Summary: The only German city with tangible continuity from the present to the Roman Empire.

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The ancient city of Trier is one of the top tourist destinations in Germany. Full of Roman ruins, rich museum collections, resplendent churches, and an atmospheric cityscape. It would be easy to list the top destinations alphabetically, as you might find in a standard guide. Instead, let’s dig into the city’s past and see if we can uncover a narrative that provides some context for what we are looking at in Trier.

The story of Trier is one of contrasts: of decline and splendor of stagnation and innovation. This city has highly concentrated “cultural corners,” or areas of remarkable beauty, and it helps to know where they are. The city suffered from both Allied bombing raids and ground combat in WWII. Though the city was not devastated to the extent that Cologne or Dresden faced, the losses are substantial and reduce the number of interesting locations in the city. It also resulted in disjointed parts of old-town, separated by nothing or modern office blocks. 

If you want a shorter overview of Trier as a general tourist destination, see this article here:

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How to See Trier

Trier is a tiny town by European standards, and you might even consider it a village. The flavor of life in Trier is colored by its status as a suburb of Luxembourg City. Many of its residents spend most of their daily lives in Luxembourg and return to Trier for its lower cost of living. The area immediately around Trier is highly industrial, with logistics yards and component assembly plants primarily serving the flow of goods in and out of Germany.

The tourist part of Trier is even smaller, focused on a right rectangle near the central train station. In addition, there are three other disjoint areas of old-town. The “Zurlaubener Ufer” is the only river-side part of Trier worth mentioning. The nice part is the small bit on the north side of the bridge, remnants of a planned 18th-century dockyard village outside the walls. You will find some of the best restaurants here. To the North-East is the district around St. Paulinus. Notable for its well-preserved historicist avenues. To the south is Saarstraße Street, ending at the monumental Monastery complex of St. Matthias.

It is worth mentioning that several major tourist attractions are located in otherwise uninteresting neighborhoods. The Roman Bridge and the Amphitheater, particularly, are located in areas that were hit badly in WWII or by post-war urban planning. I recommend driving to these locations, as there is nothing interesting around them. The same is true of the Barbara Baths, Forum Baths, and the viewpoints over the city. Additionally, while Saarstraße has some lovely 19th-century buildings, walking the entire distance is not worth it. To reach St. Matthias, I would recommend traveling by bus or to the Trier-South station.

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For more detailed travel information and opening hours check out this post here:

The Story of Trier

The story of Trier is one of decay interspersed with bursts of innovation that ultimately fail to arrest its decline. After reaching its apogee in the 4th Century under Constantine, it would fall into a period of increasing irrelevance that has continued with only minor interruption until now. Its status as a significant Roman city meant it would never be abandoned, but its location in a shallow valley made it all but indefensible. It was a largely symbolic city throughout its history, even into the modern period. 

The Roman Heritage of Trier granted the Archbishops of Trier an essential role as Electors in the Holy Roman Empire. Even then, the economic and political center of the Archbishopric was in the strategic city of Koblenz. Trier remained an important pilgrimage site and was adorned with a crown of monasteries and cathedrals. However, Trier would never again be at the center of the world’s stage.

Capital of an Empire

What to see in this section (in order of preference):

• Porta Nigra
• Landesmuseum
• Cathedral Museum
• Imperial Baths
• Aula Palatina
• The Roman Bridge
• The Remaining Bath Sites

We start at the height of Trier’s power and splendor in the 4th century. The city originates in older Celtic settlements but was likely nothing more than a provincial town until the 3rd century CE. In 293 CE, Trier was declared the regional capital of Belgica prima. The location offered strategic depth, further from the Roman border than the large cities of Mainz or Cologne. Control of the Mosel was also critical for supplying the Rhineland garrisons. With this new administrative role, Trier would quickly fill its city walls.

During the period that followed, the Roman Empire constructed most of Trier’s great monuments. An important year was 314 CE, the year Trier became the seat of a Bishop. Even as the rest of the Empire crumbled, the institutions of the Catholic Church would survive. The Bishops of Trier would remain the only connection to antiquity. Over the centuries, they slowly accrued power before taking over complete authority. By the beginning of the Middle Ages, Trier would be a de facto independent state under the sovereignty of the Church. The city itself would survive the Barbarian onslaught to some extent, but over time the great Roman monuments would be abandoned and broken up.

The history of Roman Trier is already documented extensively elsewhere, so I will highlight the most exciting artifacts of this period. 

