agreement reached by the Congress of Vienna. The third congress took place in 1818, to decide the fate of occupied Napoleonic France.

By the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation had swept away most of the city's medieval rules of production and commerce, although the entirely corrupt remains of the city's medieval constitution were kept in place (compare the famous remarks of Georg Forster in his Ansichten vom Niederrhein) until 1801, when Aachen became the "chef-lieu du département de la Roer" in Napoleon's First French Empire. In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Prussia took over within the new German Confederation. The city was one of its most socially and politically backward centres until the end of the 19th century. Administered within the Rhine Province, by 1880 the population was 80,000. Starting in 1838, the railway from Cologne to Belgium passed through Aachen. The city suffered extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions until 1875, when the medieval fortifications were finally abandoned as a limit to building and new, better housing was built in the east of the city, where sanitary drainage was easiest. In December 1880, the Aachen tramway network was opened, and in 1895 it was electrified. In the 19th century and up to the 1930s, the city was important in the production of railway locomotives and carriages, iron, pins, needles, buttons, tobacco, woollen goods, and silk goods.

World War II
After World War I, Aachen was occupied by the Allies until 1930, along with the rest of German territory west of the Rhine. Aachen was one of the locations involved in the ill-fated Rhenish Republic. On 21 October 1923, an armed mob took over the city hall. Similar actions took place in Mönchen-Gladbach, Duisburg, and Krefeld. This republic lasted only about a year.

Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II. According to Jörg Friedrich in The Fire (2008), two Allied air raids on 11 April and 24 May 1944 "radically destroyed" the city. The first killed 1,525, including 212 children, and bombed six hospitals. During the second, 442 aircraft hit two railway stations, killed 207, and left 15,000 homeless. The raids also destroyed Aachen-Eilendorf and Aachen-Burtscheid.

The city and its fortified surroundings were besieged from 12 September to 21 October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division with the 3rd Armored Division assisting from the south. Around 13 October the US 2nd Armored Division, coming from the north, and got as close as Würselen, while the 30th Infantry Division completed the encirclement of Aachen on 16 October 1944. With reinforcements from the US 28th Infantry Division the battle continued involving direct assaults through the heavily defended city, which finally forced the German garrison to surrender on 21 October 1944.

Aachen was the first German city to be captured by the Western Allies, and its residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators. What remained of the city was destroyed—in some areas completely—during the fighting, mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders. Damaged buildings included the medieval churches of St. Foillan, St. Paul and St. Nicholas, and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral was largely unscathed. Only 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders. Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff, was assassinated by an SS commando unit.

Expulsion of Aachen Jews
On 16 May 1815, the Jewish community of the city offered an homage in its synagogue to the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm III. In 1862, a large synagogue was built, later called the Old Synagogue (Aachen). By 1933, 1,345 Jews lived in the city. On Kristallnacht in 1938, the synagogue was destroyed. By the onset of World War II in 1939, many Jews had emigrated or were arrested, and only 782 remained in the city. At the end of the war in 1945, only 62 Jews lived in the city. As of 2003, 1,434 Jews were again living in Aachen.

21st century
The city of Aachen has developed into a technology hub as a by-product of hosting one of the leading universities of technology in Germany with the RWTH Aachen (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule), known especially for mechanical engineering, automotive and manufacturing technology as well as for its research and academic hospital Klinikum Aachen, one of the largest medical facilities in Europe.

Geography

Aachen is located in the middle of the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion, close to the border tripoint of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The town of Vaals in the Netherlands lies nearby at about 6 km from Aachen's city centre, while the Dutch city of Heerlen and Eupen, the capital of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, are both located about 20 km from Aachen city centre. 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 30 km 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 21.6 km from north to south, and 17.2 km from east to west. The city limits are 87.7 km long, of which 23.8 km border Belgium and 21.8 km the Netherlands. The highest point in Aachen, located in the far southeast of the city, lies at an elevation of 410 m above sea level. The lowest point, in the north, and on the border with the Netherlands, is at 125 m.

Climate
As the westernmost city in Germany (and close to the Low Countries), Aachen and the surrounding area belongs to a temperate climate zone (Cfb), 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, while the July average is 18.5 °C. Precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year.

