- Klinikum Aachen
- The Klinikum Aachen, full German name "Universitätsklinikum Aachen"(University Hospital Aachen), abbreviated UKA, formerly known as "NeuesKlinikum", is a very large hospital in
Aachen (Germany ). It is part oftheRWTH Aachen and contains its whole medical faculty.Seen from far away, for many visitors the Klinikum Aachen looks like an oilrefinery rather than a hospital, due to the huge striped ventilation pipes that are attached to the outer walls.
The Klinikum Aachen contains many specialised clinics, theoretical and clinicalinstitutes and other research facilities, lecture halls, schools for jobs inthe medical field, and all facilities necessary for a hospital like a laundryand central sterilisation.
It is the biggest single-building hospital in Europe.
History
In 1966 the faculty of medicine at the RWTH Aachen was founded. Automaticallythe municipal hospitals in Aachen became university hospitals, but soon it wasrealised that they were too small.
In 1972 the constructions of the Klinikum Aachen began. Ten years later thefirst rooms could be used by the faculty. The rest of the building wasfinished section by section. The constructions were delayed due to problemswith too soft ground material that could not sustain the whole building.
The official opening was celebrated in 1985. Its original name was "NeuesKlinikum" (New Klinikum) because there was already a hospital called "Klinikum"in Aachen. That doesn't exist anymore, so it was renamed.
Because of the weak soil in the area, the hospital was never completely finished. Several floors were never added, which makes the supply towers out of proportion. However, the enormous building moves 1 cm per each year towards the nearby Dutch border.
Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence
University Hospital Aachen (UKA) and the
University Medical Centre Maastricht (Maastricht UMC+)will start a Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence on theAvantis Technology Park on the Dutch-German border betweenHeerlen and AachenFacts and Figures
External links
* [http://www.ukaachen.de/index.jsp Universitätsklinikum Aachen] (English and French version available)
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