Rathaus and Town Square

This 14th century rathaus (town hall) was built on the original site of Charlemagne’s palace. The front façade of the building is adorned with the statues of over 50 German rulers, 31 of which were crowned in Aachen.



The building looks out onto the square and on this particular Sunday, was abuzz with activity. In the center of the square, a replica status of Charlemagne sits atop a foundation with the original statue located on the second floor of the Rathaus.



Our observations: The building is indeed impressive from the exterior, but the interior was a bit disappointing. While the interior walls and ceilings were quite dramatic and well restored/persevered, the rathaus apparently is used for Aachen city council meetings and other civic events. Unfortunately, everywhere you looked there was ugly 1970s office furniture or “irrelevant” exhibits that did not make a lot of sense….the price of admission was validated if for no other reason than Buddy “had a chat” with the original statue of Charlemagne. Sadly, Charlemagne was tucked way off in the corner; had we not had our guidebook with us, would never have known this was the original statue that used to be displayed on the town square. OK…townspeople of Aachen, you need to do a little “revamping of your tourist sites”.



Interesting sidenote: As we started to leave the town square, we were shocked to see an antique/carpet store that was open on a Sunday. What gives? Well, apparently the store was owned by a non-German who understands that tourists like to buy on Sundays just as much as any other day. Now, how he was able to legally be open, we have not quite figured out, but we’ll go back as he had some cool rugs for sale. Cultures collided when this pleasant Tehran-born, Iranian store owner began to lecture (perhaps diatribe is more accurate) these two Americans on the shortcomings of the German government when it came to promoting industry and commerce. Ah...some things are the same the world over...