Having spent a day in Trier, Germany, I thought of
putting up this short blog for any prospective travellers. Trier is a small
city situated on the beautiful Moselle river and borders Luxembourg. Considered
as the oldest city of Germany, Trier has many historical buildings dating back
to as early as 2nd century in the Roman era.
Listed below is a simple itinerary to cover the Top 5
tourist attractions in approximately 4-5 hours. The starting point is Trier
Hauptbahnhof. Walking out of Trier hbf, take the straight road
Theodor-Heusse-Allee. A 5 mins walk will lead you to the biggest tourist
attraction – the Porta Nigra.
Porta
Nigra is considered as one of the 4 ancient Roman gates and
the only one to have survived. It was built in 2nd century and the reason why
it survived is because a hermit named Simeon took
this place as its home. It was built
from white sandstone but over a period of time, either because of pollution or
from corrosion by insects, the place looks almost black. There are 3 floors.
While most of it is in ruins, the passageways and the chapel still carries a
lot of historical carvings to create a great impression. It also gives
beautiful photo opportunities. As per wiki, it is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps and has been designated a World Heritage Site. The entrance fee is 3 €. Adjacent to this
attraction is a museum which we didn’t visit.
The attraction is right opposite Mercure Hotel for those
who want to stay overnight. However, there are other cheaper options also
available in the city. Behind Porta Nigra, start walking on the Simeonstrasse
towards the city center. The hauptmarkt is a beautiful central square which has
a nice fountain in the middle. On one side is the St. Gangolf Church which has
a really nice rococo based architecture entrance. Take a left from the square
and you reach the large Trierer Dom.
Trier
cathedral is a Roman Catholic church and is home to the Holy
Tunic, a garment with a recorded history back to the 12th century, in Catholic
tradition said to be the robe Jesus was wearing when he died. Unfortunately the
robe is generally not available for public viewing. The entrance is free. Next
to the dom is the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), which is one of the
most important early Gothic cathedrals in Germany.
Cross the church of our lady and keep walking on the same
street Liebfrauenstrasse and you will reach Konstantinplatz.
Konstantin
Basilica might not be the usual tourist paradise as it is not
very spectacular to look at. But it carries great historical background as it
is the largest surviving single-room structure from Roman times. The entrance
is free. If you examine closely, you can also witness the ancient mechanism of
floor and wall heating system as initially it was supposed to have two walls
with a gap in between.
The
Electoral Palace is directly next to the Basilika and is a
beautiful rococo palace. However it can only be seen from outside. The garden
overlooking though small is quite nice with lot of sculptures.
Follow the garden and go straight to Imperial Baths or Kaiserthermen. The entrance is actually direct
opposite but because of lack of signs, most tourists end up taking a circular
path all around the baths. If you do that, don’t worry, it will still give you
amazing views of the Baths from all angles. The baths are supposed to be 1600
years old and built by Romans. You can see the cold, warm and hot bathing
sections. Interestingly a lot was planned as per the info booklet but as the
baths were never finished, they were never really used for the intended
purpose. However its fun to walk through the underground rooms. The entrance fee is 3 €.
Rheinisches Landesmuseum is adjacent to the baths.
However we decided to give it a miss. You can also take the Olewiger strasse
from the baths and within 5 mins reach the old Amphitheater. Again we didn’t have that much time and so had to miss
that one as well. From imperial baths, we took the opposite road Ostallee and
went towards the Barbarathermen.
Barbarathermen are even older than Imperial baths and are closed to the public.
However you can see them from an external viewing platform. As the place is
mostly in ruins, there is not much that you would be able to make out. From
here, you can see the Roman bridge or walk back into the city.
This itinerary should not
take you more than 4-5 hours depending upon how much time you spend on each
individual attraction. Most eating places are in the main central square.
I hope you find the travelogue useful and enjoy your time
in this city which is still holding on to its ancient roots.
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