Charlemagne

📍Palatine Chapel (Palace of Aachen), Klosterplatz 2, 52062 Aachen, Germany

“I chose Aachen because of its hot springs — the Romans had known their virtue, and I found them invaluable for my aging body after decades of campaigning. But Aachen became far more than a place to bathe. I built my palace complex here over many years: a great hall for audiences and feasting, a palace chapel of such beauty that it astonished visitors from Byzantium, and extensive gardens and workshops. Scholars came from across Europe — Alcuin of York, Paul the Deacon, Einhard — and we would spend evenings debating theology and poetry and the nature of good governance. I learned to read as an adult, sitting at this table, working through Latin texts by lamplight.”

Sources: Einhard, Life of Charlemagne (830 AD); McKitterick, R. Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity (2008), Cambridge University Press