Trier
Template:Infobox Town DE The city of Trier (Latin: Augusta Treverorum; Template:Lang-fr; Template:Lang-it; Template:Lang-es) is situated on the western bank of the Moselle River in a valley between low vine-covered hills of ruddy sandstone. It is located in the West of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the German border with Luxembourg and within the important Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine-growing region. Trier is one of several cities that each claim to be the oldest city in Germany.
Trier is the seat of the Archbishopric of Trier, as well as being home to a university, a technical college, the administration of the Trier-Saarburg district and the seat of the ADD (Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion), which until 1999 was the borough authority of Trier.
With an approximate population of 100,000, Trier was until 2005 ranked fourth alongside Kaiserslautern among the state's largest cities, after Mainz, Ludwigshafen am Rhein and Koblenz. However, the census of the 30th June 2005 registered only 99,685 inhabitants. The nearest large cities in Germany are Saarbrücken, some 80km southeast, and Koblenz, about 100km northeast. The closest city to Trier is in fact the capital of Luxembourg, some 50km to the Southwest.
Trier is one of the five "central places" of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Along with Luxembourg, Metz und Saarbrücken, fellow constituent members of the QuattroPole union of cities, it also forms a central place of the greater region encompassing Saar-Lor-Lux (Saarland, Lorraine and Luxembourg), Rhineland-Palatinate and Wallonia.
Geography
Trier sits in a hollow midway along the Moselle valley, with the most significant portion of the city on the right bank of the river. Wooded and vineyard-covered slopes stretch up to the Hunsrück plateaux in the South and the Eifel in the North. The border with the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg is some 15km distant.
Neighbouring municipalities
Listed in clockwise order, beginning with the northernmost; all municipalities belong to the Trier-Saarburg district
Schweich, Kenn and Longuich (all part of the Verbandsgemeinde Schweich an der Römischen Weinstraße), Mertesdorf, Kasel, Waldrach, Morscheid, Korlingen, Gutweiler, Sommerau and Gusterath (all in the Verbandsgemeinde Ruwer), Hockweiler, Franzenheim (both part of the Verbandsgemeinde Trier-Land), Konz (Verbandsgemeinde Konz), Igel, Trierweiler, Aach, Newel, Kordel (Eifel), Zemmer (all in the Verbandsgemeinde Trier-Land)
Organisation 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 impact upon 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 allocated budgets.
The districts of Trier together with their official numbers and their associated sub-districts (in parentheses):
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History
History of the city
Prehistory
The first traces of human settlement in the area of the city show evidence of linear pottery settlements dating from the early neolithic period.
According to legend, Trier was founded by Trebeta, the son of the Assyrian King Ninus, around 2000 BC: some 1300 years before the rise of Rome. [1]
Roman Empire
Verified sources nevertheless assert that the city of Trier is indeed of Roman origin: in 16 BC, at the foot of the Petrisberg, upon which a military camp had been set up in 30 BC and abandoned again a few months later, the Romans founded the city of Augusta Treverorum ("City of Augustus in the land of the Treveri"), capital of the province of Belgica. The honour of being named after the Emperor was one shared by only Augsburg and Augst in northern Switzerland.
From the second half of the third century onwards, Trier was the seat of an archbishopric; the first bishop being Eucharius. In the year 275 AD, the city was destroyed in an invasion by the Alamanni. From 293 to 395 AD, Trier was one of the residences of the Western Roman Emperor (see also Late Antiquity).
Ancient city and early Middle Ages
[2] The Romans under Julius Caesar subdued the Celtic Treverans in 58 to 50 BC. When the Roman provinces in Germany were reorganised in 16 BC, Augustus decided that Trier, then called Augusta Treverorum, should become the regional capital. From 259 to 274 Trier was the capital of the break away Gallic Empire. Later for a few years (383 - 388) it was the capital of Magnus Maximus, who ruled most of the western Empire. Until around 400, Trier was the seat of the gallic prefecture. The "Praefectus Praetorio Galliarium" governed the western Roman provinces from Morocco to Britain.
Not touched seriously by the invasion of the Huns under Attila in 451, Roman Trier was invaded by Germanic tribes from 350 on. Emperor Julian defeated the attacks. But when the Roman army withdrew from the border along the Rhine River at the beginning of the 5th century, it left the empire unprotected and the Franks sacked Trier in 410/11, 413, 419/20 and 428 or 435. In 470, the Count of de Jure Roman Trier was a Frank named Arbogast and around 475, Trier definitely was part of Frankish territory (Francia Rhinensis). As a result of the conflicts, the number of inhabitants decreased from an estimated 60,000 in the Roman era to 5,000 at the beginning of the 6th century.
