MikePadgett.com

Something to do with Lotharingia

— Following the Maas-Meuse into the old kingdom of Charlemagne.”

When Charlemagne died in early 814, he left behind him the strongest empire known to Western Europe since that of the Romans. Barely a generation later, it had been dissolved.

The wholesale division of territories among the royal issue led to weakness and fragmentation. In the case of the Carolingian empire, the sum of the whole had been greater than the parts.

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Dutch Limburg

Part of a day trip that included the medieval town of Valkenburg and Maastricht, the birthplace of the European Union.

Nevertheless, this carving up of land gave us a prototype of modern Europe. The transition from tribes to feudal kingdoms to nation states had begun.

Valkenberg

Where the plains of Flanders spread east towards the Rhine, the land rises in sudden bursts in a series of wooded valleys. As we saw in Geraardsbergen, hills in this part of the world are prized assets. In Valkenburg, the ruined castle sits atop one such steep incline above the houses, cafes and shops.

With a long and painful history of sieges, the latest of which is being mounted by determined tourists, the town has settled into a quieter pace of life after centuries as a major city of Dutch Limburg.

Maastricht

This fine city, cleaved by the great river Maas (to francophone Belgians, it’s the Meuse), was no easier to navigate in the car despite the fact that J passed through here on her Grand Tour in 1996.

No matter, for we eventually managed to park and headed into the streets on a hot summer’s afternoon. In the Vrijthof, there appeared to be a boules tournament in progress. We later learned that this is a major international event, as far as the game of boules goes, anyway.

As we paced around, J’s memory occasionally sputtered into life like a knackered engine. She would remember the minutest detail while the general topography mysteriously eluded her.

We lunched at Brasserie Britannique, not because we were missing Britain, but because I had spied a rather natty looking croque madame and, less importantly, it brought back memories of the UK’s rather naff diplomacy in ’92.

For no Briton over the age of, say, 20 (except perhaps J with her memory being what it is) will hear the name Maastricht without remembering something about the Treaty of the European Union signed there, whose rubric included the foundation of the Euro.

That was also the beginning of a slow, ugly decline for the Conservative Party, the resuscitation of which may be complete in 2009 when Britain will vote to rid itself of the cretinous Gordon Brown and cronies.

Aachen

It may be somewhat unfair to suggest that, apart from its marvellous Carolingian heritage site, there isn’t much else going for Aachen, or Aix-La-Chapelle as it has also sometimes been known. That’s just how it seemed to J and I as we arrived from Maastricht during the late afternoon.

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Aachen

Once the seat of Charlemagne's empire, Germany's westernmost city still boasts his stunning cathedral his rather more modest throne.

Charlemagne liked the hot springs so much that he stayed and ruled his empire from here every winter from 768, living late into his 60s. It is strangely edifying to imagine perhaps the greatest leader of the Middle Ages gingerly dipping his toes into the 70-plus degree waters.

Subsequent kings of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen throughout the course of the next half-millennium at the world-famous cathedral he founded, about which more in a moment.

Indeed, the city’s history is long, distinguished and notably cosmopolitan. It sits on Germany’s border with Belgium and the Netherlands. In modern times, it is twinned with two other heavyweight cathedral cities, Toledo and Reims. More dubiously, it is also twinned with Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Aachen Cathedral

The great kaiserdom was one of the earliest, and one would expect one of the more easily acknowledged, proposals for UNESCO World Heritage status. Stepping inside, we began our fourth visit to a UNESCO site this year.

Built in 792, this is the oldest cathedral in Northern Europe. With a richly diverse mix of architectural styles and decoration, it is certainly one of the most beautiful.

The beautiful interior dazzles visitors, in contrast to the simple, rather sober, marble throne on which Charlemagne sat in one of the upper galleries.

The lofty, domed Palatine Chapel dominates the overall plan. The chapel was Charlemagne’s own chapel and it appears to have been modelled to some extent on the basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, a building the well-travelled King probably knew well.