Katherine Heigl explores family tree in Germany

Katherine Heigl took a break from her whistle-stop promotional tour of Europe to visit the childhood home of her German grandfather last week (02Feb12).

The actress stopped in the small town of Esslingen, near Stuttgart, while in Germany promoting her latest movie One For The Money.

Heigl explored her ancestry with her mum Nancy, who was delighted to tour the house where her father Reinhold F. Engelhardt lived before emigrating to the States in the 1920s.

Heigl was greeted by her cousins at a civic reception in Esslingen's Old City Hall, where Mayor Juergen Zieger presented her with gifts including documents tracing her family roots.

She told reporters, "I worked in Germany when I was 17 in Berlin. This will be my second time in Germany, so it still feels like another country to me, but being here in Esslingen feels very emotional because of the history we have here."

Heigl later signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans as well as a newlywed bride who had just married in the City Hall.