Some 500 years after Charlemagne’s death in 814, the Aachen Rathaus was built on the site of the emperor’s ruined palace. Part of the ancient palace structure can still be seen in the so-called Granus Tower at the east side of the hall. After a fire in 1656, the fadade of the building was redone in the baroque style and decorated with stucco statues of 50 German rulers, 31 of whom had been crowned in Aachen. Standing in relief in the center are the “Majestas Domini,” the two most important men of their time in the Holy Roman Empire, Charlemagne and Pope Leo III. (The building was restored after suffering serious damage during World War II.) Inside, on the second floor, you can visit the Coronation Hall where coronation banquets took place from 1349 to 1531, when the coronation site was moved to Frankfurt. The hall contains a 17th-century life-size statue of Charlemagne, reproductions of the imperial crown jewels (originals are in Vienna) and the Charlemagne frescoes, painted in the 19th century by Alfred Rethel, illustrating the victory of the Christian Franks over the Germanic heathens.

Am Markt. [tel] 0241/4327310. Admission 5€ adults, 2.50€ students and children. Daily 10am–6pm.