City of Ruins

The city’s icon is the “Black Gate” or Porta Nigra. Originally part of the Roman city wall, it was turned into a church in the early Medieval period, thus preserving it. Of the Roman landmarks, this is the only one to maintain an extremely high level of preservation. Still evident, however, are the additions from later centuries. During the 13th century, the Church was remodeled, and a new choir was constructed on the east side of the gate. Based on models in the Rhineland, it offers some of the best preserved Staufen-Romanesque stonework in Trier. In the interior, you can see the remnants of the Rococo decoration that had adorned the building until Napoleon freed the building from its ecclesiastical covering.

The best things to see after the Black Gate are the Cathedral Museum and State Landesmuseum collections. The Cathedral Museum has the only surviving fresco cycle from the Roman period anywhere in Europe, painstakingly reconstructed from excavated fragments. The Landesmuseum has one of Northern Europe’s largest collections of Roman artifacts. Both are worth visiting and, in my opinion, are more interesting than the remaining ruins.

Two surviving ruins worth prioritizing are the Kaiserthermen, or the Imperial Baths, and the Amphitheater. The Imperial bath complex is in a fairly good state of preservation relative to what you usually see. The tunnels underneath the ruins are perhaps the most exciting to explore.

The Amphitheater is basically just an excavated foundation, but the hillside’s shape allows your imagination to fill in the details. The remaining ruins are just excavated foundations, which are hyped up more than I think they should be.

As Trier went into decline following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the city retreated into a shrinking set of ad hoc walls as the city filled with refugees. The Imperial Palace was converted into public housing, and the great baths filled in to make space for people to live and later abandoned outside the walls. By the 9th century, the Vikings sacked the city, likely burning any surviving Roman infrastructure. The Viking sack of the city definitively ends the first chapter of the Trier’s story. The story of Trier now turns to the bishops who had the wealth to rebuild the city.

A Medieval Renaissance

What to see in this section (in order of preference):

• Frankenturm
• Cathedral
• St. Matthias
• Dreikönigenhaus

Early Middle Ages

Though it would never reach the same apogee, Trier would undergo a new golden age in the High Middle Ages. With the death of the last Carolingian Monarch in 911ce, the king of East Francia would be elected by the strongest powers of the Empire, which included the influential Archbishop of Trier. He ruled over one of the only significant urban centers in Northern Europe. East Francia would evolve into the Holy Roman Empire, but Trier would retain its voting rights, giving the city substantial prestige and power.

The medieval resurgence would begin earnestly 300 years later in the 12th and 13th centuries. A growing population, renewed trade networks, and increased political centralization led to broad-based increases in prosperity. For the first time in a thousand years, great works of stone began to rise above the city walls. The oldest surviving monument from this period is the “Frankenturm,” or the Frank Tower. It looks distinctly Roman, built in the 12th century out of materials scavenged from Roman ruins. The Romanesque windows and upside-down Latin inscriptions betray its medieval heritage.

The most obvious sign of the renewal is the Cathedral. The Roman Church had been a much larger rectangular building but had been demolished in stages as the knowledge to repair the monumental structure had been lost. However, as the only surviving Roman Church in the German kingdom, it held great significance. By the 10th century, the archbishops began a renovation project to keep it from total ruin. By this point, only the central aisle and parts of the choir survived from the Roman period, and the Ottonian and later Salian monarchs restored the traditional basilica layout. Of their efforts, the most visible is the facade facing the square. The flat facade is adorned with flanking towers and tiered arcades, evoking the symbols of the Imperial Romanesque style seen in Aachen, Speyer, and Cologne. The message of this standard imperial architectural style was that the (Holy) Roman Empire had returned.

The greatest single surviving monument of the Romanesque in Trier is the spectacular abbey church of St. Matthias. With their origins in late antiquity, the Monastery and the Cathedral represent the oldest institutions in Trier. Its original purpose was to house the remains of the first two Bishops of Trier in the 5th century, but with the fall of Rome, its purpose was forgotten. The Church sat quietly for 600 years, when in 1127, during construction work, bones were discovered (likely the remains of early Church officials from late antiquity). However, at the time, the discovery corroborated a local legend telling how the remains of the Apostle Mathew were smuggled here during the persecution of the Christians. Pilgrims began to flood the city to see the remains of the Apostle. A significantly larger church was needed for these pilgrims, and the new one was completed around 1150, representing the high point of Salian-Romanesque architecture.

High Middle Ages

The year 1150 would see the rise of the most powerful Holy Roman Dynasty, the Hohenstaufen. The most famous Emperor was Frederick Barbarossa, who took a particular interest in the symbols of the Roman Empire. Massive state-funded works of monumental architecture began to rise across the Empire. From churches to castles, it was the closest the Holy Roman Empire would get to a unified artistic style. In Trier, the Cathedral (and many other churches) would undergo substantial renovation. 

