ENAnyone looking for an Aachen hospital in Germany will find a university hospital, general hospitals and a psychiatric centre in a city on the country’s western border, next to Belgium and the Netherlands.
This page covers the hospitals in and around Aachen, which cases usually go to the university hospital and which to other hospitals, and when a nearby larger centre such as Cologne or Bonn makes more sense.
Aachen: A Medical City Where Three Countries Meet
Aachen’s role as a medical city rests on the medical faculty of RWTH Aachen University and its hospital, the Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, one of the university hospitals in Germany. Care, research and teaching are brought together under one roof, and almost all of the faculty’s facilities are housed in the hospital building. For a patient, that means a place for complex cases, rare diagnoses and research: the hospital’s Centre for Rare Diseases (Zentrum für Seltene Erkrankungen Aachen), for example, looks after people with rare conditions and unclear diagnoses.
Aachen sits where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet, and both neighbouring countries lie in the immediate vicinity. According to the university hospital, the international airports of Cologne and Düsseldorf are easy to reach, Brussels and Amsterdam are not far away, and the regional airports are Liège and Maastricht-Aachen, so flying in via Belgium or the Netherlands works too.
University Hospital RWTH Aachen
Uniklinik RWTH Aachen is a university hospital of maximum care (Maximalversorger) that covers the whole spectrum of medicine. By its own figures, it has 35 specialist clinics, 1,400 beds and 9,000 staff, and treats 50,000 inpatient cases a year; its departments are described under University Hospital Aachen.
Patients from abroad usually turn to it for a second opinion, complex surgery or a multidisciplinary tumour board. Its cancer centre, CIO Aachen, runs a second-opinion centre (Zweitmeinungszentrum) where independent experts review the case, and treating doctors can register patients for its tumour conferences (Tumorkonferenzen), where specialists from different fields look at the patient’s records together. No outcome can be promised in advance.
Other Hospitals in Aachen and the Surrounding Area
Besides the university hospital, general care in Aachen comes from the Luisenhospital and the Marienhospital. The Luisenhospital in the city centre, run by a Protestant hospital association, covers surgery, internal and lung medicine, gynaecology and obstetrics, geriatrics and orthopaedics, with centres for lung, breast and bowel cancer. The Marienhospital, part of the Alexianer group, offers gastroenterology, cardiology, general, vascular and spine surgery, a women’s clinic with a maternity unit and a 24-hour emergency centre. The Franziskushospital no longer exists as a separate hospital: since 1 January 2020 it has been the university hospital’s second site, home to dermatology, geriatric medicine and joint surgery, among others.
Psychiatric and psychosomatic care comes from the Alexianer hospital (Alexianer Krankenhaus Aachen). Since 1 January 2024 it has shared the name Alexianer Zentrum für seelische Gesundheit with a clinic in Gangelt: a mental health centre with two clinics for psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine. In Aachen it covers general and old-age psychiatry, psychotherapy and addiction medicine.
In neighbouring Würselen, the Rhein-Maas Klinikum, an academic teaching hospital of RWTH, has cardiology, neurology with a stroke unit, lung medicine, urology including paediatric urology, spine surgery and neurosurgery, plus a dedicated contact for patients from the Netherlands. Planned treatment there makes sense when the department you need is at this hospital and its reply fits on timing and cost.
Aachen or a Nearby Major Centre
Aachen fits when one of its hospitals has the department you need, when it is closer to home, or when your doctor recommends a particular hospital. For cancer, the Krebsinformationsdienst of the German Cancer Research Center explains that whether a specialised centre is needed depends on the type of cancer, the situation and how complex the treatment is, and that distance from home may also count.
The university hospitals of Cologne or Bonn are worth considering for a narrow specialisation, experience with a rare diagnosis or when Aachen cannot offer a timely appointment; a doctor decides from the documents. Both are AlenMed partners: the Cologne hospital lists more than 60 clinics and centres, University Hospital Bonn has 38 clinics and 31 institutes, and other hospitals in Cologne have their own page. Since 2018 the cancer centres of the university hospitals of Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf have formed CIO ABCD, agreeing on common treatment standards and research goals; German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe) has recognised it as a top-level cancer centre (Onkologisches Spitzenzentrum).
Frequently asked questions
Which hospitals are there in Aachen?
Aachen has the Uniklinik RWTH Aachen with its second site, Franziskus, the general Luisenhospital and Marienhospital, and the Alexianer psychiatric centre; the Rhein-Maas Klinikum is in neighbouring Würselen. For treatment, you choose a department rather than a hospital: the enquiry goes to the one that handles your diagnosis.
How do I choose a hospital in Aachen?
Start with the diagnosis, not the hospital’s name: what matters is which department regularly treats such cases. Translated records go to two or three suitable departments, and their plans, timing and estimates are compared. For cancer, ask about a certified centre for that tumour type, although a suitable hospital may also work without one.
Do Aachen hospitals accept patients from abroad?
Yes, they do. The university hospital has an International Office, the central contact point for all questions about treating international patients, and the Rhein-Maas Klinikum has a dedicated contact for patients from the Netherlands. Planned treatment starts with an enquiry and a cost estimate based on the translated records.
Which Aachen hospitals treat cancer?
Cancer is treated at the university hospital and at the city’s other hospitals. CIO Aachen, the university hospital’s cancer centre, offers second opinions and tumour conferences; the Luisenhospital has centres for lung, breast and bowel cancer, and the Marienhospital a certified bowel centre and a breast centre. The tumour type and stage decide which fits.
How AlenMed Arranges Treatment in Aachen
AlenMed translates your medical records into German, sends enquiries to suitable departments at Aachen hospitals and compares replies and cost estimates; if another city suits your diagnosis better, we name alternatives such as Cologne or Bonn. See arranging treatment in Germany for the steps.
You pay the hospital directly. We help with the visa invitation and an interpreter at consultations, and arrange airport pick-up and accommodation. Our office is in Munich, and our 86 partner hospitals are in 38 cities across Germany.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer; the treatment plan is decided by the doctor at a face-to-face consultation.