The ''Rheinische Landesmuseum Trier'' is an

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open-air museum, open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum ...

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

, Germany. The collection stretches from prehistory through the Roman period, the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to the Baroque era with a strong emphasis on the Roman past of

Augusta Treverorum Augusta Treverorum (Latin for "City of Augustus in the Land of the Treveri") was a Ancient Rome, Roman city on the Moselle River, from which modern Trier emerged. The date of the city's founding is placed between the construction of the first Rom ...

, Germany's oldest city. Its collections of (local)

Roman sculpture The study of Roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to Sculpture of Ancient Greece, Greek sculpture. Many examples of even the most famous Greek sculptures, such as the ''Apollo Belvedere'' and ''Barberini Faun'', are known only from Roman ...

Roman mosaic A Roman mosaic is a mosaic made during the Roman period, throughout the Roman Republic and later Empire. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings, on both floors and walls, though they competed with cheaper frescos for the ...

s and

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s are among the best in Germany (along with those of the Römisch-Germanisches Museum in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, the

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, or LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, is a museum in Bonn, Germany, run by the Rhineland Landscape Association. It is one of the oldest museums in the country. In 2003 it completed an extensive renovation. The museum has a ...

and the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

History

The museum was founded in 1877 as the Provincial Museum of the Prussian

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

(''Provinzialmuseum der preußischen Rheinprovinz''), of which the

was also part. The first director was the archaeologist Felix Hettner (1877–1902). In 1885–89 a proper museum building was built at the edge of the palace garden of the Electoral Palace, just outside the Roman wall. The architect of the building, rectangular and of red sandstone, was Clemens Guinbert, ''Landbaurat'' from

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. Guinbert also built the museum in Bonn. In 1904 the building was enlarged with three wings after a design by Carl Hocheder from

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 1925–26 Hocheder's south wing was replaced by a new office wing. In 1945 around 80% of the building was destroyed by bombs. The rebuilding campaign was led by Zahn and was finished in 1958. It left the museum architecturally as a 'watered-down' version of the original designs. In the 1980s a new section was added by the architects Klaus Gauger and Gerhard Dürr from

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem * Nové Město na Mo ...

. Since 2008 the museum has been managed by the department of Cultural Heritage of the ''Bundesland''

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

(''Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz''). From the inception of the museum in 1877, it has been active in the field of

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s and research. Many of the artifacts in the museum's collection have been excavated by the museum. The radius of its scientific research is the city of Trier and its wider environs, which includes over 10,000 archaeological sites that are already known to exist. The museum publishes two scientific magazines. Since 2006, the Dr. Heinz Cüpper Award is presented, named after a former director.

Collection

The collection consists of artifacts from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

up to the end of the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'', a period of around 200.000 years.Die Dauerausstellung
on website ''landesmuseum-trier.de''. Often, the temporary exhibitions will draw on the museum's forte: the Roman era.Review: Past exhibitions
on website ''landesmuseum-trier.de''. A multimedia presentation, "In the Realm of Shadows" (''Im Reich der Schatten''), takes place in the department of Roman archaeology twice a day. The show attempts to bring back to life the 'dead' objects in the collection, for instance by projecting the original

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

onto the sculptures.

Prehistory

In this section some of the oldest tools made by humans in the area can be seen. A highlight is the Trassem gold hoard of around 1600 BC. Many archaeological finds date from the

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic era, including weapons and jewellery. A scale model explains the complicated structure of a Celtic defence wall ('' Murus Gallicus''). File:Hortfund Bronzezeit.JPG, Gold hoard from Trassem File:Trier1084.jpg, Drinking horn decoration File:Trier1070.jpg, Brooch from Weiskirchen File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Keltischer Wehrmauer.jpg, Murus Gallicus model

Roman sculptures

Roman sculpture takes a prominent place in the collection. A polychromed copy of the 30-meter tall Igel Column (''Igeler Säule'') from a nearby village fills the museum's courtyard. One of the larger rooms is entirely dedicated to a collection of sculpted grave monuments from Neumagen-Dhron (''Noviomagus Treverorum''), a Roman army base on the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

, a couple of miles downstream of Trier. Among the imposing grave towers it is easy to overlook the "Neumagen Wine Ship", probably a funeral monument of a wine merchant. Many statues and reliefs originate from the city of Trier, for instance from the Imperial Baths, the Barbara Baths, or the Altbachthal tempel complex. File:Igel2.jpg, Igel Column (replica) File:Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Germany (29621498551).jpg, Grave tower from Neumagen File:Funerary stone monument found in Neumagen in the shape of a rowing ship for transport of wine barrels on the Moselle river, about 220 AD, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Germany (29411833330).jpg, Neumagen Wine Ship File:2018 Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Altbachtaler Mars.jpg, Altbachthal Mars

Roman frescos and mosaics

The museum owns several reconstructed

s, either from town houses or public buildings in

, or from '' villae rusticae'' in the vicinity. The

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s collection is considered the most extensive north of the Alps. One of the largest is the Monnus Mosaic from the 3rd century, with symbols of the months of the year. The Polydus mosaic from a Trier town house contains a depiction of a

quadriga A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in classical antiquity and the Roman Empire. The word derives from the Latin , a contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke. In Latin the word is almos ...

with, above it, the name Polydus. File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Freskensaal 2.jpg, Trier fresco (reconstructed) File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Mosaike & Fresko.jpg, Monnus Mosaic and fresco File:Monnus Mosaic, square panel detail with personification of the month of October (Bacchus with thyrsus and wreath), from a Roman Domus in Augusta Treverorum (Trier) (29924872902).jpg, Monnus Mosaic (detail) File:Polydus.jpg, Polydus Mosaic

Roman Trier (scale models, utensils, etc.)

