Changes to Aachen's Cityscape

For a year and a half now, excavators, construction workers, and red and white barriers have been visible all around the theater. The transformation of Theaterplatz and its surroundings into a stage that everyone can enjoy is in full swing. Despite the construction work, everyone is looking forward to the new first-class development that Aachen is getting.

In a joint press conference at the start of the year, the city of Aachen and Regionetz provided information about the current construction progress, the upcoming challenges, and the modified construction schedule. City Planning Councilor Frauke Burgdorff paid tribute to all those involved: “This construction project has just about everything that makes building a challenging endeavor. Despite this, we have a strong team working underground and above ground (who, incidentally, have even planted 29 new trees,) and they have proven that they can react quickly and pragmatically to practical challenges, especially when you consider the archaeological finds and the rescheduling that has been necessary.”

Archaeological finds are going to be exhibited

Since January 2025, Regionetz has been renewing the supply and disposal lines on Theaterstraße and Theaterplatz and they are expanding environmentally friendly district heating in this area. The project will be carried out in several construction phases. The section in Theaterstraße up to the Borngasse junction is almost complete, reports Ralf Jansen, site manager responsible for the project at Regionetz. During excavation work on the northern side of Theaterplatz, archaeologists have made some sensational discoveries since last spring. Experts had already anticipated that they would find artifacts in this area of the historic city center. A Beghard monastery was initially built there in the 13th century, and this was taken over by the Capuchins in the 17th century, as city archaeologist Andreas Schaub explains. Remains of it have been found there, including human skeletons from the monastery cemetery. The archaeologists are still working on the site. An archaeological exhibition at the Planbar attracted more than 700 visitors between late April and early June.

Fire extinguisher water tank for the theater

A special project in the Theaterplatz redesign project also began in April: the installation of a fire extinguisher water tank for the theater. This will be necessary to make sure that Aachen’s Kulturhaus is protected from fire in the future. The municipal building management department is responsible for this construction project. Head of Department Robert Schmidt said the following: “We took this opportunity to significantly improve the way we supply fire extinguisher water to the theater. To make this happen, a fire extinguisher water storage tank with a volume of 100,000 liters of water and a redundant technical center will be installed underground in the theater forecourt in order to supply the deluge extinguishing system, sprinkler system and wall hydrants with a safe and stable supply of water in the event of an incident.” The explosive ordnance survey has now been successfully completed. During the archaeological work, experts discovered the remains of a church, which are being documented. The prefabricated tank is scheduled to be installed this fall. Civil engineering work began after the explosive ordnance surveys were completed, and an archaeological team is also present on site.

Surface work to start this year

In July 2025, politicians approved the decision to turn the new Theaterplatz into a stage for everyone to enjoy. Project manager Philip Spahr reports that the tendering and awarding of contracts for the construction of the surfaces will be completed by the end of the year. The surface work is due to commence at the start of 2027.

A new fountain and green theater gardens

At Theaterplatz and in its surroundings, we can clearly see that urban society is tackling the challenges of future city building. Below ground, the district heating and sponge city facilities are contributing to the use of sustainable technology and above ground, a large fountain, the theater gardens, the catering areas, the 29 additional trees, and of course the theater itself with the surrounding stores, bars and restaurants provide an excellent urban flair and an effective incentive for people to spend time there.

Theaterplatz is one of the central projects of the 2022 city center concept (ISK 22), which was developed a good ten years ago. The last large sums of urban development funding were successfully raised for the redesign on the basis of what was laid out in ISK 22. The construction costs for the design of Theaterstrasse and Theaterplatz amount to around ten million euros. Up to 80 percent of this is being funded by the federal and state governments. The conversion of the accessible bus stops in Theaterstraße is being 100 percent funded by a GoRheinland program.

The Kapuzinergraben will be remodeled during the third construction phase at a later date. Following an initial consultation and preliminary selection of a cross-section by the Mobility Committee at the beginning of 2024, the plans are now being further developed in close coordination with the plans for inner-city transportation and the Regiotram process.

– Author: City of Aachen/Stefan Herrmann