The city's oceanic climate provides comparably mild winters: While Aachen falls within the coldest extents covered by USDA plant hardiness zone 8b in the 1991-2020 period, having an average yearly minimum of -9.22 °C (15.4 °F), the Canadian city of Regina, Saskatchewan which is located at a similar latitude but at the heart of the North American landmass, far away from the sea's moderating effects, is classified as being in zone 3a.

Geology

The geology of Aachen is very structurally heterogeneous. The oldest occurring rocks in the area surrounding the city originate from the Devonian period and include carboniferous sandstone, greywacke, claystone and limestone. These formations are part of the Rhenish Massif, north of the High Fens. In the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous geological period, these rock layers were narrowed and folded as a result of the Variscan orogeny. After this event, and over the course of the following 200 million years, this area has been continuously flattened.

During the Cretaceous period, the ocean penetrated the continent from the direction of the North Sea up to the mountainous area near Aachen, bringing with it clay, sand, and chalk deposits. While the clay (which was the basis for a major pottery industry in nearby Raeren) is mostly found in the lower areas of Aachen, the hills of the Aachen Forest and the Lousberg were formed from upper Cretaceous sand and chalk deposits. More recent sedimentation is mainly located in the north and east of Aachen and was formed through tertiary and quaternary river and wind activities.

Along the major thrust fault of the Variscan orogeny, there are over 30 thermal springs in Aachen and Burtscheid. Additionally, the subsurface of Aachen is traversed by numerous active faults that belong to the Rurgraben fault system, which has been responsible for numerous earthquakes in the past, including the 1756 Düren earthquake and the 1992 Roermond earthquake, which was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Netherlands.

Demographics
Aachen has 245,885 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2015), of whom 118,272 are female, and 127,613 are male.

At the end of 2009, the foreign-born residents of Aachen made up 13.6 percent of the total population. A significant portion of foreign residents are students at the RWTH Aachen University.

Dialect
Aachen is at the western end of the Benrath line that divides High German to the south from the rest of the West Germanic speech area to the north. Aachen's local dialect is called Öcher Platt and belongs to Ripuarian.

Boroughs
The city is divided into seven administrative districts, or boroughs, each with its own district council, district leader, and district authority. The councils are elected locally by those who live within the district, and these districts are further subdivided into smaller sections for statistical purposes, with each sub-district named by a two-digit number.

The districts of Aachen, including their constituent statistical districts, are:
 * Aachen-Mitte: 10 Markt, 13 Theater, 14 Lindenplatz, 15 St. Jakob, 16 Westpark, 17 Hanbruch, 18 Hörn, 21 Ponttor, 22 Hansemannplatz, 23 Soers, 24 Jülicher Straße, 25 Kalkofen, 31 Kaiserplatz, 32 Adalbertsteinweg, 33 Panneschopp, 34 Rothe Erde, 35 Trierer Straße, 36 Frankenberg, 37 Forst, 41 Beverau, 42 Burtscheid Kurgarten, 43 Burtscheid Abbey, 46 Burtscheid Steinebrück, 47 Marschiertor, 48 Hangeweiher
 * Brand: 51 Brand
 * Eilendorf: 52 Eilendorf
 * Haaren: 53 Haaren (including Verlautenheide)
 * Kornelimünster/Walheim: 61 Kornelimünster, 62 Oberforstbach, 63 Walheim
 * Laurensberg: 64 Vaalserquartier, 65 Laurensberg
 * Richterich: 88 Richterich

Regardless of official statistical designations, there are 50 neighbourhoods and communities within Aachen, here arranged by district:
 * Aachen-Mitte: Beverau, Bildchen, Burtscheid, Forst, Frankenberg, Grüne Eiche, Hörn, Lintert, Pontviertel, Preuswald, Ronheide, Rosviertel, Rothe Erde, Stadtmitte, Steinebrück, West
 * Brand: Brand, Eich, Freund, Hitfeld, Niederforstbach
 * Eilendorf: Eilendorf, Nirm
 * Haaren: Haaren, Hüls, Verlautenheide
 * Kornelimünster/Walheim: Friesenrath, Hahn, Kitzenhaus, Kornelimünster, Krauthausen, Lichtenbusch, Nütheim, Oberforstbach, Sief, Schleckheim, Schmithof, Walheim
 * Laurensberg: Gut Kullen, Kronenberg, Laurensberg, Lemiers, Melaten, Orsbach, Seffent, Soers, Steppenberg, Vaalserquartier, Vetschau
 * Richterich: Horbach, Huf, Richterich

Neighbouring communities
The following cities and communities border Aachen, clockwise from the northwest: Herzogenrath, Würselen, Eschweiler, Stolberg and Roetgen (which are all in the district of Aachen); Raeren, Kelmis and Plombières (Liège Province in Belgium) as well as Vaals, Gulpen-Wittem, Simpelveld, Heerlen and Kerkrade (all in Limburg Province in the Netherlands).

