Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/301

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. burial place of Charlemagne, and above it hangs an immense chandelier of gilded copper. The choir, dating from the fourteenth century, and built in the Gothic style, marks the second period of construction. The Hungarian Chapel, built in the early part of the eighteenth century, contains the sacred relics, which are exhibited to the populace every seven years. The other churches of great age are those of St. Foilan and St. Paul, with fine stained glass windows. In the Markt- platz stands the Gothic Rathhaus, built on the site of Charlemagne's palace, and containing the famous and immense coronation hall of the Ger- man emperors, decorated with frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Charlemagne. The Rath- haus is flanked by two towers, one of which, the Grannsturm, dates from the thirteenth century.

The city's affairs are directed by a munici- pal council of thirty members and an executive board of five. Aix-la-Chapelle has an excellent system of sewers, which carry the refuse into the river. The yearly expenditure is about $2000, or about 2½ cents per capita, compared to Pots- dam's per capita expenditure of about 21 cents. The city has owned and operated since 1880 large water works, which net it annually about $35,000. It has an organized fire department, upon which it expends annually the sum of about $6,000. The gas works are in the hands of private companies, which pay the city a tax of about half a cent for each cubic meter sold for lighting purposes, and about a quarter of a cent on each cubic meter sold for cooking purposes. The city owns an electric light plant, which, how- ever, is leased to a private company. Aix-la- Chapelle has quite a number of parks and prom- enades, including a municipal botanical garden, on which it expends annually about $13,000. Its educational institutions include free gym- nasiums, a splendidly equipped technical high school, an industrial high school, an art school, a teachers' preparatory school, and a deaf and dumb school. There are six public libraries, includitig the municipal library, containing about 100.000 volumes. The commerce of Aix-la-Cha- pelle is of considerable importance. Its prin- cipal industry is wool-spinning and the manufac- ture of cloth, which is exported to all parts of the world. There are also important manufac- tures of needles, glass buttons, knives, umbrellas, soap, cement, bells, pottery, and crockery. Aix- la-Chapelle is advantageously situated as a com- mercial centre, being on the Prussian State Rail- way and on the line to Antwerp. Local traffic facilities are afforded by electric street railway lines within the city, connecting it also with many of the neighboring towns. The hot sul- phur springs of Aix-la-Chapelle are celebrated. They are frequented yearly by about 20,000 vis- itors. The principal spring is the Kaiserquelle, with a temperature of 136° F. In 1890 the pop- ulation of Aix-la-Chapelle was over 103,000; in 1900, 135,000.

Aix-la-Chapelle was called Aquisgranum by the Romans, who frequented the place in great numbers on account of its warm springs. Under the Frankish emperors it enjoyed great prosperity. Pepin erected here a fine palace in 765; Charlemagne made the city his home and lavished favors upon it. Between 813 and 1531, the Roman emperors were crowned in Aix-la-Chapelle, and seventeen imperial diets assembled there. Prior to the Reformation. Aix-la-Chapelle was one of the most flourishing of the free imperial cities of Germany. The removal of the imperial coronations to Frankfort marked the end of a city's splendor, while the religious troubles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and a disastrous fire in 1656 hastened its decline. In 1793 it was taken by the French, but was ceded to Prussia in 1815. Consult: Stübben, "Aachens Bebauungsplan und Bauliche Zukunft," in the Deutsche Bauzeitung (Berlin, 1880); Drapeyron, "Aix-la-Chapelle et Charlemagne," in the Revue de Geographie, Volumes XLV. and XLVI. (Paris, 1899); "Reformationsgeschichte Aachens," in the Historische Politische Blätter, Volume CXXVIII. (Munich, 1901).

and The first peace of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war carried on between France and Spain for the possession of the Spanish Netherlands, known as the War of Devolution. On the death of Philip IV., Louis XIV. laid claim to a large portion of those territories in the name of his wife, Maria Theresa, the daughter of Philip, urging the law of succession prevailing in Brabant and Namur respecting private property. The victorious progress of Louis was checked by the triple alliance between England, Holland, and Sweden, and a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668, by which France retained possession of the fortresses of Charlerois and Lille, which she had already taken, but gave back Franche Comté to Spain.

The second peace of Aix-la-Chapelle concluded the War of the Austrian Succession (1748). (See .) In general the posses- sions of the several states remained as before the war. Austria ceded Parma, Piacenza, and Guas- talla to the Spanish infante, Philip; and the possession of Silesia and Glatz was guaranteed to Prussia. The privilege of the Assiento Treaty (q.v.) was confirmed to England for four years, and the Pretender was expelled from France. Owing chiefly to the exertions of her minister, Kaunitz, Austria came off with but small sacri- fice, and obtained a ratification of the Pragmatic Sanction (q.v.) from the signatory powers.

The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle was held in 1818, for regulating the affairs of Europe after the Napoleonic wars. The emperors of Russia and Austria and the King of Prussia were per- sonally present. The plenipotentiaries were Metternich, Castlereagh, and Wellington, Hard- enberg and Bernstorff, Nesselrode, and Capo d'Is- trias, with Richelieu on the part of France. France was admitted to take part in the delib- erations as one of the five great powers of Eu- rope, who proceeded thereupon to sign a protocol announcing a policy known as that of the "Holy Alliance" (q.v.). An important result of the Congress achieved by Richelieu was the imme- diate evacuation of France by the foreign forces. Consult de Broglie, La paix d'Aix-la-Chapelle (Paris, 1892).

AIZANI, i-z:"i'nl. or AZANI. a-za'ni. A city in Phrygia. In 1824, its remains were found by the Earl of Ashburnham, about 30 miles southwest of Kutaieh. There was a temple of Zeus, a theatre, a stadium, and a gymnasium. The theatre is in good preservation — with a diameter of 185 feet; it had fifteen rows of marble seats. The Rhyndaeus (now Adranus) rises near the site of Azani and passes through it; it was crossed by two white marble bridges, each