Britannica Junior Encyclopaedia 2/A [antikvár]

AACHEN (a'Kén) (French: Aix-la-Chapelle), GERMÁNY. Aachen is a bordér town with a ! rich history and important industries. It is a i rail junction and a road center in northwest Germany only three miles from the boundaries with Belgium and the Netherlands. History The colorful history of Aachen goes back to pre-Boman times. The natural hot springs were enjoyed by the Bomans. Charlemagne, the most famous man from Aachen, began the cathedral in a.d. 796. The cathedral was damaged but not destroyed in World War II. Charlemagne alsó built a great palace in the years 777 to 786 and made Aachen the capital for most of western Europe. It became an important center of culture and, for a time, the second city of the Holy Boman Empire. Charlemagne was buried in the cathedral seated in a marble chair. In the year 1000 this chair was taken out and used as a coronation throne. For more than seven centuries (a.d. 813-1531), the Germán emperors (of the Holy Boman Empire) were crowned in the city. The crowning took place in the town hall, built on the ruins of Charlemagne's palace. After a great fire, which destroyed much of the city in 1656, Aachen declined. It was too close to the French bordér to be safe and too far from the center of Germany to be a convenient capital. Because of its location as a bordér town, Aachen was a Germán supply base in both world wars. As the main gate into Germany from the west it was the first Germán city occupied by Allied troops in World War II. Aachen suffered heavily from air raids before United States troops captured the city in October 1944 after bittér fíghting. Half of the city lay in rubble, and 85 per cent of the buildings were damaged. Most of the beautiful old churches were destroyed. The city is being rebuilt and somé of the famous buildings restored. Modern Aachen Today Aachen is an industrial city which produces iron and steel, machinery, railroad cars, electric motors, needles, cloth, and light bulbs. An important coal field lies nearby. Great walks extend along the lines of the ancient fortifications of the town. Two old gates remain from the former city wall. In the old city, narrow cobbled streets remain but there are alsó many broad modern boulevards. An engineering school, a technical academy, and a conservatory for church music are located in the city. The population of Aachen was 162,000 in 1939 at the beginning of World War II. It feli to 110,000 in the 1946 census, but has since risen to an estimated 167,593 in 1959. AARDVARK (ard'vark). The aardvark lives in Africa from Senegal in the west to Somaliland in the east, to the Cape of Good Hope in the south. The name is Dutch and means "earth Pig" It is a large animal, with a long face, heavy body, and long thick tail and has short, grayishbrown hair. It weighs about 140 pounds. The aardvark has peglike teeth üke the armadillo. Like the anteater it feeds on termites and its forearms are powerful, the forefeet being armed with long claws for digging. One young is born each year. The aardvark feeds at night and spends the day in its burrows which are large enough for a small man to enter. The burThe aardvark is found in Africa.