The Romans have left their marks all over Europe and beyond. Bridges, aqueducts, arenas, roads, triumphal arches, temples and basilica transformed into catholic churches and of course theaters. Roman architecture is everywhere, 2000 years or so later. It’s impressive.
It’s sometimes hard to believe how far the Roman Empire expanded and how big their cities and constructions were. It’s impressive to see how grandiose, detailed and meticulously planned everything was.
You may think you need to go to Rome to see lots of Roman monuments and of course, that’s always a good idea but there are a number of other places where you can admire Roman architecture. Trier in Germany is certainly one of them. It is considered as the Rome of the North after all!
Trier, the Rome of the North and its UNESCO World Heritage sites
Trier is also known today, under its English and French name Trèves. But it was the Romans who founded the city under the name of Augusta Treverorum or the city of Augustus in the land of Treveri. It was a great honor to be named after Emperor Augustus!
Two centuries or so after its fondation, Trier became an Imperial residence for the Western Roman Emperors and as such had to shine by the grandeur of its architecture.
Today, there is no other places, North of the Alps, with so many preserved Roman buildings. It’s therefore quite obvious why those have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
In order which I will be showing you those, the UNESCO listing includes:
First the properties which are partly well preserved ruins:
- The Barbara Baths
- The Imperial Baths
- The Amphitheater
Second, the properties which have regained their Roman appearance:
- The Porta Nigra
- the Basilica
Third, the monuments that incorporate Roman structures:
- The Roman Bridge
- The Cathedral
And finally, the UNESCO list includes 2 other monuments which I won’t be showing you here:
- The Igel Column which is the only monument having survived unaltered.
- The Liebfrauenkirche or the Church of Our Lady which replaced the south church of the Constantine Cathedral complex in the 13th century.
However, I will be showing you the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier because it’s clearly a very instructive addition to your Roman tour of Trier although not part of the UNESCO listing.
Let’s go!!
The Barbara Baths
So, maybe, at first sight, you won’t find the Barbara baths to be that impressive. So little remains of the grandiose baths. It’s something you’ll get to truly understand when you see the rendering of what the baths looked like when built.
As you can tell on the above picture, the baths covered a much bigger area than today. Some of the surrounding buildings were built on top of the baths. If you look carefully, you’ll not only notice the overall ground size, but the height of the baths. These were taller than the actual buildings around and some are 4 stories high.
The Barbara baths were constructed in the 2nd century AD which is pretty late Roman Empire wise. With their impressive dimensions the Barbara Baths were the second largest bath of its type after the Baths of Trajan in Rome.
The Imperial Baths
Bathing was an important part of Roman lifestyle. When Trier became an Imperial city, the population grew rapidly and the need for a new bath complex led to the design of the Imperial Baths.
The Imperial Baths are the largest Roman Baths ever designed. These were actually never finished or used and instead they were converted into military barracks before falling to ruins and being used for other purpose.
The construction of the Imperial Baths started in 293 AD and by that time, architects had great expertise in such type of constructions. They followed the same plans as for the Barbara baths but added far more sophisticated technical features.
Ad this is what is most impressive with the Imperial Baths. Not what still lies above, but what lies beneath, in the technical tunnels which accommodates both services passages and sewage channels. If you pay attention when visiting, you will see pipes, heating rooms, ventilation systems, rows of beams holes showing the placement of the ceilings and so many other details… it’s fascinating!
The Amphitheater
The amphitheater is still in pretty good shape. As you know amphitheaters were open air venues used for all sorts of events. The Trier Arena was built around 160 and 200 AD and could seat 20,000 people.
There are 2 things particularly interesting about the Trier Amphitheaters.
The first one is that you get to go underneath the arena, in its basement. There, you will see a cruciform cellar which extended 20 meters in length and 50 meters in width. It includes a sewage canal which today still drains water from the arena. There, a lift was added in the 3rd century, to enable the quick change of scenery and props during shows.
The second interesting thing is that you can still use the original entrances to the sitting areas. These were called Vomitorium. There are 2 by the side of the ‘performers entrance’, the main big path, but most importantly there are 2 additional ones on the side. It’s quite something to walk such path and enter the arena this way!
The circus was located close by to the amphitheater but nothing seems to remain of it.
