Considered the oldest City in Germany, a shrine of the Treveri, a Germanic tribe, existed at the site (c. 400 BCE) with inhabitation occurring potentially 1000 years prior. The Roman town was founded by the emperor Augustus aorund 15 BCE. due to its strategic position North of the Alps along the fertile Mosel River. For most of the fourth century, this city of 80,000 had a four-mile-long wall with four great gates to protect its inhabitants from invaders and Emperor Constantine used the town as the capital of his western Roman Empire before settling in the East. Over the years the City served as an important centre within the Holy Roman Empire, the French under Napolean and the Prussian Empire.
We arrived in the evening, checking into Hotel Deutschherrenhof (outstanding service and great breakfast) and then venturing out to get a view of the main square and something to eat before being proper tourists the next day. We were immediately smitten with the lovely pedestrain area.
As a centre of history I arranged for a walking tour for the family on our first full day, but not just any walking tour, a Mosel wine appreciation historical wine tour. It served as a great way to orientate ourself within the core of the City, learn about the major sites, plan out the rest of our time and try some fantastic local wines. Highlights from our tour and wanderings include:
Porta Nigra
Porta Nigra or the ‘Black Gate’ dates back to ~170 AD. It is the best preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps, and the number one attraction when it comes to Roman structures in modern-day Germany.
The Roman fortification was built without mortar, only iron pegs which are visible in select locations, hold the sandstone blocks together. Porta Nigra survived the middle ages as it became a church. Saint Simeon, a renowned pilgrim and then weird hermit who was both villain and then saint to the locals, lived inside the gate for seven years. After his death in 1035, the Simeon monastery was established and the gate was made into a two-story church and monastary. As a holy place it surviced the metal and stone scavengers that the other gates did not. Eventually in the early 1800s Napoleon dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier's numerous churches and monasteries. Napoleon then ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form.
All that to say - It is cool. The majority of time we were in Trier we viewed the structure in the rain which somehow actually punctuates its permanence. For more than 1800 years this structure has survived multiple invading forces, the rise and fall of multiple emplires, two world wars, the wind, snow, and the rain.
Amphitheatre
Electoral Palace
The site of the current Electoral Palace was used by Constantine the Great as early as the 4th century. Through the centuries their have been many buildings and additions to the nearby basilica and residences including rococo and baroque influences. During out wine tour we learned that before World War I the current front lawn was used for exercises for German troops. I think it highly likely that Grandpa would have probably paraded the area.
Spielzeugmuseum
Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady)
Other Highlights
- One restaurant said that the traditional schnitzel for Trier had bacon on top. I did not see a reason to argue that and ordered it. Fantastic!
- The fountain in the main market square had lots of great visual aspects. Sophia and Josie loved the monkey who was too embarrased to look at the naked bum.
- I am a sucker for a model of a building in front of a building.
- Karl Marx, known for his anti-capitalism writing including the Communist Manifesto, was born in Trier. In the picture below the are girls posing in front of the home where he was born and lived the first year of his life. It is now a museum. The next picture shows a living space above the Euroshop. This living space is where Karl Marx family moved to when he was around 1 year old. I find it funny how his birth place is idealized but where he spent more of his formative years is now the home of a touristy convenience store. J
- Tourism trams are the best
- What do you notice that is diferent about the building below? The building known as the House of the Magi was built in 1230 with byzantine flourishes simply to show off and also includes an elevated door with no stairs. This was intentional to fortify the building from invaders. A staircase would be brought up to the door and then removed when invaders were nearby.
- Sophia and Josie almost completely got over theor dog phobia at a chance encounter with a retired US airforce captain and his dog Charlie at a Pizza Hut. The girls and Charlie got along so well we may have had to stay and have another beer or two just to help them bond.
- Mosel wines really are great. My dad was not one to buy wine often but I do remember him buying white wine from the Mosel area when he did. The wine tour really was a great way to learn about the City and experience some new to me wines. I lament not buying a glass to take home as a keepsake.
