Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

in the west of the state of

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 ...

, near the border with

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and within the important Moselle wine region. Founded by the Romans in the late 1st century BC as '' Augusta Treverorum'' ("The City of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

among the Treveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city. It is also the oldest

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

north of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. Trier was one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire during the

Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. I ...

period in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. In 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 ...

, the archbishop-elector of Trier was an important prince of the Church who controlled land from the French border to the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. The archbishop-elector of Trier also had great significance as one of the seven electors of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Because of its significance during the Roman and Holy Roman empires, several monuments and cathedrals within Trier are listed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. With an approximate population of 110,000, Trier is the fourth-largest city in its state, after

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 ...

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

, and

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

. The nearest major cities are

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

( to the southwest),

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

( southeast), and

( northeast). The University of Trier, the administration of the

Trier-Saarburg Trier-Saarburg (; ) is a district in the west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north and clockwise) Bitburg-Prüm, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Birkenfeld, Sankt Wendel (Saarland), and Merzig-Wadern (Saarland). To ...

district and the seat of the ADD (''Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion''), which until 1999 was the borough authority of Trier, and the Academy 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 Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and Saarbrücken, fellow constituent members of the union of cities, it is central to the greater region encompassing Saar-Lor-Lux (

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

, Lorraine and

), Rhineland-Palatinate, and

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

History

The first traces of human settlement in the area of the city show evidence of linear pottery settlements dating from the early

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period. Since the last pre-Christian centuries, members of 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 tribe of the Treveri settled in the area of today's Trier. The city of Trier derives its name from the later Latin locative ''in Trēverīs'' for earlier ''Augusta Treverorum''. According to the Archbishops of Trier, in the '' Gesta Treverorum'', the founder of the city of the Trevians is Trebeta. German historian Johannes Aventinus also credited Trebeta with building settlements at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

and

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

The historical record describes the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

subduing the Treveri in the and establishing Augusta Treverorum about 16 BC. The name distinguished it from the empire's many other cities honoring the first Roman emperor,

. The city later became the capital of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Belgic Gaul; after the Diocletian Reforms, it became the capital of the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

of the Gauls, overseeing much of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

. 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. The Porta Nigra ("Black Gate") dates from this era. A residence of the Western Roman emperor, Roman Trier was the birthplace of Saint Ambrose. Sometime between 395 and 418, probably in 407 the Roman administration moved the staff of the Praetorian Prefecture from Trier to

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

. 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 of ballistae and armor and woolen uniforms for the 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 of

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 ...

to the coast at Boulogne 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 at

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

The

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

seized Trier from Roman administration in 459. In 870, it became part of Eastern Francia, which developed into the

. Relics of Saint Matthias brought to the city initiated widespread pilgrimages. The bishops of the city grew increasingly powerful and the

Archbishopric of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.electorate of the empire, one of the most powerful states of Germany. The University of Trier was founded in the city in 1473. In the 17th century, the Archbishops and Prince-Electors of Trier relocated their residence to Philippsburg Castle in Ehrenbreitstein, near

. A session of the Reichstag was held in Trier in 1512, during which the demarcation of the Imperial Circles was definitively established. In the years from 1581 to 1593, the Trier witch trials were held. It was one of the four largest witch trials in Germany alongside the Fulda witch trials, the Würzburg witch trial, and the Bamberg 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. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the French-Habsburg rivalry brought war to Trier.

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

fought over the city during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The bishop was imprisoned by Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor for his support for France between 1635 and 1645. In later wars between the Empire and France, French troops occupied the city during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, and the War of the Polish Succession. After conquering Trier again in 1794 during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, France annexed the city and the electoral archbishopric was dissolved. After the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

ended in 1815, Trier passed to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

, the German philosopher and one of the founders of

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, was born in the city in 1818. As part of the Prussian Rhineland, Trier developed economically during the 19th century. The city rose in revolt during the revolutions of 1848 in the German states, although the rebels were forced to concede. It became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1871. The synagogue on Zuckerbergstrasse was looted during the November 1938 Kristallnacht and later completely destroyed in a bomb attack in 1944. Multiple Stolperstein have been installed in Trier to commemorate those murdered and exiled during the Shoah. In June 1940 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

over 60,000 British prisoners of war, captured at

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

and Northern France, were marched to Trier, which became a staging post for British soldiers headed for German

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

s. Trier was heavily bombed and bombarded in 1944. The city became part of the new state of

after the war. The

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, dissolved in 1797, was restarted in the 1970s, while the Cathedral of Trier was reopened in 1974 after undergoing substantial and long-lasting renovations. Trier officially celebrated its 2,000th anniversary in 1984. On 1 December 2020, 5 people were killed by an allegedly drunk driver during a vehicle-ramming attack. The Ehrang/Quint district of Trier was heavily damaged and flooded during the 16 July 2021 floods of Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. Trier sits in a hollow midway along the Moselle valley, with the most significant portion of the city on the east bank of the river. Wooded and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

-covered slopes stretch up to the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

plateau in the south and the Eifel in the north. The border with the

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg ...

is some away.