The Porta Nigra
The Porta Nigra is what you see everywhere! On pictures of Trier, brochures, trinkets… It is the number one landmark of the city. Its dark color comes from the stone used and unfortunately, car pollution.
Originally, the Porta Nigra was part of the defensive system of the city. Roman cities being mostly square, there were 4 different gates on each sides, serving as entrances to the city. For unknown reasons, the Porta Nigra was never finished but is nether the less, the only one still standing!
This is nothing short of great luck as the Middle ages were not kind to the Porta Nigra which saw its stone being stollen and reused. Fortunately, legends say that when Napoleon came to the city, the locals convinced him to not destroy the Porta Nigra and instead rebuilt it to its Roman origins. The Porta Nigra we see today is mostly from that time. Only the apse of the church that was added during the Medieval period was kept.
The Basilica of Constantine
The Basilica of Constantine, which is also called Aula Palatina, was commissioned by Emperor Constantine the Great, at the beginning of the 4th century, as a grandiose throne room.
The Palace Aula saw a lot of history unfold and suffered greatly from it.
It felt into despair at the end of the Roman Empire and was later transformed and redesigned… In the 19th century it was finally rebuilt to its original state, only to be destroyed during WWII but fortunately rebuilt afterward.
If today the interior is red as the bricks it is made of, it wasn’t the case under Constantine reign. The floor and the walls were covered in marble and stucco. The decoration of the apse added to the grandeur of the emperors.
The Roman Bridge
Maybe you drove over it without realizing it. Maybe you just saw it without paying much attention. It’s just a bridge. But it is actually the oldest bridge in Germany and the oldest bridge, North of the Alps, still crossed by traffic.
It was build during the 2nd century AD and its upper part was renewed in the 12th century and the 18th. That alone is pretty impressive when you think about it.
Trier Cathedral & Liebfrauenkirche
As indicated above, I’m not going to go into details concerning the Trier Cathedral or the adjoining Liebfrauenkirche as I need to do a full article on these 2 incredible churches as well as the cathedral museum. For now, just don’t skip them, if you are in Trier!
The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Museum
Technically and again as mentioned above, the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier is not part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. I still wanted to include in this article as it is filled with Roman antiquities. It would definitively be a fantastic addition to your Roman day!
You can click on the pictures below to see a quick description of the pieces that caught my eyes. The glasses are mesmerizing to me! And oh… such a nice collection of Tintinnabulum!
Additional notes & ideas
You will see on some maps, that there are also remains of the Forum baths. These were discover while digging for a parking lot and they have been integrated into a modern glass structure. Still nice to see but maybe not as fun as the other sites.
The Igel Column in not in town. If you’re intending to go see it then drive South of Trier and explore the area.
If you have time, you should follow the Moselle valley, maybe for some wine testing along the way?! There are other Roman villas that you can see, a little further South.
One of them is in Nennig and it’s a Roman villa with beautiful mosaic. There is a Tumulas close by and you should also cross the Moselle river (back to Luxembourg) to see the Bech-Kleinmacher, a temple with gorgeous views and its adjoining burial chamber.
If you want to continue your trip in Germany, head to the Villa Borg, an entire villa complex has been reconstructed. It’s quite interesting. https://www.villa-borg.de
If your trip takes you back to Luxembourg, you can do a little detour to Dalheim http://www.ricciacus.lu/
Overall, if you are in Trier and have more time on your hands and can’t get enough Roman experience, do go to Echternach (in Luxembourg) to see the Villa Echternach and its fun museum.
Useful information to plan your trip
Trier is a short distance from Luxembourg town, 30-40 mn drive when all goes well. It can be tricky to arrive by car in Trier on sunny days, as a lot of Luxembourgish people go there to shop and enjoy the city.
There are all sorts of guided tours to take you through all the sites. You can find more info on the official Trier tourism website: https://www.trier-info.de
Quite frankly you can also easily find all those Roman sites by yourself, with your phone or a map.
Do get the Antikencard if you intend to visit more than one site as it makes things really much cheaper.
My Roman architecture mini guide
I created a mini guide which will help you visualize the most common Roman constructions in all their glory. Especially useful if only a small part of such constructions survived! Such guide also gives a short description of what each of those buildings were used for.
As usual, it’s free to download, just like my other guides. Don’t hesitate.
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