Charlemagne et ses Leudes (Parvis de Notre-Dame) - Equestrian Statues on Waymarking.com

Long Description:
Charlemagne (742 or 747 – 28 January 814) was the King of the Franks (768–814) who conquered Italy and took the Iron Crown of Lombardy in 774 and, on a visit to Rome in 800, was crowned imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, presaging the revival of the Roman imperial tradition in the West in the form of the Holy Roman Empire. By his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define Western Europe and the Middle Ages.

Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens who menaced his realm from Spain. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian Dynasty.

Today regarded as the founding father of both France and Germany and sometimes as the Father of Europe, as he was the first ruler of a united Western Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire.

Charlemagne's birthday was believed to be April 2, 742 in Herstal (where his father was born), a city close to Liège, in Belgium, the region from which both the Meroving and Caroling families originate.

Charlemagne spoke the Germanic language of the Franks of his day.

When Charlemagne died in 814, he was buried in his own Cathedral at Aachen (in modern Germany). He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Germany.

Identity of Rider: Charlemagne Name of artist: brothers Charles and Louis Rochet Date of Dedication: 1882 Material: Bronze Position: One Hoof Raised Identity of Horse: Not listed Unusual Features: Not listed

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