Neighbouring municipalities

''Listed in clockwise order, beginning with the northernmost; all municipalities belong to the

district'' Schweich, Kenn and Longuich (all part of the Verbandsgemeinde Schweich an der Römischen Weinstraße),

Mertesdorf Mertesdorf is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, ...

, Kasel, Waldrach, Morscheid, Korlingen and Gusterath (all in the Verbandsgemeinde Ruwer), Hockweiler, Franzenheim (both part of the Verbandsgemeinde Trier-Land), Konz and Wasserliesch (both part of the Verbandsgemeinde Konz), Igel, Trierweiler, Aach, Newel, Kordel, Zemmer (all in the Verbandsgemeinde Trier-Land).

Organization of city districts

The Trier urban area is divided into 19 city districts. For each district there is an '' Ortsbeirat'' (local council) of between 9 and 15 members, as well as an '' Ortsvorsteher'' (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):

Climate

Trier has an oceanic climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''), but with greater extremes than the marine versions of

northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

. 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. As a result of the European 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. The lowest recorded temperature was −19.3 °C on February 2, 1956.

Main sights

Trier Konstantinbasilika BW 2017-06-16 14-07-56

Trier is known for its well-preserved Roman and medieval buildings, which include: * the '' Porta Nigra'', the best-preserved Roman city gate north of the

; * the huge Aula Palatina, a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in the original Roman sense, was the long throne hall of Roman emperor Constantine; it is today used as a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church; adjacent is the Electoral Palace, Trier; * the Roman Trier Amphitheater; * the 2nd century AD Roman bridge (''Römerbrücke'') across the Moselle, the oldest bridge north of the Alps still crossed by traffic; * ruins of three Roman baths, among them the largest Roman baths north of the Alps; including the Barbara Baths, the Trier Imperial Baths, and the Forum Baths, Trier; * Trier Cathedral ( or ''Dom 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 the Holy Tunic, one of a number of garments claimed to be the robe

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

was wearing when he died, as well as many other relics and reliquaries in the Cathedral Treasury; * the '' Liebfrauenkirche'' (German for ''Church of Our Lady''), which is one of the most important early Gothic churches in Germany, in some ways comparable to the architectural tradition of the French 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 an apostle 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; * Saint Paulinus' Church, one of the most important

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

churches in Rhineland-Palatinate and designed in part by the architect Balthasar Neumann; * two old treadwheel cranes, one being the Gothic "Old Crane" (''Alte Krahnen'') or "Trier Moselle Crane" (''Trierer Moselkrahn'') from 1413, and the other the 1774

crane called the "(Old) Customs Crane" (''(Alter) Zollkran'') or "Younger Moselle Crane" (''Jüngerer Moselkran'') (see List of historical harbour cranes).

Museums

* '' 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'', formerly ''Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum'' (Museum of the Diocese 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 museum Roscheider Hof, a museum in the neighbouring town of Konz, 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, from Trier, containing an underground mine, a mine museum, and a slate mining trail. * Memorial sculpture (2012) by Clas Steinmann to the deportation of

Sinti The Sinti (masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintetsa, Sinta'') are a subgroup of the Romani people. They are found mostly in Germany, France, Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people. They were traditionally Itinerant groups i ...

and

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

in Trier.

Education

Trier is home to the University of Trier, founded in 1473, closed in 1796 and restarted in 1970. The city also has the Trier University of Applied Sciences. The Academy of European Law (ERA) was established in 1992 and provides training in European law to legal practitioners. In 2010 there were about 40 ''Kindergärten'', 25 primary schools and 23 secondary schools in Trier, such as the ''Humboldt Gymnasium Trier'', ''Max Planck Gymnasium'', ''Auguste Viktoria Gymnasium'', ''Angela Merici Gymnasium'', ''Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium'' and the ''Nelson-Mandela Realschule Plus'', ''Kurfürst-Balduin Realschule Plus'', ''Realschule Plus Ehrang''.

Annual events

* Since 1980, the Altstadtfest is celebrated in downtown Trier on the last weekend of June, followed by the Zurlaubener Heimatfest on the banks of the Mosel river two weeks later. * Until 2014, Trier was home to Germany's largest Roman festival, Brot und Spiele ( German for ''Bread and Games'' – a translation of the famous Latin phrase '' panem et circenses'' from the satires of Juvenal). * Trier has been the base for the German round of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

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 the ''Hauptmarkt'' (Main Market Square) and the ''Domfreihof'' in front of the Cathedral of Trier. * The Olewiger Weinfest is an annual wine festival held in the village of Olewig, just outside of Trier, Germany. 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.