Mayor
The current Mayor of Aachen is Sibylle Keupen, an independent endorsed by Alliance 90/The Greens, since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 101,999 ! 99.2 ! 79,688 ! 99.3 ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 819 ! 0.8 ! 532 ! 0.7 ! colspan=3| Total ! 102,818 ! 100.0 ! 80,220 ! 100.0 ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 192,502 ! 53.4 ! 192,435 ! 41.7
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Sibylle Keupen
 * align=left| Independent (Green)
 * 39,662
 * 38.9
 * 53,685
 * 67.4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Harald Baal
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union
 * 25,253
 * 24.8
 * 26,003
 * 32.6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Mathias Dopatka
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party
 * 23,031
 * 22.6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Markus Mohr
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany
 * 3,387
 * 3.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Wilhelm Helg
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party
 * 3,122
 * 3.1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Leo Deumens
 * align=left| The Left
 * 2,397
 * 2.4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Hubert vom Venn
 * align=left| Die PARTEI
 * 2,112
 * 2.1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Jörg Polzin
 * align=left| Independent
 * 938
 * 0.9
 * align=left| Ralf Haupts
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association Aachen
 * 932
 * 0.9
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Matthias Achilles
 * align=left| Pirate Party Germany
 * 848
 * 0.8
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Adonis Böving
 * align=left| Independent
 * 317
 * 0.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Matthias Achilles
 * align=left| Pirate Party Germany
 * 848
 * 0.8
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Adonis Böving
 * align=left| Independent
 * 317
 * 0.3
 * 317
 * 0.3
 * colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer
 * }
 * }

City council
The Aachen city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 101,863 ! 99.1 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 918 ! 0.9 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 102,781 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! 18 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 192,502 ! 53.4 ! 0.7 ! !
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
 * 34,712
 * 34.1
 * 17.5
 * 20
 * 7
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
 * 25,268
 * 24.8
 * 11.5
 * 14
 * 14
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)
 * 18,676
 * 18.3
 * 7.7
 * 11
 * 9
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)
 * 5,042
 * 4.9
 * 0.5
 * 3
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| The Left (Die Linke)
 * 4,694
 * 4.6
 * 1.5
 * 3
 * 2
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD)
 * 3,816
 * 3.7
 * 1.2
 * 2
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Volt Germany (Volt)
 * 3,784
 * 3.7
 * New
 * 2
 * New
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Die PARTEI (PARTEI)
 * 2,295
 * 2.3
 * 1.8
 * 1
 * 1
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association Aachen (UWG)
 * 1,632
 * 1.6
 * 0.2
 * 1
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)
 * 1,226
 * 1.2
 * 2.2
 * 1
 * 2
 * colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey|
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)
 * 673
 * 0.7
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * align=left| Voter Group
 * 45
 * 0.0
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)
 * 673
 * 0.7
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * align=left| Voter Group
 * 45
 * 0.0
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer
 * }
 * }

Cathedral

Aachen Cathedral was erected on the orders of Charlemagne. Construction began c. AD 796, and it was, on completion c. 798, the largest cathedral north of the Alps. It was modelled after the Basilica of San Vitale, in Ravenna, Italy, and was built by Odo of Metz. Charlemagne also desired for the chapel to compete with the Lateran Palace, both in quality and authority. It was originally built in the Carolingian style, including marble covered walls, and mosaic inlay on the dome. On his death, Charlemagne's remains were interred in the cathedral and can be seen there to this day. The cathedral was extended several times in later ages, turning it into a curious and unique mixture of building styles. The throne and gallery portion date from the Ottonian, with portions of the original opus sectile floor still visible. The 13th century saw gables being added to the roof, and after the fire of 1656, the dome was rebuilt. Finally, a choir was added around the start of the 15th century.

