Since 1958 this building in the centre of Aachen’s historical old town, now called “Haus Monheim”, has housed an exhibition of particularly impressive examples of upper middle class interior decor. The rooms form a harmonious ensemble of different interior styles ranging from Rococo through the early Classicism of the Louis-Seize period and the Napoleonic Empire style to Biedermeier.

A large display case, for example, presents a selection of ornate silverware from the 18th century. The somewhat more practical equipment in the kitchen – coffee roasters, coffee grinders and porcelain crockery – remind us that the luxury beverages coffee, tea and chocolate also claimed their place in middle class society in the 18th century. In 1857, an Italian chocolate maker produced the very first chocolate bars in Germany, right here in Haus Monheim.