On July 10, 2008, the Aachener Zeitung featured a major report on the former and now deceased city planner Thomas Ch. Haendly and his passion for collecting "Aachen records". "I love this city," Haendly told the Aachener Zeitung. "It is one of the most beautiful I know, and I have seen many in Europe." Thomas Ch. Haendly, who worked in the planning department of the city of Aachen until 2006, could not guarantee that all the records he collected were actually true or still valid. He did not want to be an objective collector and said: "If you love something, you hang it with gold and precious stones. I hang this city."
Aachen collects records
The Department of Communication and City Marketing is taking up Thomas Ch. Haendly's passion for collecting and is asking citizens to help collect Aachen records:
- Do you know of any Aachen records that are not yet on our list?
- Can you confirm or correct the records listed?
We look forward to your feedback!
Write an e-mail to: onlineredaktion@mail.aachen.de
Where Aachen is top in the Rhineland
In the Middle Ages between 900 and 1250 AD, Aachen was very popular with German kings: of 528 royal stays in the Rhineland, 240 were in Aachen alone, more than any other city in the Rhineland.
Where Aachen is top in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Aachen has the oldest Turkish restaurant in North Rhine-Westphalia, the "Mangal" on Elsaßstraße (1980).
- The first midwifery school in NRW opened in Aachen in 1983.
- No other city in NRW receives as much funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as Aachen: Of the 79 applications submitted from the Aachen region in 2007 and 2008, 34 received funding with a total funding amount of approx. 50 million euros.
Where Aachen is the best in Germany
- On October 18, 1955, the first multi-storey parking lot in Germany with a spindle-shaped entrance and exit was opened in Aachen as the "Kaufhof-Parkhaus". It was demolished in 2005 as part of the expansion of the Kaufhof building.
- Aachen Cathedral was the first German building to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978. Further information can be found on the Aachen Cathedral website.
© City of Aachen / Andreas Hermann- The oldest technical ground monument is located on the Lousberg. Flint was mined here 4,500 years ago.
- Aachen is the westernmost major German city.
- Aachen is the most densely populated city of comparable size in the city center (on average 165 inhabitants per hectare).
- But Aachen is also one of the greenest cities: 60 percent of the area is used for forestry and agriculture.
- Here you will find one of three Art Nouveau baths still in use in Germany: the Elisabethhalle. The others are in Munich and Düsseldorf.
- Aachen was the most business-friendly city in 1991.
- The "Schwertbad" is the oldest thermal bath, which has been operating on the same plot of land since 1936. It used to be called "Zum heißen Stein".
- RWTH Aachen University receives the most third-party funding (e.g. 2005, according to the Federal Statistical Office).
- Germany's oldest coffee roaster is based in Aachen: Plum's Kaffee.
- The first steel-framed high-rise building was erected at the main railway station (1925 to 1927: Emil Fahrenkamp and Jakob Koerfer).
- The Aachen Bushtunnel is the oldest railroad tunnel in Germany that is still in use.
- The Burtscheid Viaduct is the oldest railroad bridge still in use in Germany.
- The "Aachener Nachrichten" was the first German post-war newspaper (first edition: January 24, 1945).
- The "Preim" photo shop is the oldest specialist photo store in Germany: it was founded in 1882 by Jean Preim.
- Germany's first cross-border railroad line, the "Iron Rhine", ran through Aachen, connecting Antwerp with Cologne from 1843 in order to avoid Dutch customs duties.
- Waggonfabrik Talbot - which today belongs to Bombardier Transportation - is the oldest German manufacturer of rail vehicles.
- Aachen was the first city to convert its traffic lights to LED or 10-volt technology across the board in 2004, saving around 215,000 euros a year.
- In October 1955, Aachen became the first German city to have a parking lot for 90 cars on the roof of a department store.
- Between 1885 and 1920, the city had one of the highest densities of automobile factories
- The "Aachener Stahlwarenfabrik" was one of the largest manufacturers of bicycle components.
- The "Aachen Cathedral Choir" is the oldest boys' choir in Germany - and one of the oldest in the world (founded around 800).
- Aachen's St. Joseph's Church became Germany's first burial church in 2006: a total of 1,384 urn spaces are currently available, 883 of which have already been sold and 248 urns have already been buried.
- With 50 branches and more than 1,000 employees, Mayersche Buchhandlung - headquartered in Aachen - is the most likeable bookshop in Germany and also the third largest.
- Germany's first hospice opened in Aachen in 1986: "Haus Hörn".
- Of 50 German kings, 31 were crowned in Aachen.
- A total of 10 church assemblies and 17 imperial diets were held in Aachen.
