Founded by theRomans in the late 1st century BC asAugusta Treverorum ("The City ofAugustus among theTreveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city.[8][9] It is also the oldestseat of abishop north of theAlps. Trier was one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire during theTetrarchy period in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries.[10] In theMiddle Ages, thearchbishop-elector of Trier was an importantprince of the Church who controlled land from the French border to theRhine. The archbishop-elector of Trier also had great significance as one of the sevenelectors of theHoly Roman Empire. Because of its significance during the Roman and Holy Roman empires, several monuments and cathedrals within Trier are listed as aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site.[10]
With an approximate population of 110,000, Trier is the fourth-largest city in its state, afterMainz,Ludwigshafen, andKoblenz.[11] The nearest major cities areLuxembourg City (50 km or 31 mi to the southwest),Saarbrücken (80 kilometres or 50 miles southeast), and Koblenz (100 km or 62 mi northeast).
TheUniversity of Trier, the administration of theTrier-Saarburg district and the seat of the ADD (Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion), which until 1999 was the borough authority of Trier, and theAcademy of European Law (ERA) are all based in Trier. It is one of the five "central places" of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Along with Luxembourg,Metz and Saarbrücken, fellow constituent members of theQuattroPole [de] union of cities, it is central to the greater region encompassingSaar-Lor-Lux (Saarland,Lorraine andLuxembourg), Rhineland-Palatinate, andWallonia.
The historical record describes theRoman Empire subduing theTreveri in the1st century BC and establishing Augusta Treverorum about 16 BC.[13] The name distinguished it from the empire'smany other cities honoring the firstRoman emperor,Augustus. The city later became the capital of theprovince ofBelgic Gaul; after theDiocletian Reforms, it became the capital of theprefecture ofthe Gauls, overseeing much of theWestern Roman Empire. From 293 to 395, Trier was one of the residences of the Western Roman Emperor. In the 4th century, Trier was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire with a population around 75,000 and perhaps as much as 100,000.[14][15][16][17] ThePorta Nigra ("Black Gate") dates from this era. A residence of theWestern Roman emperor, Roman Trier was the birthplace ofSaint Ambrose. Sometime between 395 and 418, probably in 407 the Roman administration moved the staff of the Praetorian Prefecture from Trier toArles. The city continued to be inhabited but was not as prosperous as before. However, it remained the seat of a governor and had state factories for the production ofballistae andarmor andwoolen uniforms forthe troops, clothing for the civil service, and high-quality garments for the Court. Northern Gaul was held by the Romans along a line(līmes) from north ofCologne to the coast atBoulogne through what is today southern Belgium until 460. South of this line, Roman control was firm, as evidenced by the continuing operation of the imperial arms factory atAmiens.
The history of the relationship between the Copts of Egypt and the city of Trier goes back to the second half of the fourth century AD, specifically the year 336 AD, when Pope Athanasius I, the 20th Patriarch (328–373 AD), was exiled to this city by order of Emperor Constantine the Great (25 July 306 – 22 May 337 AD).
Pope Athanasius the Apostolic—born around 295 AD—spent his youth in clerical circles, namely in the episcopal residence in the city of Alexandria. This upbringing made him well-versed in the affairs of church administration, immersed in an atmosphere rich with the purely pastoral and educational concerns of the popes.
TheFranks seized Trier from Roman administration in 459. In 870, it became part ofEastern Francia, which developed into theHoly Roman Empire. Relics ofSaint Matthias brought to the city initiated widespread pilgrimages. The bishops of the city grew increasingly powerful and theArchbishopric of Trier was recognized as anelectorate of the empire, one of the most powerful states of Germany. TheUniversity of Trier was founded in the city in 1473. In the 17th century, the Archbishops and Prince-Electors of Trier relocated their residence toPhilippsburg Castle inEhrenbreitstein, nearKoblenz. A session of theReichstag was held in Trier in 1512, during which the demarcation of theImperial Circles was definitively established.
In the years from 1581 to 1593, theTrier witch trials were held. It was one of the four largest witch trials in Germany alongside theFulda witch trials, theWürzburg witch trial, and theBamberg witch trials, perhaps even the largest one in European history. The persecutions started in the diocese of Trier in 1581 and reached the city itself in 1587, where it was to lead to the death of about 368 people, and was as such perhaps the biggest mass execution in Europe in peacetime. This counts only those executed within the city itself. The exact number of people executed in all the witch hunts within the diocese has never been established; a total of 1,000 has been suggested but not confirmed.
The synagogue on Zuckerbergstrasse was looted during the November 1938Kristallnacht and later completely destroyed in a bomb attack in 1944. MultipleStolpersteine have been installed in Trier to commemorate those murdered and exiled during theShoah.[18]
In June 1940 duringWorld War II over 60,000 British prisoners of war, captured atDunkirk and Northern France, were marched to Trier, which became a staging post for British soldiers headed for Germanprisoner-of-war camps. Trier was heavily bombed and bombarded in 1944. The city became part of the new state ofRhineland-Palatinate after the war. Theuniversity, dissolved in 1797, was restarted in the 1970s, while theCathedral of Trier was reopened in 1974 after undergoing substantial and long-lasting renovations. Trier officially celebrated its 2,000th anniversary in 1984. On1 December 2020, 5 people were killed by an allegedly drunk driver during avehicle-ramming attack.[19] The Ehrang/Quint district of Trier was heavily damaged and flooded during the 16 July2021 floods of Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Trier sits in a hollow midway along theMoselle valley, with the most significant portion of the city on the east bank of the river. Wooded andvineyard-covered slopes stretch up to theHunsrück plateau in the south and theEifel in the north. The border with theGrand Duchy of Luxembourg is some 15 km (9 mi) away.
