The shops are closed, the red carpet rolled out, TV cameras and men donning radio earplugs can be seen everywhere: An important state visit is taking place. Crowds cheer, the politicians wave and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder grins widely.

Every spring, on the day when the old imperial city awards the Charlemagne Prize, or so-called "Karlspreis" to promoters of European unity, Aachen goes haywire.

Bill Clinton was one of the recent winners. The list of recipients is a who's who of European policy, including Winston Churchill, Jacques Delors, Vaclav Havel, and former German chancellors Helmut Kohl and Konrad Adenauer.

The prize is worth more than just a certificate, medal or the symbolic 5,000 euro award. The Charlemagne Prize is to Aachen what the Oktoberfest is to Munich or what the Wagner Festival is to Bayreuth. Every year on this one day, Aachen becomes the heart of Europe, much like it was more than a millennium ago.

Cradle of Europe

Some 1,200 years ago, Charlemagne chose Aachen as his main residence and center of power. Some even believed it to be "the cradle of Europe."

Though hardly comparable to today's European unity, the idea is nevertheless enshrined in the walls of the Aachen Cathedral. Germany's oldest cultural heritage site, the giant cathedral remains an obligatory sight to see for tourists from all around the world. The area immediately surrounding the cathedral still boasts some of its former splendor, but that doesn't mean time has stood still here.

As proud as Aachen is of its imperial past, the people of Aachen are also quick to point out their futuristic high-tech sector. In addition, they consider Aachen, which lies near the borders with Holland and Belgium, a model for cross-border cooperation in Europe.

Boundless boomtown

Europeans know Aachen under names such as Aken, Aquisgrana, Cáchy or Aix-la-Chapelle. Politicians like to praise the place as Germany's most international city, labeling it a "European Region," or "Euregio" for short.

The people in this region often live in Germany, work in the Netherlands and shop and dine in Belgium. The colorful mix of languages is one of the attractions of living in this Belgian, Dutch, German triangle. Regular bus lines make it easy to go shopping in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Fountain of youth

Situated in the far western reaches of Germany, Aachen's location used to relegate it to a provincial status. However, its international surroundings have breathed new life into the city of 250,000 citizens.

Within just a few years, long abandoned coal mines, factories and warehouses have become new homes for a multitude of high-tech start ups -- all of them the products of an entrepreneurial boom in this so-called "Euregio."

But the strong engine driving this boom is not to be found at EU headquarters in Brussels. It is situated in Aachen itself at the city's University of Technology, which is an architectural masterpiece of concrete and steel. No other German technical university is so large, so old and has such an outstanding international reputation.

In some ways, this renowned school is like a fountain of youth -- it guarantees that not only cathedral pilgrims or European politicians are the sole visitors to this ancient city.