The staggering number of Roman finds from Augusta Treverorum is an indication of the town's importance during this era. For a while Trier was the northern capital of the Empire. A large

scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...

rightfully takes up a central place in the exhibition dedicated to Roman Trier. There are also scale models of individual buildings, some of which still exist. The museum has a fine collection of

Roman glass Roman glass objects have been recovered across the Roman Empire in domestic, industrial and funerary contexts. Glass was used primarily for the production of vessels, although mosaic tiles and window glass were also produced. Roman glass producti ...

. A cage cup from

Piesport Piesport is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. ...

, found in a grave in Trier, underlines the craftsmanship. The importance of Roman Trier became once more apparent in 1993 when a hoard of thousands of coins was found in the city centre, the largest Roman gold hoard ever found (with 2650

aurei The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the ''solidus (coin), solidus''. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Roman ...

weighing ca. 18,5 kg). The treasure is kept in a separate coin cabinet, containing one of Germany's largest numismatic collections. File:2018 Trier, scale model Roman city - circus & amphitheatre.jpg, Scale model of Trier File:2018 Trier, scale model Basilica of Constantine 2.jpg, Basilica of Constantine File:Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Germany (31312760795).jpg, Roman cage cup File:Trierer Goldmuenzenschatz.jpg, Trier gold hoard

Early Middle Ages

After the Romans departed, Trier remained an important (Christian) centre in the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

, largely due to the continuous presence of the bishops. Proof to this are two gilded disc '' fibulae'' and other

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

from the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

and

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

era. Some architectural fragments date from the same period. Small but noteworthy is the collection Early Christian

gravestone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

s from the 5th, 6th and 7th century. File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Goldscheibenfiebel aus Pelm.jpg, Frankish fibula File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, karolingisches Pilasterkapitell.jpg, Carolingian capital File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, frühchristlicher Grabstein 1.jpg, Early Christian gravestone File:Grabstein Hlodericus.jpg, Grafstone of Hlodericus

High and Late Middle Ages

At the end of the 10th century Trier was a centre of the

Ottonian Renaissance The Ottonian Renaissance was a renaissance of Byzantine art, Byzantine and Late Antiquity, Late Antique art in Central Europe, Central and Southern Europe that accompanied the reigns of the first three Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian Dynasty, ...

. The main products of the so-called Egbert workshops are now in the Treasury of

Trier Cathedral The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier (), or Trier Cathedral (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the oldest cathedral in Germany and the largest religious structure in Trier, notable for its long l ...

and in museums elsewhere in Germany. The Rheinisches Landesmuseum has some stone sculptures from this period but they do not attain to the same level as the metalwork and

manuscript illumination An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers and liturgical books such as psalters and ...

from the Egbert workshops. A forte in the collection however is

Romanesque sculpture Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 19th-centur ...

of the 11th and 12th century. Many capitals and reliefs originate from demolished monasteries and churches in Trier, as from the once important Abbeys of St. Matthias, St. Paulin and St. Maximin. The museum possesses several statues of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and various saints from the Late Gothic period, as well as some stained-glass windows from Trier Cathedral. File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, romanische Bauskulpturen 02.jpg, Fragments from St. Maximin's File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, romanisches Kapitell 6.jpg, Romanesque capital File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, romanische Bauskulpturen 06.jpg, Christ as Α and Ω File:2018 Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Pietà.jpg, Late Gothic Pietà

Modern era

A scale model of

Porta Nigra The Porta Nigra (Latin language, Latin for ''black gate''), referred to by locals as Porta, is a large Roman Empire, Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name ''Porta Nigra'' originated in the Middle Ages d ...

/ St. Simeon's as it appeared around 1800, clarifies how some Roman monuments in Trier survived as churches. A magnificent

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

is a reconstruction of the funeral monument that Christoph von Rheineck had erected in the Liebfrauenkirche in 1535. It is the earliest Renaissance monument in Germany. The original sculptures are kept in the Museum am Dom. A much more humble 17th or 18th-century relief of the three first bishops of Trier from the former abbey of St. Matthias is accompanied by a pious poem in Latin and German. Other objects from this period testify of the wealth at the Trier episcopal and electoral court. File:2018 Trier, scale model Porta Nigra-Simeonstift 2.jpg, Scale model St. Simeon's File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Triumphbogen-Altar (Rekonstruktion) 2.jpg, Renaissance triumphal arch File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Relief Bischöfe St Matthias.jpg, Relief Trier bishops File:2018 Trier, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Baroque woodcarving.jpg, Electoral coat of arms

References

{{Authority control Museums in Trier Archaeological museums in Germany History museums in Germany Museums of ancient Rome in Germany Museums established in 1877 1877 establishments in Germany