Categories: germany, postcards
Date: 07 July 2008 00:31:35
Trier was colonised by the Romans in around 16 BC and there is still a good deal of evidence of their occupation (despite the town having been extensively bombed during WWII). The Lödgerin took me on a tour of the sights. (It was the longest day of the year - which was rather fortunate as we didn't finish eating breakfast and catching up on news until about lunchtime!) There is an amphitheatre in the town which we didn't have time to see but we did visit the Roman Baths which were begun in 293 AD. There is a fair bit of the structure still in place and a warren of tunnels to explore. (The tunnels were most welcome as the heat outside was almost unbearable for this delicate English flower.) However, my own Ancient Roman City has its own set of baths and I think that the claim that these are the best preserved in Western Europe certainly holds true in comparison with those in Trier. Ours still have the natural hot spring water gushing through at 1.3 million litres a day - which gives a pretty good idea of what it used to look like - whereas Trier's Kaiserthermen (Imperial Baths) although extensive in ground area, are dry. The baths in Trier, however, were never properly finished. A military camp building, probably the lodgings for the imperial guards, was erected but abandoned again in 430. I suppose they might have objected to sleeping in the bath.
Trier also boasts the Porta Nigra (ca. 180AD), the best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps. The gate is a sort of black colour (although not entirely) which derives from the weathered colour in the stone. The entire structure is made without mortar - the sandstone blocks are connected only by iron rods. The stone blocks weigh as much as six tonnes each. We weren't able to get really close to it as there was a stage right near it (of which more later). This gate was later incorporated into the mediaeval city walls.
The Aula Palatina (Palatinate hall), also known as the Konstantin Basilika, was built 310 AD. This is a long, high-ceilinged brick structure which served as the throne hall of the Roman emperor until the destruction of the city by Germanic tribes in the 7th century. It is said to be the largest unsupported Roman building in Europe (i.e no internal columns) - and it is truly huge - a fact which is easy to overlook as it is so beautifully proportioned. The Lödgerin told me that originally the walls were rendered both inside and out and that inside they were beautifully decorated. There are just tiny fragments of the plasterwork left. In the 17th century, the Aula Palatina was bizarrely integrated into the baroque-style imperial palace (Residenz). When you are inside the Basilika you have no notion of this but from the outside it looks a little peculiar - the sort of thing that Prince Charles would describe as “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a well-loved friend”. The Basilika was given to the Protestant church in Trier in 1856 as their main church. This caused some bad feeling as Trier is predominately a Catholic town and the Catholics felt that the Protestants didn't really need so much space or such an historic building!
I don't know if they needed to make a huge fuss because the Trierer Dom (cathedral) is Catholic and has its roots in Roman times. Christianity is thought to have arrived in the latter years of the second century - although local legend believes that a bishop, sent by the apostle Peter, brought the Gospel in the first century. The first structure on the site was build by Constantine the first Christian emperor over the palace of his mother, Helena. Construction began in 326 AD to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his reign. The Dom has a good pedigree as Constantine also began work on St Peter's Basilica in Rome to mark the occasion.
We walked in and sat down to look at the various points of interest. No sooner had my posterior hit the seat than the organist began to play. I wasn't sure if I should respectfully rise to my feet again - as curiously, he struck up with “God save the Queen”!! Just as I was idly pondering my response, (was HM on an incognito visit?) he made a couple of mistakes and started again. I decided that no emperors or monarchs were in evidence, so it was safe to stay seated. My feet were grateful for the rest.