The hallmark of this new style was the early structural innovations of Gothic architecture, which was just starting to arrive. Already, we see the pointed arch emerging, an innovation that allowed for thinner walls, higher ceilings, and new forms of creativity. A new choir was added, and parts of the ceiling were vaulted, but the technology needed to be more advanced to vault the wide center aisle.

Trier sat at the very western edge of the Holy Roman Empire, bound to the Emperor by the Mosel and the Rhine. But further to the West, by the end of the 13th century, France began rising as a great power. With the Empire in retreat, the Mosel offered increasing connections to France, an avenue for new ideas and new technology. With the shifting political winds of the 13th and 14th centuries, Trier gained increased political autonomy, which meant the freedom to experiment with new symbols of power. With the Gothic Revolution underway in France, these symbols of French authority and innovation started percolating into Trier.

The main building of this transitional period, and a hint of the glories to come, is the “Dreikönigenhaus” or House of the Three Kings—a late 13th-century construction of the Staufen-Romanesque. Already we can see the beginnings of the Gothic style. The revolution had reached Germany.

The Gothic Revolution

What to see in this section (in order of preference):

• Liebfrauenkirche (Church of our Lady)
• Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church)
• St. Gangolf
• St. Antonius
• St. Matthias (The vaulting this time)

Construction on the Liebfrauenkirche started in 1230, about 20 years before the end of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and the end of what is typically considered the High Middle Ages. While the Liebfrauenkirche is the first monumental construction of the Gothic style in the German Holy Roman Empire, only some of the technical concepts were new. External buttresses and pointed arches had been in use throughout the Empire for almost half a century.

These other churches, though, were fundamentally Romanesque churches utilizing Gothic design features. The Gothic style heralded a new style and a new design paradigm, driven by new theological thought, political relationships, and a new symbology of power.

For one thing, the Gothic style was French. Starting with the first French Gothic Cathedral in St. Denis, the Gothic symbolized the French monarchy and Roman Catholicism. Notably, Notre Dame had been under construction for 60 years when the Trier laid the first foundation of the Liebfrauenkirche. That the Gothic style arrived so late in Germany cannot be explained by distance alone. As is evident by the other churches in Trier, the basic technical precepts of the Gothic were already known. 

Several hypotheses explain why the Gothic arrived so long after it emerged in France. The two most important are: 

1. The Romanesque style represented the relationship between the Emperor, the Pope, and Trier. The tumultuous period of the late 13th century saw the Emperor weakened in his struggles against the Pope and his vassals. We can interpret the arrival of the Gothic as coinciding with the decline of the Imperial Authority to enforce his image program. 
2. The personal stylistic tastes of the Archbishops should not be discounted. As they were the primary source of financing for many of these projects, their personal opinions affected the final result. 

To build a cathedral in a French style in a city of immense symbolic importance for the Emperor would have been an insult, an assertion of independence from the Emperor. However, compared to the Cologne Cathedral, which started 20 years later in 1247, the Liebfrauenkirche seems distinctly un-french. Unlike Cologne, which was based definitively on the late Gothic designs from Champagne, Trier does not simply copy a French paradigm. Though heavily influenced by the Cathedral in Reims, it departs dramatically from the traditional French Gothic. It has a central plan, no nave, and a single tower.

It is interesting then to consider that perhaps the Archbishop was simply a man with an innovative taste for style. Unwilling to risk the ire of the Emperor, he built a Gothic church in a German style. A style that would spread rapidly across the Empire, especially as the authority of the Emperor weakened after 1250. The best example of this is St Elizabeth in Marburg, which was built by the same team of artisans, and subsequently shares remarkable similarities.

The Gothic style would continue to develop, and the churches of the Jesuits, St. Gangolf and St. Antonius, represent later developments in the Gothic style. In particular, the Jesuit church is worth visiting for its vibrant color scheme and subdued but intricate masonry. In St. Antonius and St. Matthias, we see the final innovation of the German Gothic, network vaulting.

Vaulting technology advanced in different places at different times, but the most sophisticated vaulting systems emerged out of Prague at the end of the 14th century. They found widespread popularity in Germany due to the popularity of the Hall Church, which required more technically sophisticated vaulting systems than the traditional Basilica. They would find their way to Trier and the Mosel Valley in the 15th century and can be seen on numerous churches in their domain, e.g., St. Antonius and St. Matthias in Trier and St. Wendel in the Saarland.