Culture

Trier has a municipal theatre, Theater Trier, for musical theatre, plays and dance.

Transport

Trier station has direct

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

connections to many cities in the region. The nearest cities by

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

are Cologne, Saarbrücken and Luxembourg. Via the motorways A 1, A 48 and A 64 Trier is linked with Koblenz, Saarbrücken and Luxembourg. The nearest commercial (international) airports are in

(0:40 h by car), Frankfurt-Hahn (1:00 h),

(1:00 h),

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

(2:00 h) and Cologne/Bonn (2:00 h). The Moselle 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.

Sports

Major sports clubs in Trier include: * SV Eintracht Trier 05,

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

* Gladiators Trier,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

(former TBB Trier) * DJK/MJC Trier, women's

team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a Handball goalkeeper, goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands ...

* Trier Cardinals,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

* PST Trier Stampers,

American Football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

* FSV Trier-Tarforst, intera alia

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and rugby

International relations

Trier is a fellow member of the QuattroPole union of cities, along with

and

(neighbouring countries:

and

Twin towns – sister cities

Trier is twinned with: *

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, England, UK (1957) *

, France (1957) *

Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; ; ) is a (municipality) and capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche. Geography The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto, River Tronto and the small Castellano (river), River Castell ...

, Italy (1958) *

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

, Netherlands (1968) *

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

, Croatia (1971) *

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, Germany (1987) *

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, United States (1987) * Nagaoka, Japan (2006) *

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

, China (2010) * Izium, Ukraine (2024)

Namesakes

* New Trier Township, Illinois, US, originally settled by people from Trier. * New Trier, Minnesota, US, settled by people from Trier about 1856. * New Trier High School, an Illinois school named after Trier.

Notable people

* Eucharius (died c. 250), first bishop of Trier * Constantius Chlorus (c. 250–306), Roman emperor * Maximian (c. 250–310), Roman emperor * Valerius (died 320), second bishop of Trier * Helena (c. 250–330), saint, mother of Constantine the Great (residence in Trier by tradition) * Athanasius of Alexandria (296/298–373), saint (in exile ca. 335) * Paulinus (died 358), bishop of Trier * Valentinian I (321–375), Roman emperor *

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...

(c. 310–395), Roman consul and poet * Ambrose (c. 340–397), saint * Apronia of Toul (6th century), nun and saint * Saint Modesta (died c. 680), founder and Abbess of the monastery of Oeren * Kaspar Olevianus (1536–1587), theologian * Heinrich Marx (1777–1838), lawyer, father of Karl Marx * Henriette Marx (1788–1863), mother of Karl Marx * Johann Anton Ramboux (1790–1866), painter * Jenny Marx (1814–1881), revolutionary, drama critic *

(1818–1883), social philosopher and revolutionary * August Beer (1825–1863), scientist * Udo Samel (born 1953), Actor * Frederick A. Schroeder (1833–1899), American politician, mayor of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

* Hans am Ende (1864–1918), painter * Ludwig Kaas (1881–1952), Catholic priest and politician ( Zentrum) * Ludwig von Westphalen (1770 –1842), father-in-law of Karl Marx * Oswald von Nell-Breuning (1890–1991), theologian *

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

(1890–1970), General and French statesman, as commander of a battalion of Chasseurs during the French occupation of Rhineland * Reinhard Heß (1904–1998), painter and glass painter * Wolf Graf von Baudissin (1907–1993), general, military planner and peace researcher * Peter Thullen (1907–1996), German-Ecuadorian mathematician * Gitta Lind (1925–1974), singer * Reinhold Bartel (1926–1996), operatic tenor * Ernst Huberty (1927–2023), sports reporter * Günther Steines (1928–1982), athlete * Franz Grundheber (born 1937), baritone * Otmar Seul (born 1943), lawyer, professor * Helga Zepp-LaRouche (born 1948), journalist and politician * Xavier Bout de Marnhac (born 1951), French general, former commander of KFOR * Robert Zimmer (born 1953), philosopher and essayist * Ernst Ulrich Deuker (born 1954), musician * François Weigel (born 1964), French pianist, composer and conductor * Eric Jelen (born 1965), tennis player * Martin Bambauer (born 1970), church musician * Frank Findeiß (born 1971), poet * Anja Kaesmacher (born 1974), operatic soprano * Georg Meier (chess player) (born 1987), German grandmaster of chess

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 10s BC establishments in the Roman Empire Cities in Rhineland-Palatinate Urban districts of Rhineland-Palatinate Gallia Belgica Landmarks in Germany Populated places established in the 1st century BC Roman towns and cities in Germany World Heritage Sites in Germany