- Aachen saw the first "German fairytale prince" - i.e. children's prince - in the carnival in 1951
- RWTH Aachen University has acquired the most funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG): a total of 257 million euros (as of September 2009)
- The Monheim pharmacy - now the Couven Museum - was the first to sell chocolate in 1857, specifically for depression and diarrhea; it was also prescribed to pregnant women by prescription
- The largest speedcubing tournament in Germany takes place in Aachen: People from almost 20 nations compete against each other to find out who can arrange the so-called Rubik's Cube according to the colors the fastest
- The oldest German trade court was established in Aachen-Burtscheid in 1808.
- Aachen is the first German city to issue parking tickets using iPhones.
- The Malaika association has introduced the subject "Happiness" for primary school children in all grades and regularly on the timetable of an elementary school, namely at the municipal community elementary school Oberforstbach.
- The oldest wooden flush toilet in Germany is located in the "Wylreschen Hof" at Jakobsstraße 35 - known as "Villa Heusch".
Where Aachen is the best in Europe
City of Aachen / Andreas Herrmann- The most important church treasure north of the Alps can be seen in the cathedral treasury.
- The cathedral's baptistery is the only one "extra muros" - i.e. outside the church walls - north of the Alps.
- The hottest springs in Central Europe can be found here (74.3°).
- Aachen is one of the three most important pilgrimage sites alongside Rome and Santiago de Compostela.
- The Lousberg is the oldest Berg-Bürgerpark. It was planned by Max Weyhe in 1807.
- The first smallpox vaccination on the European continent was introduced by the doctor Gerhard Reumont in Aachen in 1801.
- Aachen University Hospital is the largest contiguous hospital building in Europe.
- According to the European Patent Office, Aachen was one of the five leading high-tech regions in Europe in 2002 in terms of applications for "high-tech patents".
- In 1957, Europe's most modern floodlights were switched on for the first time in the "Tivoli" soccer stadium.
- The sulphur content of Aachen's springs exceeds that of all other springs throughout Europe.
- The AVANTIS business park is the first cross-border business park in Europe: the German-Dutch border runs right through the middle of a building here.
- The "Hazienda Arche Noah - Rocker & Biker gegen Krebs" association built Europe's first barrier-free tree house in 2007, with the materials donated by Aachen's municipal utility company.
- In 2012, the Hazienda Arche Noah association launched the first moated castle, called Biberburg, for wheelchair users.
World records
- The International Newspaper Museum is considered to be the largest in the world (around 200,000 first and special editions).
- Paul Julius Reuter founded the "Institut zur Beförderung telegraphischer Depeschen" at Pontstrasse 117 in 1849, making the Reuters news agency the oldest in the world.
- The CHIO has been voted the most beautiful equestrian and show jumping event several times.
- In 1959, the "Scotch Club" opened on the Dahmengraben as the world's first discotheque.
- The first disc jockey in the world was Klaus Quirini from Aachen: The journalist was 19 years old at the time and was actually only supposed to report on the opening of the "Scotch Club".
- The fastest gas-powered car in the world was produced by AC Schnitzer in 2008: the AC Schnitzer GP3.10 GAS POWERED.
- In 2005, Aachener Parkhausgesellschaft (APAG) introduced NUPSI, the world's first transponder that can open the barriers to more than ten parking garages. The Nupsi 2.0 in the form of a check card has been available since 2012.
- The Aachen-based model car manufacturer "Minichamps" operates the world's largest model car museum on Charlottenburger Allee with around 3,000 objects on 600 square meters of exhibition space.
- On December 6, 1997, the longest Printe was cut at the Christmas market - it measured 20 meters.
- FEV Motorentechnik GmbH is one of the world's largest independent development service providers for combustion engines.
- The Brauer & Co. umbrella factory on Jülicher Strasse - now home to the Ludwig Forum - produced the most umbrellas in the world in its day.
- The moustache and sideburns club was founded 100 years ago in Aachen - and is the only club that consists only of the board, i.e. has no members.
- The world's first all-metal airplane was developed and built by Professor Reissner at the Aerodynamic Institute of Aachen University of Technology: The "Reissner Duck" with a so-called duck-wing configuration flew for the first time in 1912.
- In 2010, the largest horseshoe was forged from 100 kilos of blue steel at the Aachen market.
- The ALRV is the largest equestrian club with the smallest area (quote: Klaus Pavel, former president of the ALRV)
- In July 2011, Mayor Marcel Philipp cut the longest Karlswurst at 38 meters.
- Aachen Cathedral is the first known example of a domed building with iron ring anchoring.
- The first steel nib ("Aachener Stahlfeder") was invented in 1748 by the mayor of Aachen, Johannes Janssen.