• It is one of the most prominent components of the Haaren Integrated Urban Development Concept (ISEK): the redesign of the area around the church of St. Germanus.
• The City of Aachen invites all citizens to the official opening on Saturday, April 5, with Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen and District Mayor Daniel Hecker, among others.
• Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., there will be a lively musical prelude, free coffee specialties and hearty snacks, as well as the opportunity for personal exchange.

This square looks good in Haaren: the town has completed the redesign work around the St. Germanus church. The result is a new place in the center of Haaren that offers people a high quality of stay and is an eye-catcher with its high-quality design. The city is taking this as an opportunity to celebrate the successful urban development project together with as many citizens as possible. It is therefore inviting everyone to the new center on Alt-Haarener-Straße on Saturday, April 5, from 11 am to 2 pm. A samba group will perform at 11 a.m. to get things off to a lively musical start. Afterwards, Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen and District Mayor Daniel Hecker will officially open the newly designed square in Haaren at 12 noon. There will be free coffee specialties and hearty snacks as well as the opportunity for personal exchange.

Burgdorff: "More quality of life in the district"

Haaren knows challenges only too well. The district, which has so much to offer, has repeatedly been the focus of attention in the recent past. The demolition of the large Haarbachtal highway bridge and its new construction certainly come to mind ad hoc for many people. At the same time, a lot is happening in many other places in Aachen's north-eastern district - such as the square around St. Germanus, which has become a real eye-catcher. At a press event on Friday, 21 March, the administration presented the project, which was realized as part of the Haaren Integrated Urban Development Concept (ISEK).
City Planning Councillor Frauke Burgdorff praised the successful project and thanked the local people for their understanding: "We can see here how a complex integrated concept can lead to very tangible results and a better quality of life in the district thanks to good cooperation within the administration and outstanding craftsmanship in the finishing touches. I would like to thank everyone involved, especially the church and those concerned, who of course also suffered during the construction site."

The commitment of everyone, especially the two municipal project managers Melanie Herf and Boris Mehlkopf, was emphasized by district mayor Daniel Hecker. "There is great joy in Haaren about this attractive new square," he said. There are already good ideas in the district for using the newly designed church surroundings. For example, the Haaren Christmas market is to be held there this year, according to Hecker.
Michael Geber, head of the district office, is delighted about the new opportunities in the district: "The measures for the new town center and in the park will give Haaren a new face. We must take advantage of this huge opportunity for the district. I promise to support any revitalization of these great places in Haaren. That is also what the people of Haaren want. They are enthusiastic and excited to see what will come of it."

Over the past few months, there have been a number of challenges to overcome on the way to the new square. There were the "normal" planning and technical hurdles that go hand in hand with such a redesign of public space. In addition, archaeological finds meant that the project management team had to repeatedly adapt the plans. Work began in August 2023. When old graves were found in the northern area of the site, this led to extensive investigations by the archaeologists, which lasted six months. The weather conditions - especially last winter - were an additional challenge. The church foundations also had to be secured. Melanie Herf, civil engineering project manager at the city, initially turned all of these problems into challenges and ultimately found the right solutions. "This was mainly possible thanks to the competent and reliable partners on site - the great result is something to be proud of!" she said.

Everything has been ready since February 2025. "The successful conversion has completely restaged the area around the church. This has created a square in the center of Haaren on over 4300 square meters, which creates a completely new quality of stay with a high-quality design," explained Annika Kubbilun, Head of the Urban Renewal and Urban Design Department. The central design elements of the newly designed square are the inner area of light sand-colored natural stone paving, which embeds the church building. This area is also bordered by a surrounding band of paving. The outer area of the square is finished with a red-grey iridescent clinker brick typical of Haaren. The square is broken up by four generous planting beds, which provide space for both the magnificent trees and a future planting of perennials. An elegant staircase and seating walls integrated into the paving strip respond skillfully to the existing topography. The city invested around 4.1 million euros in the square conversion as part of the ISEK Haaren. 55 percent of the funds came from state and federal urban development funds.

 
Haaren benefits from many other projects

In addition to the redesign of the area around the church of St. Germanus, Haaren is benefiting from the integrated urban development concept in numerous other areas. Urban planner and project manager of the ISEK Haaren Boris Mehlkopf from the urban renewal and urban design department explains: "One focus is now on making the Wurm and Haarbach floodplains more usable and enjoyable, which many people in Haaren are looking forward to. The park, which was successfully converted in 2024 and is a popular leisure destination beyond the district boundaries, is already an absolute success. However, measures such as the successful conversion of 'Platz am Denkmal' and the completion of the open spaces on Tuchmachweg and the square on Friedenstraße planned for 2025 and 2026 will also make an important contribution to the positive development of the district."

The ISEK Haaren is therefore on the home straight. Overall, the district is benefiting from funding in a variety of ways. In the end, the city will invest around seven million euros in the various construction measures, the redesign of parks, squares and green areas and the creation of new pathways alone.

Ten years of ISEK Haaren nearing completion

The ISEK Haaren was developed in 2014 as a guideline for action in close cooperation between the specialist administration, Haaren politicians and residents and was launched for the district in 2015. Since then, various projects from this concept have been realized, contributing to an attractive and future-oriented design of the district. In addition to major construction projects, services for Haaren residents have also been launched as part of the ISEK in recent years. For example, an information service has been established in collaboration with the altbau plus association, which advises private individuals on the topic of sustainable building renovation. In addition, a disposition fund has been set up to provide financial support for project ideas from residents, associations and other institutions. The Haaren district brochure was updated, a hiking map "Around Haaren" was developed and the "Evening Serenade on the Haarberg" as a special annual event format for Haaren residents also received financial support via the ISEK. With a total term of ten years, the ISEK Haaren will officially end in 2025, after which the remaining work will be completed.

Interesting facts about the borough

Haaren Haaren is located north-east of the center of Aachen. The district of Haaren consists of two districts: Haaren, located in the valley on the Haarbach stream, and Verlautenheide, at the top of the Horst, which surrounds Aachen in a ring. Haaren is a district of Aachen in the north-east of the city, four kilometers north-east of Aachen city center. Around 12,000 people live in the district today.
Further information online: www.aachen.de/haaren.