Provincial Capital

What to see in this section (in order of preference):

• St. Paulinus
• Electoral Palace
• Zurlaubener Ufer
• Cathedral
• St. Gangolf / St. Matthias

Stagnation

The Reformation marked the end of Trier’s brief Golden Age. The city and most of Germany were devastated by the Thirty Years War, which concluded in 1648. The Archbishops learned an essential lesson from the war: Trier’s location was indefensible. Consequently, they relocated the capital to Koblenz in 1641, trading the shallow valley of the Mosel for the steep cliffs of the Rhine. The capital of Trier remained in Koblenz, with some interruptions, until the end of the Empire in 1804.

Koblenz was the objectively superior location for a capital city, both strategically and economically. The Rhine tolls and its central location granted the Electorate commensurate income. While Trier would remain the symbolic and spiritual capital, the Archbishop only traveled infrequently to Trier to hold mass in the ancient Cathedral. Thus with the Elector uninterested in the city, the reconstruction would proceed slowly. There was no grand reconstruction plan for Trier. There were no wide avenues of palaces, grand plazas, or stately homes like in Heidelberg, Würzburg, or Mainz. Like the old medieval cities of Aachen, Speyer, and Worms, Trier would struggle to fill its old medieval walls.

The greatest treasure of the Cathedral is the “Seamless Robes of Jesus,” supposedly worn before he was crucified. According to legend, they were given to the city during the time of Emperor Constantine, though evidence suggests they first appeared in the 13th century. In 1515 the Holy Roman Emperor demanded to see the robes on pilgrimage, and afterward, they would become a major pilgrimage destination. Accordingly, a new high altar was built in the Baroque style that would allow the crowds of Pilgrims to view the relics. This setup has remained mainly unchanged to this day. The pilgrims ascend to a small viewing platform and descend back down through the golden gate.

After a fire in the roof in 1717, the Elector began a sweeping renovation of the Cathedral, completely “baroque-ifying.” it with stucco works and elaborate frescos. Though most of this baroque ornamentation was dismantled in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Western choir still retains its opulent stuccowork.

It was not just the Cathedral that underwent renovation in the 17th and 18th centuries. The state remodeled all of the churches in Trier, adjusting them to the style of the time. Of these “Baroqification” efforts, only St. Gangolf and St. Matthias retain hints of their 18th-century splendor.

False Dawn

The strategic situation of Trier shifted again in the second half of the 18th century. Trier was a largely irrelevant state in the Holy Roman Empire by this point. The Archbishop’s title was typically one of prestige, held perpetually by a prominent family (c.f. Mainz, where the title rotated among families). With the discovery of Pompeii in 1748 and subsequent interest in archaeology, interest began to develop regarding the classical world of the Romans. It became fashionable among the European elite to imitate the style of the Romans with increasing devotion (eventually becoming an obsession and turning into the style we know as Neo-Classicism). The ancient Roman city of Trier suddenly returned to the attention of the Holy Roman Princes.

The Aula Palatina, the old Basilica of Constantine, had to this point in 1756, survived to a large extent, though it looked pretty different. Awarded to the Archbishops of Trier by Charlemagne, it had served the court as a castle during the Middle Ages. It was fortified with additional wall material and buttresses, and the interior was filled out into functional divisions. Now the Elector ordered the castle deconstructed and the restored Roman Basilica incorporated into a new Baroque palace. This served as part of the late Baroque image program of associating the Prince Elector with the symbolism of antiquity.

Some of the most spectacular interiors of the late German Baroque and Rococo adorned the palace interiors. The court architect, Johannes Seiz, was a student of the legendary Balthazar Neumann, who famously built his palaces around the central staircase. The staircase and garden sculptures are done by Ferdinand Tietz, who worked on numerous projects in the Mosel Valley (Notably at Malberg).

In the 19th century, Prussian authorities started dismantling the palace as part of their urban renewal programs and neo-classical renovations. The Roman Basilica was fully reconstructed, and only the Eastern Wing of the Palace retained its original interiors. Sadly, the Basilica and most of the Baroque palace were reduced to ash in WWII, and painstaking efforts have been made to rebuild what you currently see. Incredibly though, the palace’s Eastern Wing, with the staircase and vestibule, also miraculously survived the Allied bombing campaign. Alas, they are not open to the public.

The undisputed high point of the Baroque in Trier is the Church of St. Paulinus. Constructed at the same time as the Electoral Palace, it is an incredible work of the Late German Baroque and one of the masterpieces of Balthazar Neumann. Though it contrasts with his Franconian designs, instead favoring the vertical aspect, much of its intricate rococo figures and carvings bring the Church to life like no other building in Northern Germany. The ceiling fresco was done by his longtime associate, Christoph Scheffler, and depicts St. Paulin’s life and the Theban Legion’s martyrdom. St. Paulin is one of the greatest works of the German Baroque.

After 1780, a revival in economic fortunes led to the re-establishment of the Fishing village on the “Zurlaubener Ufer.” The houses are hidden away from the main old town but represent a brief moment in time, at the very end of the Holy Roman Empire and before a return to Classicism in architectural design.

Industrial Resurgence

What to see in this section (in order of preference):

• Karl Marx House
• The Architecture of Saarstraße and Eberhardstraße
• Aula Palatina

Napoleon would bring the Holy Roman Empire to an end in 1804 and, with it, the Electorate of Trier. Already an economic backwater, Trier would suffer disproportionately in the 19th century that followed. Without the pull provided by a capital city or a natural industrial center, it would not see the same population growth as in the Rhineland. Indeed, Trier and the Mosel would lose people to both the cities of the Ruhr and the New World.

That’s not to say Trier stagnated completely. With the unification of Germany came new sources of capital. Factories began to appear on the cityscape. New districts to the North and South of the old town were planned and laid out. The Prussian authorities arrived and took great interest in the city’s ancient landmarks. In particular, the Prussians restored the Porta Nigra and the Aula Palatina to a more “Roman” condition. Most of the Baroque palace was repurposed or demolished.

To the south of the old town, the Saarstraße, Eberhardstraße, and a few side streets best demonstrate the 19th-century expansion of the city. Full of Gründerzeit buildings of high quality, the atmosphere is surprisingly immersive in a city so severely hit in WWII.

The main attraction of this period is the Karl Marx House. He was born in Trier and spent his childhood here before leaving to study in Bonn. His house is both a museum to the Industrial Revolution’s prophet of doom and the only fully restored home from the period in Trier. There may be better museums dedicated to the life and teachings of Marx, but the house offers an insight into life in 19th-century Trier.

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Conclusion

If you’re looking for a unique and captivating destination in Germany, look no further than Trier. This ancient city boasts a wealth of historical and cultural treasures that will leave a lasting impression. Trier has something for everyone, from the enigmatic ruins of ancient Roman architecture to the grandeur of majestic churches and fascinating museums. Despite its smaller size, the city’s charm and character are on full display, making it a must-visit destination for any traveler seeking authenticity and adventure. So why not add Trier to your travel itinerary and discover the treasures of this fascinating city for yourself?

Selected Bibliography

• Luzie Bratner, and Rheinland-Pfalz. Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz. 2014. Mit Allen Sinnen : Reisewege Zum Barock in Rheinland-Pfalz. Regensburg:Schnell & Steiner.
• Jens Baumeister. 2010. Basilika St. Paulin in Trier Ein Barockes Gesamtkunstwerk. Trier Baumeister & Baumeister Medien-Verlag.
• Franz Ronig, and Rita Heyen. 2009. Trier Cathedral. Trier Paulinus-Verlag.
• Franz Ronig, and Liebfrauen Kath Pfarramt. 2011. Die Liebfrauenkirche Zu Trier. Trier Paulinus-Verlag.
• Wirtler, Ulrike. 2015. Schloss Bürresheim Bei Mayen/Eifel. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner.
• Kern, Susanne. 2015. Wandmalerei Des 13. Bis 16. Jahrhunderts Am Mittelrhein. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner.
• Wirtler, Ulrike. 2015. Schloss Bürresheim Bei Mayen/Eifel. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner.
• Dieter Ritzenhofen. 2013. Burg Eltz. Berlin ; München: Dt. Kunstverl.
• Gunter Seifert. 1999. Die Moselburgen : Zwischen Koblenz Und Trier ; Lage, Geschichte, Baubeschaffenheit, Kurzinformation. Overath: Seifert.
• Franz Ronig, and Rita Heyen. 2009. Trier Cathedral. Trier Paulinus-Verlag.
• Franz Ronig, and Liebfrauen Kath Pfarramt. 2011. Die Liebfrauenkirche Zu Trier. Trier Paulinus-Verlag.
• Theodor Bogler, and Drutmar Cremer. 2015. Abteikirche Maria Laach. Regensburg Schnell & Steiner.

Image Credits

• All Maps made with Datawrapper
• Map of Trier: Von Contributors of the relevant openstreetmap.org data + Haselburg-müller – openstreetmap.org [1] + own work, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11735135
• Kaiserthermen: Von Berthold Werner – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7661824
• Porta Nigra: Von Berthold Werner – Eigenes Werk, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4244492

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