The market square is slightly elevated in the center of Aachen. In front of the city hall, emperor Karl is standing in a bowl of pea soup, if you take the nickname "Eäzecomp" for the fountain literally. The statue depicts Karl the Great with scepter, globus cruciger and crown. The city hall was built at the beginning of the 14th century. The Granus tower on the left is a relic from the 8th century and thus the oldest building in Aachen. On the opposite side of the market place, at the entrance to Pont street, is the oldest middle-class house of Aachen, "Haus Löwenstein" with the corner tower.