Prizes & awards
In addition to Aachen's most famous prize, the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen, numerous other prizes are awarded throughout the year in various fields, giving good reason to celebrate.
International Charlemagne Prize
© City of Aachen / David Rüben
The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is considered one of the most important European prizes. It was founded at Christmas 1949 by a number of outstanding and intellectually open-minded citizens. The Charlemagne Prize is awarded every year on Ascension Day for the best achievement in the service of understanding and international cooperation in Europe.
Photography Andreas Herrmann, © Andreas Herrmann
Aachen Peace Prize
The Aachen Peace Prize honors women, men or groups who often act alone - sometimes without any support - with courage and great risk in the fight against injustice and for peace.
More
Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia
Médaille Charlemagne
The Médaille Charlemagne pour les Médias Européens is awarded in the run-up to the Charlemagne Prize celebrations to a European personality who has made a special contribution to the process of European unification and the development of a European identity in the field of media.
More
Diversity Award of the City of Aachen
The "Diversity Prize of the City of Aachen" is awarded in recognition and appreciation of the commitment of individuals, organizations, institutions, companies and associations.
More
Against animal seriousness
A medal that is not awarded for something, but against something.
Art Innovation Award
The Ludwig Foundation for International Art and Understanding established this annual innovation prize for the performing arts in order to emphasize the artistic diversity of the Ludwig Forum's programme. Since 1995, international artists who have set important accents in areas such as dance theater, music, film, video or intermedia performance have been honored by a prominent jury of experts. Since 2002, the prize has been endowed with 10,000 euros.
Previous winners include Compagnie Taffanel (F), Taipei Dance Circle (Taiwan), Ingun Bjornsgaard Prosject (N), Laurie Anderson (USA), Theater Derevo (St. Petersburg/Dresden), BlackBlancBeur (F), Carol Brown (GB), Peter Gabriel (GB), Peter Greenaway (GB) and Abdullah Ibrahim (South Africa).
Aachen Art Prize
The Aachen Art Prize is an award for important driving forces in the international art scene. It is sponsored by the Association of Friends of the Ludwig Forum, the City of Aachen and Aachen's business community. The prize is awarded every two years by an international jury to prominent artists who have made a significant contribution to the international art scene. It is endowed with 10,000 euros. The award ceremony is always combined with an exhibition at the Ludwig Forum.
Prize winners were Luciano Fabro (1983), A. R. Penck (1985), Richard Long (1988), Ilya Kabakov (1990), On Kawara (1992), Christian Boltanski (1994), Katharina Fritsch (1996), Richard Tuttle (1998), Michael Asher (2000), Tacita Dean (2002), Andreas Slominski (2004), Roman Signer (2006), Aernout Mik (2008), Pawel Althamer (2010), Phyllida Barlow (2012), Paulina Olowska (2014), Franz Erhard Walther (2016) (s. Illus, Photo: Sven Laurent).Walter Hasenclever Literature Prize
The Literature Prize of the City of Aachen in memory of the writer Walter Hasenclever, who was born in Aachen.
THOUET Dialect Prize of the City of Aachen e.V.
The THOUET dialect prize for the promotion and preservation of the Aachen dialect - the Öcher Platt.
Municipal sponsorship award "Integration through sport"
It is awarded to clubs, independent youth welfare organizations, migrant self-organizations or other institutions as well as committed volunteers. All award winners make an exceptional and sustainable contribution to integration work in Aachen through one-off or long-term activities and projects in the field of sport.
Prices Aachen Kathy Beys Foundation
Euregio Environmental Award
The Aachen-based Kathy Beys Foundation has been awarding the Euregio Environmental Prize (until 2002 the Aachen Environmental Prize) for the Euregio Meuse-Rhine since 1995. The Euregio Environmental Prize was last awarded in 2007. It is awarded for one or more projects that improve the living or environmental conditions in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine or contribute to the more sustainable development of our region. The competition is under the patronage of the Chairman of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. Individuals, groups, organizations, administrations and companies from the Euregio Meuse-Rhine can apply. The prize is endowed with prize money of 5,000 euros.
R.I.O. Innovation Award
The R.I.O. Innovation Award is aimed at innovative, forward-thinking companies that have their headquarters or the headquarters of a subsidiary in the German-speaking part of Europe, i.e. in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, for example. Prizes are awarded to products and services that achieve quantum leaps in energy and material efficiency. The R.I.O. Innovation Prize is endowed with 20,000 euros.
The R.I.O Innovation Prize was last awarded in 2008.There are currently no plans to retender the prizes.
Aachen Region Innovation Award
The Innovation Award is an award for special entrepreneurial achievements. Last year, the Innovation Award was presented for the first time in the entire Aachen region. The innovative aspect should consist of the development of new technologies as well as operational measures to improve environmental protection and energy supply, new approaches to creating and maintaining jobs, the special compatibility of family and career, new solutions to improve operational or public infrastructure as well as research and development work on individual problems of urban and regional development.
In addition to the administrative heads of the regional authorities and the chief executives of the chambers, the Innovation Award Board of Trustees also includes the rectors of the universities and other representatives of research institutions, business associations, the trade union federation and the regional business development agency AGIT.
Aachen Engineering Award
The Aachen Engineering Award is presented annually by the City of Aachen and RWTH Aachen University - for the first time on Friday, September 5, 2014. It is awarded to a person whose life's work has made a significant contribution to the positive perception and/or further development of engineering. The person to be honored should have left a "footprint" in the technical field by providing special impulses or achievements in technology, business and society for the engineering sciences.
The Aachen Engineering Prize is supported by the Association of German Engineers (VDI). The prizewinner is selected by a ten-member advisory board, whose members include Ina Brandes, Minister for Innovation, Science and Research NRW and Prof. Dr. Lutz Eckstein, President of the VDI Association of German Engineers.