The Trier urban area is divided into19 city districts. For each district there is anOrtsbeirat (local council) of between 9 and 15 members, as well as anOrtsvorsteher (local representative). The local councils are charged with hearing the important issues that affect the district, although the final decision on any issue rests with the city council. The local councils nevertheless have the freedom to undertake limited measures within the bounds of their districts and their budgets.
The districts of Trier with area and inhabitants (December 31, 2009):
Trier has an oceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb), but with greater extremes than the marine versions ofnorthern Germany. Summers are warm except in unusual heat waves and winters are recurrently cold, but not harsh. Precipitation is high despite not being on the coast.[20] As a result of theEuropean heat wave in 2003, the highest temperature recorded was 39 °C on 8 August of that year. On 25 July 2019, a record-breaking temperature of 40.6 °C was recorded.[21] The lowest recorded temperature was −19.3 °C on February 2, 1956.[22]
Climate data for Trier (1991–2020 normals)(1948–present extremes)
Trier Cathedral (German:Trierer Dom orDom St Peter), a Catholic church that dates back to Roman times; its Romanesque west façade with an extra apse and four towers is imposing and has been copied repeatedly; the Cathedral is home to theHoly Tunic, one of a number of garments claimed to be the robeJesus was wearing when he died, as well as many other relics and reliquaries in theCathedral Treasury;
theLiebfrauenkirche (German forChurch ofOur Lady), which is one of the most important earlyGothic churches in Germany, in some ways comparable to the architectural tradition of theFrench Gothic cathedrals;
St Matthias' Abbey (Abtei St Matthias), still a functioning monastery whose medieval church harbours what is held to be the only tomb of anapostle located north of the Alps;
St Gangolf's church is the city's 'own' church near the main market square (as opposed to the Cathedral, the bishop's church); largely Gothic;
two oldtreadwheelcranes, one being theGothic "Old Crane" (Alte Krahnen) or "Trier Moselle Crane" (Trierer Moselkrahn) from 1413, and the other the 1774Baroque crane called the "(Old) Customs Crane" ((Alter) Zollkran) or "Younger Moselle Crane" (Jüngerer Moselkran) (seeList of historical harbour cranes).
Rheinisches Landesmuseum (an important archaeological museum for the Roman period; also some early Christian and Romanesque sculpture)
Domschatzkammer (Treasury of Trier Cathedral; with the Egbert Shrine, the reliquary of the Holy Nail, the cup of Saint Helena and other reliquaries, liturgical objects, ivories, manuscripts, etc., many from the Middle Ages)
Museum am Dom, formerlyBischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum (Museum of theDiocese of Trier; religious art, also some Roman artefacts)
Stadtmuseum Simeonstift (history of Trier, displaying among other exhibits a scale model of the medieval city)
Karl Marx House; a museum exhibiting Marx's personal history, volumes of poetry, original letters, and photographs with personal dedications. There is also a collection of rare first editions and international editions of his works, as well as exhibits on the development of socialism in the 19th century
Toy Museum of Trier
Ethnological and open-air museumRoscheider Hof, a museum in the neighbouring town ofKonz, right at the city limits of Trier, which shows the history of rural culture in the northwest Rhineland Palatinate and in the area where Germany, Luxembourg and Lorraine meet
Fell Exhibition Slate Mine; site in the municipality of Fell, 20 km (12 mi) from Trier, containing an underground mine, a mine museum, and a slate mining trail.
Memorial sculpture (2012) by Clas Steinmann to the deportation ofSinti andRomani people in Trier.[26]
Since 1980 the Altstadtfest has been celebrated in the centre of Trier on the last weekend of June, followed by the Zurlaubener Heimatfest on the banks of the River Mosel two weeks later.
Trier has been the base for theGerman round of theWorld Rally Championship since 2002, with the rally's presentation held next to the Porta Nigra.
Trier holds a Christmas street festival every year called the Trier Christmas Market on theHauptmarkt (Main Market Square) and theDomfreihof in front of theCathedral of Trier.
The Olewiger Weinfest is an annual wine festival held in the village of Olewig, just outside Trier. The festival takes place over three days, typically in August, and features a wide variety of activities, including wine tastings, live music and food stalls.
Uni Trier Campus 1Trier University of Applied Sciences, central campus
Trier is home to theUniversity of Trier, founded in 1473, closed in 1796 and restarted in 1970. The city also has theTrier University of Applied Sciences. TheAcademy of European Law (ERA) was established in 1992 and provides training in European law to legal practitioners. In 2010 there were about 40Kindergärten,[27] 25 primary schools and 23 secondary schools in Trier, such as theHumboldt Gymnasium Trier,Max Planck Gymnasium,Auguste Viktoria Gymnasium,Angela Merici Gymnasium,Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium and theNelson-Mandela Realschule Plus,Kurfürst-Balduin Realschule Plus,Realschule Plus Ehrang.[28]
Trier station has directrailway connections to many cities in the region. The nearest cities bytrain are Cologne, Saarbrücken and Luxembourg. Via the motorwaysA 1,A 48 andA 64 Trier is linked with Koblenz, Saarbrücken and Luxembourg. The nearest commercial (international) airports are inLuxembourg (0:40 h by car),Frankfurt-Hahn (1:00 h),Saarbrücken (1:00 h),Frankfurt (2:00 h) andCologne/Bonn (2:00 h). TheMoselle is an important waterway and is also used for river cruises. A new passenger railway service on the western side of the Mosel is scheduled to open in December 2024.[29]
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