After Frederick Barbarossa canonised Charlemagne in 1165 the chapel became a destination for pilgrims. For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen Cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. The church built by Charlemagne is still the main attraction of the city. In addition to holding the remains of its founder, it became the burial place of his successor Otto III. In the upper chamber of the gallery, Charlemagne's marble throne is housed. Aachen Cathedral has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Most of the marble and columns used in the construction of the cathedral were brought from Rome and Ravenna, including the sarcophagus in which Charlemagne was eventually laid to rest. A bronze bear from Gaul was placed inside, along with an equestrian statue from Ravenna, believed to be Theodric, in contrast to a wolf and a statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline. Bronze pieces such as the doors and railings, some of which have survived to present day, were cast in a local foundry. Finally, there is uncertainty surrounding the bronze pine cone in the chapel, and where it was created. Wherever it was made, it was also a parallel to a piece in Rome, this in Old St. Peter's Basilica.

Cathedral Treasury

Aachen Cathedral Treasury has housed, throughout its history, a collection of liturgical objects. The origin of this church treasure is in dispute as some say Charlemagne himself endowed his chapel with the original collection, while the rest were collected over time. Others say all of the objects were collected over time, from such places as Jerusalem and Constantinople. The location of this treasury has moved over time and was unknown until the 15th century when it was located in the Matthiaskapelle (St. Matthew's Chapel) until 1873, when it was moved to the Karlskapelle (Charles' Chapel). From there it was moved to the Hungarian Chapel in 1881 and in 1931 to its present location next to the Allerseelenkapelle (Poor Souls' Chapel). Only six of the original Carolingian objects have remained, and of those only three are left in Aachen: the Aachen Gospels, a diptych of Christ, and an early Byzantine silk. The Coronation Gospels and a reliquary burse of St. Stephen were moved to Vienna in 1798 and the Talisman of Charlemagne was given as a gift in 1804 to Josephine Bonaparte and subsequently to Rheims Cathedral. 210 documented pieces have been added to the treasury since its inception, typically to receive in return legitimisation of linkage to the heritage of Charlemagne. The Lothar Cross, the Gospels of Otto III and multiple additional Byzantine silks were donated by Otto III. Part of the Pala d'Oro and a covering for the Aachen Gospels were made of gold donated by Henry II. Frederick Barbarossa donated the candelabrum that adorns the dome and also once "crowned" the Shrine of Charlemagne, which was placed underneath in 1215. Charles IV donated a pair of reliquaries. Louis XI gave, in 1475, the crown of Margaret of York, and, in 1481, another arm reliquary of Charlemagne. Maximilian I and Charles V both gave numerous works of art by Hans von Reutlingen. Continuing the tradition, objects continued to be donated until the present, each indicative of the period of its gifting, with the last documented gift being a chalice from 1960 made by Ewald Mataré.

Rathaus
The Aachen Rathaus, (English: Aachen City Hall or Aachen Town Hall) dated from 1330, lies between two central squares, the Markt (marketplace) and the Katschhof (between city hall and cathedral). The coronation hall is on the first floor of the building. Inside one can find five frescoes by the Aachen artist Alfred Rethel which show legendary scenes from the life of Charlemagne, as well as Charlemagne's signature. Also, precious replicas of the Imperial Regalia are kept here.

Since 2009, the city hall has been a station on the Route Charlemagne, a tour programme by which historical sights of Aachen are presented to visitors. At the city hall, a museum exhibition explains the history and art of the building and gives a sense of the historical coronation banquets that took place there. A portrait of Napoleon from 1807 by Louis-André-Gabriel Bouchet and one of his wife Joséphine from 1805 by Robert Lefèvre are viewable as part of the tour.

As before, the city hall is the seat of the mayor of Aachen and of the city council, and annually the Charlemagne Prize is awarded there.

Other sights
The Grashaus, a late medieval house at the Fischmarkt, is one of the oldest non-religious buildings in central Aachen. It hosted the city archive, and before that, the Grashaus was the city hall until the present building took over this function.

The Elisenbrunnen is one of the most famous sights of Aachen. It is a neo-classical hall covering one of the city's famous fountains. It is just a minute away from the cathedral. Just a few steps in a south-easterly direction lies the 19th-century theatre.

Also of note are two remaining city gates, the Ponttor (Pont gate), 1/2 mi northwest of the cathedral, and the Marschiertor (marching gate), close to the central railway station. There are also a few parts of both medieval city walls left, most of them integrated into more recent buildings, but some others still visible. There are even five towers left, some of which are used for housing.

