Trier

Trier: November 24th

            My roommates and I went to Germany for Thanksgiving weekend.  We started in Binsfeld, where Amanda’s parents live.  On Saturday, we went to Trier, the oldest town in Germany.  The town of Trier, originally called Augusta Treverorum, was officially established by Emperor Augustus in 16C BC.  As we were driving into town, the Porta Nigra was the first monument that caught our attention.  Porta Nigra means “Black Gate” and was renamed in the Middle Ages when the sandstones blackened with age.  

            Next, we walked to the Hauptmarkt, which is the center of Trier's Old Town. The market is marked by the Market Cross, which is a large column with a small cross on top.  The original market cross is now in a museum in Trier, but a replica still stands in the square.  There was a Christmas market in the square, and we saw many 17th century buildings.  One building, built in 1648, called the Red House had an inscription that stated: (the following is an English translation of the Latin) "Before Rome Trier stood one thousand and three hundred years, may it continue to stand and enjoy eternal peace. Amen!" 

          From the Hauptmarkt, we went to Trier's two most famous churches.  This pair of churches is built on the foundations of the north and south church that were built by Emperor Constantine in 326.  The Cathedral of Trier was built in ...  The neighboring Church of Our Lady is one of Germany's first Gothic churches and was built from 1235 through 1260.

         We walked visited Constantine's Basilica, the Aula Palatina, which was built in early 4th Century AD on the remains of his imperial palace.  This Basilica was most likely originally the throne room or audience hall for an entire complex that used to be in the area.  When the Electoral Palace was built in 17 century, the Basilica was integrated into the new building.  During WWII, the building was badly destroyed.  We saw images of the entire roof missing.  The Basilica was reconstructed from 1944 to 1956.

          The Electoral Palace, which is attached to the Aula Palatina, was designed by Prince Elector J. Ph. Von Walderdorff after he came to power in 1756.  The "garden frontage" of the palace is now asymmetrical because during the restoration of the Basilica, part of the west wing was torn down.

          Towards the end of our visit, we went to the Imperial Baths, which are the younger of Trier's ancient baths.  The St. Barbara baths are older, but we didn't visit these.  The Imperial Baths were built by Constantine in 4th century AD.  The baths were left unfinished by Constantine and were never used for their intended use.  His successors remodeled them, and in the Middle Ages, the baths were used as part of the city walls of Trier.

          This excursion was particularly interesting because, living in Italy, we've been at the heart where most of the things in the Roman empire occurred.  By visiting Germany and seeing ancient Roman buildings, I was able to better understand the true extent of the Roman empire.  Many countries have Roman history, not just Italy.