This year, the Aachen city administration will be closed from December 24, 2025 up to and including January 2, 2026.

The fire department, the public order and security service, the registry office for urgent notarizations and the operational units of Aachen's municipal services, such as waste disposal, city cleaning, funeral services and winter services, are excluded from the shutdown. The lost and found office has limited opening hours. On December 29 and 30, 2025 and January 2, 2026, the lost and found office at Peterstraße 44-46 will open between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Cultural offers

The museums, including the town hall and the Eurogress, will remain open except on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. On Boxing Day and New Year's Day, the museums will be open from 10 am to 5 pm - the Centre Charlemagne until 6 pm. The specific opening hours of these municipal institutions can be found at aachen.de. The municipal theater opens for performances on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve. The New Year's Concert of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra will take place in the Eurogress. The box office is also open on these days. There are also performances in the Stadttheater between the years.

City library

The Central Library will close from December 24, 2025 up to and including January 2, 2026. Lending and returns will not be available during this period. From Saturday, January 3, 2026, it will be open again during regular opening hours, including Sunday, January 4, 2026.

The Haaren district library will be closed from December 22, 2025 up to and including January 5, 2026. The Depot district library will be closed from December 24, 2025 up to and including January 2, 2026. The library will reopen at the usual times on January 5, 2026. The book bus will not be making its stops from December 22, 2025 to January 9, 2026 inclusive.

The branch offices will also close between Christmas and New Year. Here are the exact closing times of the branches at a glance:

Picture: December 22, 2025 up to and including January 6, 2026

Kornelimünster: December 18, 2025 up to and including January 6, 2026

Oberforstbach: December 23, 2025 up to and including January 6, 2026

Walheim: December 21, 2025 up to and including January 4, 2026

The libraries will be open again at regular times after the closure.

Swimming pools

Aachen's indoor swimming pools will also have changed opening hours during this time:

The Elisabethhalle, the Brand indoor swimming pool and the Ulla-Klinger-Halle are closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The South Swimming Pool is open on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve from 7 am to 12.30 pm and on Boxing Day and New Year's Day from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm. The South Swimming Pool will be closed on Christmas Day.

The Osthalle is open on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve from 8 am to 1.30 pm. The Osthalle is closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

All the latest news about swimming pools and sport can be found at www.aachen.de/sport.

Sports, gymnastics and exercise halls

All halls will be closed throughout the Christmas vacations from Monday, December 22, 2025, up to and including Sunday, January 4, 2026. This also applies to halls in which the key authority has been transferred to the users.

The Christmas vacations are the only vacations during which "key halls" cannot be used. On the one hand, this saves high energy costs and, on the other, these vacations are used for the annual basic cleaning of the school sports facilities.

Recycling centers

The municipal recycling centers, Kellershaustraße and Camp Pirotte, will be closed from December 24 to 26, as well as on December 31 and January 1. On the other days, the yards can be reached during normal opening hours; however, visitors should be prepared for longer waiting times due to the expected high volume.

Citizens' service and district offices close, Call Aachen service center remains accessible

Citizens can still make use of municipal services in urgent matters, as some departments and businesses affected by the shutdown have set up emergency services and on-call services. The District Office Aachen-Brand, Paul Küpper-Platz 1, 52078 Aachen is available for urgent ID and passport matters at the Citizens' Service. Please make an appointment online or by telephone for all matters.

In emergencies, the Call Aachen service center can be contacted on 0241 432-0. It will continue to be manned from Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. between the holidays. The city's fault clearance service can also be contacted around the clock over the holidays and between the years on 0241 432-18999.

The City of Aachen recommends that citizens plan their service requirements accordingly. The Service Center is available for general questions, for example about required documents. Appointments for the new year can also be booked by calling 0241 432-1234.

Digital offerings from the administration

Irrespective of this, the city offers the option of using the numerous online services provided by the administration. The Service Center can also answer questions about these online services if required. An overview can be found at www.aachen.de/onlinedienste. Another popular service is the City of Aachen's digital defect report(maengelmelder.aachen.de). General information on municipal services can also be found on the City of Aachen's service portal at serviceportal.aachen.de.

Emptying the "time-serving letterbox"

For documents for which legal or formal deadlines have to be met, the administration ensures that the "time-sensitive letterbox" at the Am Marschiertor administration building (Lagerhausstraße) is emptied. Mail is also accepted at the gate in the Bahnhofsplatz administration building (Hackländerstraße). The colleagues record incoming mail accordingly.

From Monday, January 5, 2025, all municipal departments and companies will be offering their services again without restriction.