St. Michael's Church, Aachen was built as a church of the Aachen Jesuit Collegium in 1628. It is attributed to the Rhine mannerism, and a sample of a local Renaissance architecture. The rich façade remained unfinished until 1891, when the architect Peter Friedrich Peters added to it. The church is a Greek Orthodox church today, but the building is used also for concerts because of its good acoustics.

The synagogue in Aachen, which was destroyed on the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht), 9 November 1938, was reinaugurated on 18 May 1995. One of the contributors to the reconstructions of the synagogue was Jürgen Linden, the Lord Mayor of Aachen from 1989 to 2009.

There are numerous other notable churches and monasteries, a few remarkable 17th- and 18th-century buildings in the particular Baroque style typical of the region, a synagogue, a collection of statues and monuments, park areas, cemeteries, among others. Among the museums in the town are the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, which has a fine sculpture collection and the Aachen Museum of the International Press, which is dedicated to newspapers from the 16th century to the present. The area's industrial history is reflected in dozens of 19th- and early 20th-century manufacturing sites in the city.

Economy
Aachen is the administrative centre for the coal-mining industries in neighbouring places to the northeast.

Products manufactured in Aachen include electrical goods, fine woolen textiles, foodstuffs (chocolate and candy), glass, machinery, rubber products, furniture, metal products. Also in and around Aachen chemicals, plastics, cosmetics, and needles and pins are produced. Though once a major player in Aachen's economy, today glassware and textile production make up only 10% of total manufacturing jobs in the city. There have been a number of spin-offs from the university's IT technology department.

Electric vehicle manufacturing

In June 2010, Achim Kampker, together with Günther Schuh, founded a small company to develop electric powered light utility vehicles; in August 2014, it was renamed StreetScooter GmbH. This started as a privately organised research initiative at the RWTH Aachen University, before becoming the independent company in Aachen. Kampker was also the founder and chairman of the European Network for Affordable and Sustainable Electromobility. In May 2014, the company announced that the city of Aachen, the city council Aachen and the savings bank Aachen had ordered electric vehicles from the company. In late 2014, approximately 70 employees were manufacturing 200 vehicles annually in the premises of the Waggonfabrik Talbot, the former Talbot/Bombardier plant in Aachen.

In December 2014 DHL Group purchased the StreetScooter company from Günther, operating it as a wholly owned subsidiary.

In 2015, Günther founded a new electric vehicle company, e.GO Mobile, which started producing the e.GO Life electric passenger car and other vehicles in April 2019.

By April 2016, StreetScooter announced that it would produce 2000 of its electric vans, branded the Work, in Aachen by the end of the year, and would be scaling up to manufacture approximately 10,000 Works annually, starting in 2017, also in Aachen. At the time, this target would make it the largest electric light utility vehicle manufacturer in Europe, surpassing Renault's smaller Kangoo Z.E.

Culture

 * In 1372, Aachen became the first coin-minting city in the world to regularly place an Anno Domini date on a general circulation coin, a groschen.
 * The Scotch Club in Aachen was the first discothèque in Germany, opened from 19 October 1959 until 1992. Klaus Quirini as DJ Heinrich was the first DJ ever.
 * The thriving Aachen black metal scene is among the most notable in Germany, with such bands as Nagelfar, The Ruins of Beverast, Graupel and Verdunkeln.
 * The local speciality of Aachen is an originally hard type of sweet bread, baked in large flat loaves, called Aachener Printen. Unlike Lebkuchen, a German form of gingerbread sweetened with honey, Printen use a syrup made from sugar. Today, a soft version is sold under the same name which follows an entirely different recipe.
 * Asteroid 274835 Aachen, discovered by amateur astronomer Erwin Schwab in 2009, was named after the city. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 November 2019 (M.P.C. 118221).
 * Kammerchor Carmina Mundi, a professional chamber choir

Education

RWTH Aachen University, established as Polytechnicum in 1870, is one of Germany's Universities of Excellence with strong emphasis on technological research, especially for electrical and mechanical engineering, computer sciences, physics, and chemistry. The university clinic attached to the RWTH, the Klinikum Aachen, is the biggest single-building hospital in Europe. Over time, a host of software and computer industries have developed around the university. It also maintains a botanical garden (the Botanischer Garten Aachen).

FH Aachen, Aachen University of Applied Sciences (AcUAS) was founded in 1971. The AcUAS offers a classic engineering education in professions such as mechatronics, construction engineering, mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. German and international students are educated in more than 20 international or foreign-oriented programmes and can acquire German as well as international degrees (Bachelor/Master) or Doppelabschlüsse (double degrees). Foreign students account for more than 21% of the student body.

The Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen – Abteilung Aachen (Catholic University of Applied Sciences Northrhine-Westphalia – Aachen department) offers its some 750 students a variety of degree programmes: social work, childhood education, nursing, and co-operative management. It also has the only programme of study in Germany especially designed for mothers.

The Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Cologne University of Music) is one of the world's foremost performing arts schools and one of the largest music institutions for higher education in Europe with one of its three campuses in Aachen. The Aachen campus substantially contributes to the Opera/Musical Theatre master's programme by collaborating with the Theater Aachen and the recently established musical theatre chair through the Rheinische Opernakademie.

The German army's Technical School (Ausbildungszentrum Technik Landsysteme) is in Aachen.

Sports

The annual CHIO (short for the French term Concours Hippique International Officiel) is the biggest equestrian meeting of the world and among horsemen is considered to be as prestigious for equitation as the tournament of Wimbledon for tennis. Aachen hosted the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games.

The local football team Alemannia Aachen had a short run in Germany's first division, after its promotion in 2006. However, the team could not sustain its status and is now back in the fourth division. The stadium "Tivoli", opened in 1928, served as the venue for the team's home games and was well known for its incomparable atmosphere throughout the whole of the second division. Before the old stadium's demolition in 2011, it was used by amateurs, whilst the Bundesliga Club held its games in the new stadium "Neuer Tivoli" – meaning New Tivoli—a couple of metres down the road. The building work for the stadium which has a capacity of 32,960, began in May 2008 and was completed by the beginning of 2009.

The Ladies in Black women's volleyball team (part of the "PTSV Aachen" sports club since 2013) has played in the first German volleyball league (DVL) since 2008.

In June 2022, the local basketball club BG Aachen e.V. was promoted to the 1st regional league.

Rail
Aachen's railway station, the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), was constructed in 1841 for the Cologne–Aachen railway line. In 1905, it was moved closer to the city centre. It serves main lines to Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Liège as well as branch lines to Heerlen, Alsdorf, Stolberg and Eschweiler. ICE high speed trains from Brussels via Cologne to Frankfurt am Main and Eurostar trains from Paris to Cologne also stop at Aachen Central Station. Four RE lines and two RB lines connect Aachen with the Ruhrgebiet, Mönchengladbach, Spa (Belgium), Düsseldorf and the Siegerland. The Euregiobahn, a regional railway system, reaches several minor cities in the Aachen region.

There are four smaller stations in Aachen: Aachen West, Aachen Schanz, Aachen-Rothe Erde and Eilendorf. Slower trains stop at these. Aachen West has gained in importance with the expansion of RWTH Aachen University.

Intercity bus stations
There are two stations for intercity bus services in Aachen: Aachen West station, in the north-west of the city, and Aachen Wilmersdorfer Straße, in the north-east.

Public transport

The first horse tram line in Aachen opened in December 1880. After electrification in 1895, it attained a maximum length of 213.5 km in 1915, thus becoming the fourth-longest tram network in Germany. Many tram lines extended to the surrounding towns of Herzogenrath, Stolberg, Alsdorf as well as the Belgian and Dutch communes of Vaals, Kelmis (then Altenberg) and Eupen. The Aachen tram system was linked with the Belgian national interurban tram system. Like many tram systems in Western Europe, the Aachen tram suffered from poorly-maintained infrastructure and was so deemed unnecessary and disrupting for car drivers by local politics. On 28 September 1974, the last line 15 (Vaals–Brand) operated for one last day and was then replaced by buses. A proposal to reinstate a tram/light rail system under the name Campusbahn was dropped after a referendum.

Today, the ASEAG (Aachener Straßenbahn und Energieversorgungs-AG, literally "Aachen tram and power supply company") operates a 1240.8 km bus network with 68 bus routes. Because of the location at the border, many bus routes extend to Belgium and the Netherlands. Lines 14 to Eupen, Belgium and 44 to Heerlen, Netherlands are jointly operated with Transport en Commun and Veolia Transport Nederland, respectively. ASEAG is one of the main participants in the Aachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV), a tariff association in the region. Along with ASEAG, city bus routes of Aachen are served by private contractors such as Sadar, Taeter, Schlömer, or DB Regio Bus. Line 350, which runs from Maastricht, also enters Aachen.

