During its important history, Thionville had its ups and downs. During the Carolingian period, for example, the city played an important role in the heart of Europe, as the historian Kévin Goeuriot tells us: “Cited for the first time in 707 under the Germanic form Dietenhoven then, in 753 under the Latin form “Theodonis villa”, Thionville developed, from the High Middle Ages, along the important Roman road which, for centuries, linked the Mediterranean basin to northern Europe. The “domain of Theudo”, as the old documents indicate it, will know, in the Carolingian period, a certain fortune, since several sovereigns will make of Thionville one of their favorite residences. We know that the Carolingian kings liked to retire to their palace in Thionville. The immense forests which surrounded the village allowed them to devote themselves to hunting with hounds, which remained undoubtedly their favorite occupation. “
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The division of the empire from Thionville
The one who left his mark on the city was above all… Charlemagne. In 783, the king, who was not yet emperor, lost his wife Hildegarde de Vintzgau there.
And in 805, it was in Thionville that Charlemagne had his political will written, the famous Divisio regnorum, in which he planned a first division of his empire.
In 821, it was still in Thionville that Lothaire, the eldest of Charlemagne’s grandsons, married the beautiful Ermengarde de Tours.
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