Centre Charlemagne

The museum was very interesting, but half of the exhibits focused on the city, and the material specifically about Charlemagne was somewhat limited. Also, most of the commentary was in German. On a positive note, they have a nice coffee place.

I retraced my steps from the morning to our first stop, the Charlemagne Centre. This museum showed the history of the city from pre Roman times through to the eighteenth century I think. There were some wonderful exhibits including a Roman glass drinking horn and Roman ear tweezers, a medieval crown, Arabic and Byzantine coins and some gospel covers. As well as exhibits there were various displays on events in the city such as the sack of the city by the Spanish to expel the Protestants in 1598, the 1656 fire that destroyed 90% of the old city, the change of borders in 1801 and 1815 and then 1918 and 1930 where the city moved between French and German control. The bombing and siege of the city in 1944 caused yet more large scale destruction. There were also sections on the importance of the city as a centre for scholarship and manuscript production and another section on Carolingian arms and armour. All good stuff! The displays had minimal descriptions in English but you could download an audio app if you wanted to. All of the media screens could be played in English. Entrance was 10 Euros and we were inside for about an hour.

Modern, well-structured museum that places Aachen’s history in context, from Roman times to Charlemagne and beyond. Nice timeline tying the exhibitions together.

They have a English audio guide and that's really helpful and you can understand all the things and its very engaging if you are interested in exploring the history of aachen.

I visited the exhibition on August 19 and, unfortunately, I would not recommend it. Upon arrival, I was disappointed that the receptionist made no effort to communicate in English, which made it difficult to understand the necessary information. I was only able to proceed thanks to the kindness of another visitor in line who helped translate. The exhibition itself was smaller than expected, and several of the interactive elements were out of order. Additionally, all the information and descriptions were only available in German, which made it hard to fully appreciate or understand the content as an international visitor. Given the limited experience and lack of accessibility for non-German speakers, I found the entrance fee quite high for what was offered.

I was hoping that the museum would provide some history and context before we visited the cathedral, but it was a disappointment. Only one level was open in this large building and there was no access to the Marie tower, despite the glass connecting tunnel. Most of the artifacts are copies. We really would have appreciated a short film about the history of Aachen and Charlemagne. It’s been a very long time since I’ve studied about the Holy Roman Empire.

Really worth the visit! About one and a half hours is perfect. Lots of very interesting history starting at Roman times and working its way to present. Lots of interesting artifacts and paintings/photos to see. Entry very reasonable, only 6 €.

An interesting city museum starting with the Romans to modern times. The focus is of course on Charlemagne. Who founded the city. His life and work is present everywhere in the city. The museum offers changing exhibitions. Plan for 2 hours.r