The Gothic Aachen Rathaus, English Aachen City Hall or Aachen Town Hall, is located opposite to the Aachen Cathedral and is one of the most striking structures in the Altstadt of Aachen, Germany.
In the first half of the 14th century, Aachen’s citizenry built the city hall under the leadership of its acting mayor Gerhard Chorus (1285–1367) as a sign of their civic freedom.
The octagon in the centre of the Cathedral was erected as the chapel of the Palace of Aachen between 796 and 805 on the model of other contemporary Byzantine buildings (e.g. the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna and the Little Hagia Sophia in Constantinople).The architect was Odo of Metz, and the original design was of a domed octagonal inner room enveloped by a 16 sided outer wall. The span and height of Charlemagne's Palatine chapel was unsurpassed north of the Alps for over two hundred years.