Roads
Aachen is connected to the Autobahn A4 (west-east), A44 (north-south) and A544 (a smaller motorway from the A4 to the Europaplatz near the city centre). There are plans to eliminate traffic jams at the Aachen road interchange.

Airport
Maastricht Aachen Airport is the main airport of Aachen and Maastricht. It is located around 15 nmi northwest of Aachen. There is a shuttle-service between Aachen and the airport.

Recreational aviation is served by the (formerly military) Aachen Merzbrück Airfield.

Charlemagne Prize

Since 1950, a committee of Aachen citizens annually awards the Charlemagne Prize (Karlspreis) to personalities of outstanding service to the unification of Europe. It is traditionally awarded on Ascension Day at the City Hall. In 2016, the Charlemagne Award was awarded to Pope Francis.

The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen was awarded in the year 2000 to US president Bill Clinton, for his special personal contribution to co-operation with the states of Europe, for the preservation of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights in Europe, and for his support of the enlargement of the European Union. In 2004, Pope John Paul II's efforts to unite Europe were honoured with an "Extraordinary Charlemagne Medal", which was awarded for the only time ever.

Literature
Aix is the destination in Robert Browning's poem "How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix", which was published in Dramatic Romances and Lyrics, 1845. The poem is a first-person narrative told, in breathless galloping meter, by one of three riders; an urgent midnight errand to deliver "the news which alone could save Aix from her fate".

Twin towns – sister cities
Aachen is twinned with:

 * 🇫🇷 Montebourg, France (1960)
 * 🇫🇷 Reims, France (1967)
 * Halifax, England (1979)
 * 🇪🇸 Toledo, Spain (1985)
 * 🇨🇳 Ningbo, China (1986)
 * 🇩🇪 Naumburg, Germany (1988)
 * 🇺🇸 Arlington County, United States (1993)
 * 🇹🇷 Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey (2013)
 * Cape Town, South Africa (2017)

Former twin towns

 * 🇷🇺 Kostroma, Russia (2005, suspended since March 2022)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Aachen


text:
Agate

Agate is the banded variety of chalcedony, which comes in a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancient Greece, in assorted jewelry and in the seal stones of Greek warriors, while bead necklaces with pierced and polished agate date back to the 3rd millennium BCE in the Indus Valley civilisation.

Etymology
The stone was given its name by Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and naturalist, who discovered the stone along the shore line of the Dirillo River or Achates (Ἀχάτης) in Sicily, sometime between the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.

Formation and properties

Agate minerals have the tendency to form on or within pre-existing rocks, creating difficulties in accurately determining their time of formation. Their host rocks have been dated to have formed as early as the Archean Eon. Agates are most commonly found as nodules within the cavities of volcanic rocks. These cavities are formed from the gases trapped within the liquid volcanic material forming vesicles. Cavities are then filled in with silica-rich fluids from the volcanic material, layers are deposited on the walls of the cavity slowly working their way inwards. The first layer deposited on the cavity walls is commonly known as the priming layer. Variations in the character of the solution or in the conditions of deposition may cause a corresponding variation in the successive layers. These variations in layers result in bands of chalcedony, often alternating with layers of crystalline quartz forming banded agate. Hollow agates can also form due to the deposition of liquid-rich silica not penetrating deep enough to fill the cavity completely. Agate will form crystals within the reduced cavity, and the apex of each crystal may point towards the center of the cavity.

The priming layer is often dark green, but can be modified by iron oxide resulting in a rust like appearance. Agate is very durable, and is often found detached from its host matrix, which has eroded away. Once removed, the outer surface is usually pitted and rough from filling the cavity of its former matrix. Agates have also been found in sedimentary rocks, normally in limestone or dolomite; these sedimentary rocks acquire cavities often from decomposed branches or other buried organic material. If silica-rich fluids are able to penetrate into these cavities agates can be formed.

Types
Lace agate is a variety that exhibits a lace-like pattern with forms such as eyes, swirls, bands or zigzags. Blue lace agate is found in Africa and is especially hard. Crazy lace agate, typically found in Mexico, is often brightly colored with a complex pattern, demonstrating randomized distribution of contour lines and circular droplets, scattered throughout the rock. The stone is typically coloured red and white but is also seen to exhibit yellow and grey combinations as well.

Moss agate, as the name suggests, exhibits a moss-like pattern and is of a greenish colour. The coloration is not created by any vegetative growth, but rather through the mixture of chalcedony and oxidized iron hornblende. Dendritic agate also displays vegetative features, including fern-like patterns formed due to the presence of manganese and iron oxides.

