Anniversary side trip III: Augusta Treverorum

The oldest city in Germany is Trier (Treves in French, Augusta Treverorum in Roman Latin), founded in 16 BC (Although it was supposedly founded by the Assyrians centuries before it became the second-most important city in the Roman Empire). It is famous for having the most prominent Roman ruins north of the Alps.
It is also a cosmopolitan university city 10 km from the border with Luxembourg, and also happens to be the birthplace of Karl Marx(in 1818).

The pictures above and below cannot capture the feeling of drinking beer in the elegant main square in the middle of the afternoon. This may be my favorite mid-sized city I have been to so far in Germany, with the exception of Nuremberg. Trier is quite different from that city, however, because it has a bit of a French flavor and is just as Baroque as it is medieval.


In the center of the square, surrounded by solid burgher houses, is a flower market.

I finally made it to one of my top destinations in Europe and a place I have talked about in my history classes since I taught my first Western Civ course in 2001. This is the Porta Nigra, a city gate built around AD 200, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the eleventh century, the Greek eremitic monk Simeon lived in the gate. His sanctification prevented the gate's destruction during the middle ages, as it became a monastery and pilgrimage site. Over the centuries additions were built onto the gate, and it became a garishly-painted baroque church in the eighteenth century. In 1802 Napoleon ordered the destruction of the additions and thankfully converted the Porta Nigra to what it had been before the middle ages.

This Roman soldier was giving a school tour and threatening to throw one of the students down into the square below (fun morbid Roman humor?)

I took this picture from the top of the Porta Nigra, which was really cool and gloomy on the inside (I'll post more pictures after my trip in an "appendix.")

To the left is the cathedral, which is mostly Romanesque but also has some medieval and Baroque additions. Straight ahead is the Rathaus, which you can see up close in the first and second pictures above.

Overall, Trier was a pleasant surprise. My purpose for going there was the Porta Nigra, but the city itself was so nice that it is worth a visit in its own right.

We are going to Amsterdam tomorrow morning! Check back on Sunday night for our report.