Culture is: children's voices on the Katschhof, garden art in the Lufo Park, Shakespeare in Theater Aachen or party atmosphere in the city districts. Culture is alive and well in Aachen! Indoors and outdoors, loud and quiet, with enjoyment and sophistication. Aachen makes culture, across borders.
There are six municipal museums in Aachen. With Andy Warhol, Rembrandt, an old pharmacy, a Carolingian child's coffin, flashlights and contraband. Just around the corner from the cathedral and town hall, one of Europe's most important church treasures is also well worth a visit.
Did it all start with Charlemagne? No, the Celts and Romans already appreciated the local hot springs. But it was Charlemagne who gave the town its historical significance. The town hall is built on the foundations of his royal hall. Aachen Cathedral was the first cultural site in Germany to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
Whether drama, musical theater or concert, whether classical or modern, whether comedy or tragedy - Theater Aachen has been touching and moving its guests for 200 years. A visit tempts you to travel beyond the boundaries of everyday life and invites you to encounter stories and characters that sometimes leave you wanting more.
The Aachen Symphony Orchestra invites you to performances of early music and the great works of the musical tradition through to contemporary works and crossover projects. At the iconic Schrittmacher Festival, avant-garde dancers perform in an old factory.
Whether at the Walter Hasenclever Prize, the German-Dutch Literary Summer or the Lyriktreff in the Literaturcafé. Literature lovers get their money's worth in Aachen. The city library and bookcases also welcome visitors.
Aachen offers what filmmakers are looking for: historical buildings from different eras and modern architecture, industrial sites and high-tech, untouched landscapes and forests, urban life and village romance, subculture and bourgeoisie, open-minded people and much more.
The Kulturbetrieb operates and maintains the city's educational, art and cultural institutions. It shapes the city's cultural life in municipal facilities and promotes and advises the independent cultural scene.
The Barockfabrik at Löhergraben 22 is a cultural center sponsored by the city of Aachen. As Kulturhaus Barockfabrik, it is a house of cultural diversity, cooperation and education and offers a home to various users. The Barockfabrik is home to the Öcher Schängchen puppet theater, the Aachen Theater School, the Literature Office in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, EuregioKultur, ARTbewegt, FestAusschuss Aachener Karneval, the adult education center and the VERS - Literaturcafé.
With the nationwide Culture Pass, everyone who has turned 18 or will turn 18 in the current year receives a virtual budget of 200 euros, which can be spent on theater, museums or concerts, for example, but also on books, sound recordings, cinema tickets or musical instruments.
The Museumsdienst Aachen is an important partner of the museums, developing target group-specific cultural education programs for the museums' exhibitions. Its guests are diverse and varied - just like their wishes for a successful museum visit.
The music school is an educational institution of the city of Aachen for children, young people and adults. Its task is to arouse interest in music, to develop musical abilities and skills and to promote musical creativity.
The city archive is the central point of contact for all questions relating to the history of the city of Aachen. It is the city's memory. Documents important to the city's history are stored here, dating back to the Middle Ages, which you can view and analyze in the reading room.
Aachen City Library is a public library. Here, all Aachen residents and all citizens from the region can educate themselves, inform themselves, play, communicate, borrow analog or digital media and take part in numerous events, even on selected Sundays.
The adult education center offers individual learning within the framework of an extensive range of courses on all days of the week and a wide range of educational advice. It works with the latest teaching and learning methods. The classrooms and lecture rooms are equipped with the latest conference and teaching technology. The classroom and online offerings successfully utilize the didactic and technical possibilities of digitalized knowledge transfer.
An uncomplicated access to our knowledge society, an open place to stay, communicate and learn where everyone is welcome? This place will be the "House of Curiosity" - open to every question, every topic and many concerns. But above all, it will be open to being inspired and discovering new things.
The City of Aachen's cultural sector offers the right setting for events of all types and sizes. From the ballroom of the Altes Kurhaus to the Aula Carolina and the Centre Charlemagne to the Customs Museum with its beautiful gardens.
Congresses, conferences, concerts and shows. The magnificent New Kurhaus is expected to once again provide the social setting for parties and numerous other events from summer 2026.
With its two venues, the "historic ballroom" and the "Klangbrücke", the Alte Kurhaus in Aachen offers a platform for cultural events of all kinds. As a municipal cultural center, it is open to all creative artists.
Since 2017, the depot in Talstraße has been a central cornerstone for socio-cultural work in Aachen North. Various event rooms are available for seminars, training courses, meetings, lectures, etc.
The former Rheinnadel factory ensures a positive public perception beyond the district with its diverse range of uses. Different cultural groups promote coexistence and mutual understanding.
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