Tour Charlemagne (Tower of Charles the Great), Tours

On June 4, 800 AD, the wife of Emperor Charles the Great (Charlemagne), died. Her name was Luitgarde d'Alemanie. Tradition has it that the Emperor buried his wife in or near the Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours. The tower of Charlemagne is a remnant of the ancient building. The actual tomb of the Empress has never been officially certified.

The basilica in place in 800 AD was replaced in 1014, when Herve de Buzancais, treasure of Saint-Martin, built a Romanesque basilica over the site. Originally this building had three towers, two in front and one at the transept. Two other towers were added, The Charlemagne Tower to the north and the Cadran Tower to the south.

The Charlemagne tower was set on firm foundations. The southern tower was placed over the vaults of the transept. In time this latter move proved to be a bad idea. Only the Tower of Charlemagne has stood the test of time.

The tower was restored in 1962 along with the rehabilitation efforts of the Tours old town district. The tower is Romanesque on the lower floors and Gothic above. Two lower floors can be accessed by a spiral staircase in a turret. The top floor can be reached through an internal spiral staircase.