Life in Aachen and Jülich

By choosing Aachen, you have opened the door to a beautiful, historic and youthful city. Aachen is located in the heart of the "Euregio", the border region of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Aachen's unique location in the border triangle opens up the possibility of an exchange of knowledge, culture and lifestyle. People from neighbouring countries come to work in Aachen and Aacheners travel to nearby Liège or Maastricht, also cities full of life. When you hear the phrase "City at the Heart of Europe", it means that European ideals such as freedom and living together without borders are being lived here in everyday life and that Europe has long been a reality in the "Euregio", outside institutions and treaties.

Today, Aachen is Germany's westernmost major city, with a population of around 250,000, directly on the borders to Belgium and the Netherlands. More than 60,000 students work at four universities, industry and commerce flourish across the borders, and many people from all over the world come to Aachen every year to enjoy the international flair and relaxed atmosphere. A special attraction every year is the CHIO, one of the most important tournaments in international equestrian sport.

But the Euregio is not only home to interesting, lively cities like Maastricht or Liège with lots of opportunities for shopping, great cafés that invite you to linger as well as a wide range of cultural activities with many concerts and parties. The whole region offers a lot - old villages in the province of Limburg, quiet lakes and forests in the Eifel and always intercultural encounters with open-minded and interesting people.

If you ever want to get out of the city, the Eifel forests to the south of Aachen or the Hohe Venn, a unique high moorland landscape just outside the city, are the places to go. In summer, you can easily take the train or car to the seaside to visit Oostende or Zeeland and enjoy the sea and sun.

In Aachen, it all began with the Romans more than 2000 years ago. They founded a popular health spa by the bubbling springs and consecrated the town under the name "Aquae Granni" to Grannus, a Germanic god of healing and water. But even before that, people came to this place and bathed in the healing waters of Europe's hottest spring.

Things really took off in the 8th century when Charlemagne, ruler of the Franks, made his favourite palatinate - Aachen - the centre of his vast empire. He also built the first section of Aachen Cathedral - the wonderfully different octagon. During this time, Aachen gained great fame and became an important centre of the emerging Europe. Today, many buildings in the city centre are reminders of Charlemagne and his time. Every year, the city of Aachen awards the international Charlemagne Prize to personalities who have rendered outstanding services to European ideals and understanding between peoples.

Subsequently, Aachen became the coronation site of the German kings for a long time. In the Middle Ages, it was an important European pilgrimage site where Charlemagne's bones were venerated after his canonisation. Aachen is also a stop on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela.
Towards the end of the Middle Ages, Aachen's importance declined and it was not until the 18th century that it really became known again as a fashionable spa town and health resort - a role it had already played almost 2000 years earlier. Slowly things started to look up and with the founding of the Rhenish-Westphalian Technical University in 1870, the Aachen we know today slowly emerged.

Jülich is a welcoming medium-sized town with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is located in the beautiful landscape of the Rur valley, about 35 km west of Aachen.

In the first century BC, Jülich was founded as the Roman stopover "Juliacum", a day's walk from the starting point of the main Roman road in Cologne. Jülich's 2000-year history has provided unique buildings integrated into the townscape. The Citadel, an impressive fortified structure covering 120,000 square metres, was built in the 16th century in the so-called "neo-Italian fortification style".

A landmark of the town of Jülich is the Hexenturm (Witches' Tower), a typical Gothic town gate, which is one of formerly four town gates in the medieval town wall of Jülich. After the almost complete destruction of Jülich in the Second World War, the first securing measures were carried out on the Witches' Tower in 1949-1952, followed by a further restoration phase from 1961 to 1964, during which the onion domes dating from the 17th century were also restored to their original condition.

Jülich's gardens and parks offer peace and recreation, while various opportunities for sport and leisure activities are available throughout the city. For nature lovers, there is a well-developed network of cycle paths and hiking trails along the Rur River with a variety of routes through nature and landscape conservation areas. Jülich has more than 60 sports clubs with several football pitches and tennis courts as well as riding halls and gymnasiums. If you want to relax after your activities, there are recreational areas such as the Brückenkopfpark, which are highly recommended.

Jülich is a city of science and research with the largest German research centre (Forschungszentrum Jülich) and the Jülich campus of FH Aachen.

• Extraraum is an initiative of the city of Aachen and its universities.
• On the internet, you can find flats at Studenten-WG, easyRoommate WG-Gesucht
• Advertisements in magazines like the Aachener"Klenkes" or the"Annonce"
• The most widely circulated newspaper in Aachen is the"Aachener Zeitung", which has many flat advertisements, especially on Saturdays; advertisements for Jülich can be found in the Jülich edition of the newspaper.
• Advertisements can also be found in the "Super Sonntag" and "Super Mittwoch", which are distributed free of charge in both cities.
• Please also note the advertisement boards in the universities and cafés.
• Non-profit housing company for the district of Aachen