v09_1425 - ALLEMAGNE - AIX-LA-CHAPELLE - VILLE IMPÉRIALE Seize marck 1752 Aix-la-Chapelle

ALLEMAGNE - AACHEN - IMPERIAL CITY

The city of Aix-La-Chapelle is located in Rhenish Prussia, on the Wurm, a sub-tributary of the Meuse by the Roer. Charlemagne made it his favorite residence, notably because of its thermal springs, and the capital of his empire. Throughout the Carolingian period the treasury was kept there and until 1531, thirty emperors and kings were crowned there. In the Middle Ages, its situation as a free imperial city contributed to its economic expansion. In 1536, the transfer of government to Frankfurt marked the decline of Aachen.