In which modern German state is Aachen located?

Aachen is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, one of Germany’s 16 federal states.

The city lies in western Germany near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, about 61 kilometers west of Cologne. Its borderland position helped make it an important center in the Meuse–Rhine region, where German, Dutch, and French cultural influences meet.

Aachen is especially associated with Charlemagne, who developed it into his principal residence and made it the political and cultural center of his realm. His palace complex included the famous Palatine Chapel, whose core survives as Aachen Cathedral. Charlemagne was buried there in 814, and the cathedral later became a major destination for imperial coronations and pilgrimage.

A frequent mix-up is to place Aachen in Bavaria because of its imperial history, or in Hesse because both are central German states. Aachen is in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the far west of the country.