Situated in southern Germany, in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg is the city of Aalen. The city is a former Free Imperial City, and sits approximately 48 kilometres north of the city of Ulm and 70 kilometres to the east of Stuttgart. There are around 66,000 people that call the city home, making it the 15th most populated area in Baden-Wurttemberg. The city has an urban sprawl of around 147 square kilometres.
The design of the houses that were built between the 16th and 18th centuries are unique inasmuch as they are half timbered, which is kind of funky if you have never seen houses like this before.
The city is twinned with five other cities, Saint-Lo in France, Christchurch in the United Kingdom, Tatabanya in Hungary, Antakya in Turkey and Cervia in Italy. The city is home to the Theater der Stadt Aalen, or translated, the Theatre of the Town of Aalen. The theatre which was established in 1991 actually features 6 full time paid actors.
The city also has its own music school, the Music School of the Town of Aalen was founded back in 1958. There are around 27 different musical instructors that teach over 30 different musical subjects. The school has approximately 1,500 students in attendance.
The city due to its size only has two museums, the Aalen Limes Museum which predominantly displays objects and artefacts from the Roman era. Each year the museum plays host to a Roman festival. The other museum is the Geological-Paleontological Museum, which is actually inside the historic town hall. It has a whole range of goodies on display including over 1500 fossils from the Swabian Jura. If you don't mind venturing out of the confines of the city, you will also find two other museums, which are the Heimatstuble museum and the Museum Wasseralfingen.
Some of the local sightseeing attractions include the Memorial stone at Schillerlinde, St. John's Church, St. Stephen's Church, St. Nicholas Church, the Historic Town Hall, the Spy's Tower, the Old Town Hall, the Burgerspital Civic Asylum, the Fire Engine House Square, Limes-Thermen hot springs, Market Square, the Reichsstadter Brunnen fountain, the Radgasse, the Tiefer Stollen tourist mine, the Aalen Observatory, Windpark Waldhausen & the Aalbaumle observation tower.
The city also has a number of festivals which it hosts, including the Reichsstadter Tage which is held on the second weekend in September, the Roman Festival and the Aalen Jazz Festival.
The closest airport that services the city is the Aalen-Heidenheim Airport which is about 15 kilometres from the city. However, this airport is only used for small aircraft and gliders. The other major airport is Stuttgart Airport, which is about 90 kilometres from Aalen.
