Basilica of St. Louis, King of France Basilica of St. Louis, King of France The Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France (), formerly the Cathedral of Saint Louis, and colloquially the Old Cathedral, was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1845 the only parish church in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of two Catholic basilicas in St. Louis, and it is named for King Louis IX of France, also the namesake for the city of St. Louis. The current structure (built 1831-1834) is located near the historic riverfront of St. Louis, surrounded by but not a part of
Name of France first king of "Francia Occidentalis" (Charles the Bald) to the current president of the French Republic (Emmanuel Macron). Notably, in German, France is still called "Frankreich", which literally means ""Reich" (empire) of the Franks". In order to distinguish it from the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne, France is called "Frankreich", while the Frankish Empire is called "Frankenreich". The name of the Franks itself is said to come from the Proto-Germanic word *"frankon" which means "javelin, lance". Another proposed etymology is that Frank means "the free men", based on the fact that the word "frank" meant "free" in the ancient Germanic languages.