He went on to become music director at the operas of Aachen, Wiesbaden and Cologne.

BBC: Conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch dies at 89

Germany and Algeria have already reportedly signed a deal to lay cables stretching as far north as Aachen on the German-Belgian border.

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Armin Heinen, professor of history at Aachen's university, says modern German identity was built on reconciliation with the French Erbfeind, or hereditary enemy.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Engineers from Ford's European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany and simTD research project partners so far have tested the developmental technologies in a controlled environment.

ENGADGET: Road safety project simTD connects cars, infrastructure. Hopes to save lives, time

In 1850, Paul Julius Reuter, founder of the news agency that bears his name, used 40 pigeons to carry stock market prices between Brussels and Aachen.

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His previous coaching experience has been at the lower ranks in Germany with second division side SSV Ulm, where he was assistant manager in 2001, and Almenia Aachen.

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Today Aachen is prospering, democracy is firmly rooted, no passport is required to visit neighbouring, or more distant, countries and much of the continent enjoys a single currency.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Aachen, the heart of the empire, became a frontier town.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

When they showed this layout to a third researcher, Manuel Torrilhon of Aachen University in Germany, he recognised the spiral patterns within it, and this prompted the trio to test a design specifically modelled on nature.

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Wilhelm Meiners and his colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Aachen, Germany, are one group working to extend the technology to print reconstructive facial plates and even load-bearing artificial joints, such as hips, which could be customised for each patient.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR