Explorations of Germany’s oldest city!
Trier is one of the oldest cities in Germany. The city was founded by Augustus in 30 BCE. Trier has survived Frankish and Viking invasions, and the Allied bombing of 1944. I was impressed by how much historical buildings/facades were saved after the war, instead of building entirely new buildings to replace what was bombed. Trier was one of my favorite places I visited in Germany on this trip.
Wandering Jana Across the street from where I was staying was the Frankenturm. It was constructed around 1100 CE. It was purposely made to mimic Roman construction. When I first saw it, I was wondering why it looked Roman but it wasn’t Roman.
Wandering Jana Hauptmarkt, the main square of Trier. It’s one of the main areas of preserved or reconstructed buildings.
Wandering Jana Although it doesn’t look like it, this picture was taken after 8 am. The sun rises slowly in the winter here.
Wandering Jana Oh, look! The sun does exist.
Wandering Jana It was great seeing the Hauptmarkt almost empty. It was full of people not long after this.
Wandering Jana Palais Walderdorff sits across the Domfriedhof (Cathedral Cemetery, sadly no graves visible) from the cathedral.
In my last post, I covered the ancient side of Trier and that’s where I will be picking back up. The heart of Trier Cathedral dates back to the 4th century. The church grew over the years, adding new styles of decoration from Romanesque to Baroque.
Wandering Jana Trier Cathedral on the left. It’s sister church, Church of our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche), on the right
Skipping ahead to when I got into the cathedral. It opened very early and I somehow had it to myself for a good 20 minutes. I came back another day and ended up seeing a bit that was closed the first time around.
Wandering Jana Absolutely stunning.
Wandering Jana An large Romanesque apse sits between the entrances to the church. Here’s a bit of that Baroque that was later added.
Wandering Jana The main apse with the altar and choir.
Wandering Jana Gorgeous little chapel hiding under the raised altar area.
Wandering Jana Where’s the Roman section? In the 4th century, a section of the church was built using typical Roman building techniques. It may be hard to spot if you don’t know what to look for. Here we have a much altered Roman wall. The windows changed sizes and the entrance used to be at a lower elevation.
Wandering Jana One of the giant columns in the nave of the church. It’s completely made out of Roman brick.
Wandering Jana I completely missed this the first time I visited the church. There is one of the original Roman capitals, used for decoration on an arch, which is now completely incorporated into a later wall. I loved the Trier Cathedral left a lot of the stone/brickwork visible so you can see these changes.
Wandering Jana Former Roman doorway, now blocked by a staircase.
Wandering Jana Now moving on to the sister church, Liebfrauenkirche (on the right). It took two visits to see it all.
Wandering Jana This church is roundish, with apses all around. It was the first church built in French High Gothic style outside of France.
Wandering Jana This church is just simply gorgeous.
Wandering Jana Moving on, isn’t that just adorable?
Wandering Jana Dreikönigenhaus (House of the Three Kings ), one of the other tower houses from the early 13th century.
Wandering Jana After exploring some Roman ruins (last post), I walked along the river and came across the 18th century Zollkran, a harbor crane to lift this off or onto boats. It’s really far from the edge of the water, so I don’t know how this was actually used.
Wandering Jana I love this building.
Wandering Jana On the way back from one of my side quests outside of Trier, I stopped by St. Matthias’ Abbey (Benediktinerabtei St. Matthias). The outside is much more interesting than the interior except for the crypt.
Wandering Jana Inside the crypt are the supposed remains of Saint Matthew (of Gospel fame). Legend goes that Constantine the Great’s Christian mother Helena had brought St. Matthew’s bones back to Trier.
Wandering Jana St. Paulinus, a very skinny, yet gorgeous Baroque church from the 18th century.
Wandering Jana That ceiling is amazing.
Wandering Jana Absolutely gorgeous.
Wandering Jana That ceiling is especially something.
Wandering Jana After visiting St. Paulinus, I found myself a cemetery.
It’s actually rare to find older tombstones in Germany cemeteries. Burial plots are rented and if that rent is not renewed, the tombstones are removed for someone else to use. Plots tent to be used by multiple families. However, as cremation is becoming more and more common, the cemeteries are becoming “emptier” looking. There really is no need to recycle plots anymore and some cemeteries are adapting to the change. By the way, even if the tombstone is removed, the body is still there.
Wandering Jana Cemeteries are very park like.
Wandering Jana An oldy.
Trier was a fantastic place to explore. There is so much to see from Roman ruins to Baroque churches, even cemeteries. Trier is also a great base to visit some of the smaller towns in the area, or even Luxembourg City, which is just a short train ride away.
Check out my next update where I explore a small town known for its stunning castle.
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Start at the beginning of this European adventure!
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