A very unusual residence - aachen-emotion.com

City gates A very unusual residence

Some academics get accused of living in ivory towers. Not so in Aachen. Here, the foundations are rock-solid. Literally, too.

Aachen city walls

medieval defence works
the inner ring was built in 1172 at the behest of Emperor Barbarossa
work on the outer ring began at the end of the 13th century
partly demolished in the Napoleonic era
formed the basis for today’s traffic flow via the inner and outer ring-road

Aachen’s most unusual student hall of residence is built on walls which have proven unshakeable for hundreds of years. Constructed in the 14th century as part of the second city wall on a hill overlooking the city, the “Langer Turm” (Tall Tower) fulfilled the key function in what was then the Free Imperial City of Aachen of firing blank shots and giving off fire and smoke signals to warn the villages and territories outside the city of would-be attackers.

The city was protected in those days by the “Free Imperial City Guards”, referred to by the locals as “Pennsoldaten” because they used to enhance their salaries by carving wooden studs (“Pinnchen”) for the soles of shoes. Following this tradition, it is very much a matter of honour for today’s “Stadtgarde Öcher Penn” to be actively involved in restoring and maintaining one of Aachen’s two city gates – the Marschiertor (Marching Gate) dating from 1257 – albeit no longer to repel enemies but as a service to Carnival, because after all the “Stadtgarde Öcher Penn” is the city’s oldest carnival society.

Modern use of the Aachen City gates

The other city gate in Aachen is bound to be familiar to anyone who has visited the university district, since any party worth its salt is held somewhere close to the Ponttor built in 1320. This gate is not just a gateway to the world of parties, freshers’ week, the football world cup or annual May Dance, it’s also troupe HQ of the Holy Cross Scout Group.

Whether a hall of residence for students at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences, the headquarters of the Öcher Penn or a scout hall – in times of peace the buildings on the old city walls no longer repel enemies. Thanks to the effort of Aachen’s ordinary citizens, they now house places which veritably invite you in – to celebrate, to live life and to engage with the past.