Joseph, Padma and I travelled with our German friend, Volker, to pay our respects to our ancestor in Aachen, Germany.
Charlemagne – or Charles I, the Emperor of the Romans, the King of the Lombards and the King of the Franks – was laid to rest in 814 in his imperial capital city of Aix-la-Chapell, now known as Aachen.
Joseph is the 36th great grandson of Charles. It’s true. I can actually chart our ancestry to Charles via my grandmother.
Charlemagne loved the spas of Aachen and spent his winters there. In 796, he ordered that a cathedral be built and it became the largest cathedral north of the Alps at the time. He loved it so much that he was buried there.
Volker led us on a tour of Aachen which included the cathedral where we saw the ‘Karlsschrein’, a shrine where Charlemagne’s remains are entombed. We’ve seen a lot of churches in Europe but the Aachen Cathedral stands out as one of the most unique and beautiful. And knowing that our ancestor built it and rests there makes it even more special.