Turritella agate (Elimia tenera) is formed from the shells of fossilized freshwater Turritella gastropods with elongated spiral shells. Similarly, coral, petrified wood, porous rocks and other organic remains can also form agate.

Coldwater agates, such as the Lake Michigan cloud agate, did not form under volcanic processes, but instead formed within the limestone and dolomite strata of marine origin. Like volcanic-origin agates, Coldwater agates formed from silica gels that lined pockets and seams within the bedrock. These agates are typically less colorful, with banded lines of grey and white chalcedony.

Greek agate is a name given to pale white to tan colored agate found in the former Greek colony of Sicily as early as 400 BCE. The Greeks used it for making jewelry and beads.

Brazilian agate is found as sizable geodes of layered nodules. These occur in brownish tones inter-layered with white and gray. It is often dyed in various colors for ornamental purposes.

Polyhedroid agate forms in a flat-sided shape similar to a polyhedron. When sliced, it often shows a characteristic layering of concentric polygons. It has been suggested that growth is not crystallographically controlled but is due to the filling-in of spaces between pre-existing crystals which have since dissolved.

Iris agate is a finely-banded and usually colorless agate, that when thinly sliced, exhibits spectral decomposition of white light into its constituent colors, requiring 400 to up to 30,000 bands per inch.

Other forms of agate include Holley blue agate (also spelled "Holly blue agate"), a rare dark blue ribbon agate found only near Holley, Oregon; Lake Superior agate; Carnelian agate (has reddish hues); Botswana agate; plume agate; condor agate; tube agate containing visible flow channels or pinhole-sized "tubes"; fortification agate with contrasting concentric banding reminiscent of defensive ditches and walls around ancient forts; Binghamite, a variety found only on the Cuyuna iron range (near Crosby) in Crow Wing County, Minnesota; fire agate showing an iridescent, internal flash or "fire", the result of a layer of clear agate over a layer of hydrothermally deposited hematite; Patuxent River stone, a red and yellow form of agate only found in Maryland; and enhydro agate, which contains tiny inclusions of water, sometimes with air bubbles.

Uses

Agate is one of the most common materials used in the art of hardstone carving, and has been recovered at a number of ancient sites, indicating its widespread use in the ancient world; for example, archaeological recovery at the Knossos site on Crete illustrates its role in Bronze Age Minoan culture. It has also been used for centuries for leather burnishing tools.

The decorative arts use it to make ornaments such as pins, brooches or other types of jewellery, paper knives, inkstands, marbles and seals. Agate is also still used today for decorative displays, cabochons, beads, carvings and Intarsia art as well as face-polished and tumble-polished specimens of varying size and origin. Idar-Oberstein was one of the centers which made use of agate on an industrial scale. Where in the beginning locally found agates were used to make all types of objects for the European market, this became a globalized business around the turn of the 20th century: Idar-Oberstein imported large quantities of agate from Brazil, as ship's ballast. Making use of a variety of proprietary chemical processes, they produced colored beads that were sold around the globe. Agates have long been used in arts and crafts. The sanctuary of a Presbyterian church in Yachats, Oregon, has six windows with panes made of agates collected from the local beaches.

Industrial uses of agate exploit its hardness, ability to retain a highly polished surface finish and resistance to chemical attack. It has traditionally been used to make knife-edge bearings for laboratory balances and precision pendulums, and sometimes to make mortars and pestles to crush and mix chemicals.

Health impact
Respiratory diseases such as silicosis, and a higher incidence of tuberculosis among workers involved in the agate industry, have been studied in India and China.

General and cited references

 * Cross, Brad L. and Zeitner, June Culp. Geodes: Nature's Treasures. Bardwin Park, Calif.: Gem Guides Book Co. 2005.
 * Hart, Gilbert "The Nomenclature of Silica", American Mineralogist, Volume 12, pages 383–395, 1927
 * International Colored Gemstone Association, "Agate: banded beauty"
 * "Agate", Mindat.org, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy
 * Moxon, Terry. Agate: Microstructure and Possible Origin. Doncaster, S. Yorks, UK: Terra Publications, 1996.
 * Pabian, Roger, et al. Agates: Treasures of the Earth. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2006.
 * Schumann, Walter. Gemstones of the World. 3rd edition. New York: Sterling, 2006.

title: Agate