The traces of an eventful, 2000-year-old history can still be found in many places in Aachen today. Charlemagne (747-814) in particular left his unique mark on the historic city center by making Aachen his imperial palace with palace and palatine chapel.
© City of Aachen/Lena Hoof
Today, Aachen's town hall stands on the site of the palace. The Palatine Chapel was converted into Aachen Cathedral, which still dominates the cityscape today. The architecture of past masters is also reflected in the surrounding buildings. Although the historic city center cannot be assigned to a single era as a whole, it is precisely this mixture of historical and modern ambience that gives Aachen its unmistakable charm. For the citizens of Aachen, this means that the city offers a high quality of life. But it is not only the people of Aachen who have fallen for the charm of their city. The historic city center with its cathedral and town hall attracts many thousands of visitors from abroad to Aachen every year - and it's not just the hotel and restaurant industry that appreciates this. Aachen also benefits as a university location. This feel-good factor is often the decisive factor for students and professors alike, in addition to the university's qualifications. Quite a few start a family here and stay for good.
In addition to its historical significance, Aachen's city center therefore guarantees a high quality of life and is a significant economic factor. This sensitive asset must be protected.
Aachen Cathedral was the first German cultural monument and the second cultural monument worldwide to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List back in 1978. In order to protect Aachen's city center as a whole as a historical heritage site and thus create a buffer zone for the Aachen Cathedral World Heritage Site - as requested by UNESCO - the city of Aachen has developed a concept that is unique in Germany.
Monument area statutes
In order to meet the UNESCO requirement to protect the Aachen Cathedral World Heritage Site with a legally secured buffer zone, the city of Aachen intends to protect the historic city center and the silhouette of the cathedral and town hall by enacting a monument area statute. This is intended to preserve the impact of the buildings - the cathedral with its chapels and the town hall with its towers. At the same time, it will help to ensure the attractiveness of the city of Aachen.
This places special demands on the handling of the town layout, the historic building fabric, the characteristic views and the silhouette of the cathedral and town hall. The aim is to ensure the protection of existing buildings in terms of monument preservation without the desire for a "museum-like" city center. The monument area statute is a predominantly conservative determination. The existing historical structure and building substance should serve as a benchmark for future developments.
What does that mean?
The plan area encompasses the early medieval city of Aachen in the inner ring of moats and its most important gateways. The starting point is the Carolingian palace complex, which is still reflected today in parts of the cathedral and town hall.
Changes and interventions
Within the scope of the new statutes, changes and interventions on roofs and façades facing public areas and streets (such as the enlargement of roof structures or the installation of mobile phone systems), property enclosures, plot divisions and street layout as well as the use and design of public areas are of monument conservation significance and therefore require a permit. The Lower Monument Authority (Monument Preservation Department) must also be involved in changes that do not require planning permission! The authority is asked for its opinion as part of a building permit procedure. This then also counts as a permit under monument law.
Historic city layout
The historic urban layout is characterized above all by its small-scale plot structure, the streets and squares with their rising buildings and the few green spaces. They are to be protected with the monument area statutes. The extraordinary position of the cathedral and town hall is also supported by their predominantly small-scale, historically evolved plot structures in their surroundings. The preservation of this small-scale character in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral and town hall is therefore particularly important. The roofs and façades should be assessed in the same way as the small-scale nature of the plots.
Visual axes
There are lines of sight from important access roads and special vantage points to the cathedral and town hall, which characterize Aachen with their silhouette effect. Viewpoints were selected that are generally known and accessible to the public. A so-called silhouette protection zone exists within a radius of 220 meters around the center of the Katschhof. It includes the remains of the palace complex that have been identified to this day, the beginnings of the streets that already existed in Roman times (Jakobstraße, Großkölnstraße, Kleinmarschierstraße) and the archaeological sites discovered in recent years. In the entire protected area - visual axes and silhouette protection zone - changes to building heights are also subject to approval.
Outskirts
In the outer districts, only changes to building heights require planning permission. However, according to previous reviews, only extreme changes to building heights have a negative impact on the silhouette in these areas.
Facades, roofs, parceling and property enclosures
Facades and roofs
Scope for assessment with regard to facades and roofs
Changes and interventions to roofs, including their roof superstructures, are subject to approval by the City of Aachen's Department of Urban Development and Transportation Facilities, Monument Preservation Division within the scope of the statutes. Individual monuments are generally regarded as constants and may only be altered within the previously valid framework. All non-monuments are subject to a separate assessment and can generally - with the exception of distinctive buildings - be regarded as having potential for change.Parcelling
Constant - for example the Schmiedstraße development: A comparison of the historical and current map shows that the position of the cathedral and town hall still characterizes the cityscape today. The conditions for a constant are given here, i.e. a change in the plot structure, which is reflected in the appearance of the building structure, is not possible. The buildings shown are also registered individual monuments.
Variable: for example, development on Großkölnstraße: A comparison of the historical and current map shows that this area has changed in terms of its small-scale character; there is no direct connection to the cathedral and town hall. The conditions for variable potential, i.e. a change in appearance with, for example, larger-scale building structures, are in place.
Property enclosures
The property enclosures, which are rare in Aachen's city center anyway, are for the most part part part of a registered individual monument. Individual monuments are generally regarded as constants and may only be altered within the previously valid framework for architectural monuments. The few open spaces in front of non-monuments are part of the variable potential.
Example constant: The property enclosures at the cathedral
Monument area statutes for Aachen city center
What does that mean for you?
The protection of the World Heritage Site and the associated conditions are given high priority in Aachen. In this context, however, the monument authority strives for a procedure that is as citizen-friendly as possible in order to protect the interests of both sides. The following applies in principle:
- Nothing will change for all buildings within the scope of the statutes that are already listed.
- All owners of non-listed buildings within the city center monument area must take into account that a building application is no longer required for structural alterations. Once the statutes come into force, a corresponding application must also be submitted to the Aachen Monument Authority, as the Monument Authority is actively involved in the building permit process.
- The interior areas, such as private courtyards and gardens, as well as the rear façades and parts of the building that cannot be seen, are not subject to approval by the monument preservation authorities.
- The procedure should be as unbureaucratic and citizen-friendly as possible: Contact the City of Aachen's Department of Urban Development and Traffic Facilities, Monument Preservation Division and arrange a site visit. In simple cases, you can even fill out a form on site, which then also serves as a permit.
Historic city layout
Of course, you can also carry out renovation and maintenance work in the future; only the following measures require a permit:
- Changes to facades facing public areas and streets and to the associated facades at right angles to them, including their openings
- Modifications and interventions on roofs including their roof superstructures
- Changes to property enclosures
- Changes to the small-scale plot structure, which is reflected in the appearance of the building structure to public areas and streets
- Changes to the spatial demarcation of the street space, the formation of the square and the existing open and green spaces in terms of design, material and use
Silhouette and environment protection
In the designated monument area, changes to building heights are subject to permission.
- As Aachen is topographically located in a basin, major changes to building heights are certainly possible if it has been clearly demonstrated in advance that the silhouette of the cathedral and town hall will remain protected. However, building heights that significantly disturb or change this silhouette in the immediate vicinity and within the visual axes are not possible.
- Previous studies have shown that the variable potential for possible changes is primarily to be found in the obvious post-war buildings, with the exception of striking buildings. The unchangeable constant here is clearly the individual monuments that have already been registered.