Middle Ages
From the 6th-9th centuries, Trier belonged to the Frankish empire, first ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, then by the Carolingians. In the treaty of Verdun in 843, the sons of Charlemagne divided the empire in three parts, Trier was given to the middle part, Lorraine. After the death of Lothair II, ruler of Lorraine, Trier became part of the East Frankish Empire, later called Germany, in 870.
Many abbeys and monasteries were founded in the early Frankish time, including St. Maximin, St. Martin, St. Irminen, St. Maria ad Martyres/St.Mergen, and others. The only important abbey that survived wars and secularization by the French at the beginning of 1800 is the Benedictine abbey St. Maximin in the south of Trier. Here, the first bishops of Trier, Eucharius, Valerius and Maternus (around 300) are buried alongside with the apostle Matthew. It is the only tomb of an apostle in Europe north of the Alps, thus making Trier together with Rome/Italy (apostle St. Peter) and Santiago de Compostela/Spain (apostle St. James) one of three major places of pilgrimage in Europe for Catholics. In 882, Trier was sacked by the Vikings, who burnt most churches and abbeys. This was the end of the systematically built Roman Trier.
The Archbishop of Trier was, as chancellor of Burgundy, one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire, a right which originated in the 12th or 13th century, and which continued until the French Revolution.
Throughout the Middle Ages, there was a constant struggle by the city of Trier to become autonomous from the rule of the Archbishop, but such attempts failed. The most important Archbishop and Lord Elector of Trier in the Middle Ages was Balduin of Luxemburg, son of the Count of Luxemburg. He was elected in 1307 when he was only 22 years old. Balduin was the brother of the German King and Emperor Henry VII, and later, his grandnephew Charles became German King and Emperor as Charles IV. He used his family connections to add considerable territories to the Electorate of Trier. He is also known to have built many castles in the region. When he died in 1354, Trier was a prospering city.
Modern age
With the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), more than two centuries of warfare began for Trier. It was occupied several times by French troops. They besieged and occupied Trier in 1632, 1645, 1673 (the French Army stayed until 1675 and destroyed all churches, abbeys and settlements in front of the city walls for military reasons; the city itself was heavily fortified).
In 1684, with the War of the Reunions, an era of French expansion began. Trier was again taken in 1684; all walls and fortresses were destroyed this time. After Trier and the electorate were taken again during the War of Palatinate Succession in 1688, in the year 1689 many cities in the electorate were destroyed systematically by the French Army. Nearly all castles were blown up and the only bridge across the Moselle River in Trier was burnt. King Louis XIV of France personally issued the order for this destructions but also gave the command to spare the City of Trier. As the French Army retreated in 1698, it left a starving city without walls and only 2,500 inhabitants. During the War of the Spanish Succession, Trier was occupied again by a French Army in 1702. In 1704-1705 an allied British-Dutch army commanded by the Duke of Marlborough passed Trier on its way to France. When the campaign failed, the French came back to Trier in 1705 and stayed until 1714. After a short period of peace, the War of the Polish Succession started in 1734; the following year Trier was occupied by the French, who stayed until 1737. The last elector, Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony removed to Koblenz in 1786. In August 1794, French Republican troops took Trier. With this date, the era of the old Electorate ended. Churches, abbeys and clerical possessions were sold or used as stables et.c.
With the peace treaties of Basel and Campo Formio in 1797, German hegemonial powers Prussia and Austria accepted to cede all German territories on the left banks of the Rhine River to France. Trier became de facto a French city. In 1798, it became capital of the new founded French Départment de la Sarre. With the Peace Treaty of Luneville in 1801, Trier became also de jure a French city. In 1801, Napoleon signed a concordate with the pope, thus stopping defamations of clerics and making Trier a diocese. Its territory now was identical with the Départment de la Sarre, much smaller than the Archbishopric was until 1794. In 1802 the French Charles Mannay became first bishop of the new founded diocese and, in 1803, the first Holy Mass since 1794 was celebrated in the Dom. Emperor Napoleon visited Trier in 1804. In this time, French Trier began to prosper.
In 1814, the French era ended suddenly as Trier was taken by Prussian troops. After thedefeat of Napoleon, the German-French borders of 1792 were restored in the 1814 and 1815 peace treaties of Paris. The city was proclaimed part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815. In 1816 the Prussians reorganized their new territory and set up the Rhineprovince with six administrative districts. Trier became seat of one this district administrations, the Regierungsbezirk Trier. Because of the new political situation and the new customs frontiers in the west, the economy in Trier began to decline until 1840.
From 1840 on, the situation began to improve, when neighbour State Luxemburg, an important market for Trier made products, joined the German tariff union in 1842. Trier, with a population of 15,500 at this time, produced mainly leather, cloth, wine and tobacco. Iron works were founded in Quint near Trier at this time. An important infrastructural improvement was the introduction of a shipping line operating with paddle-wheel-steamers on the Moselle River, connecting Trier, Koblenz and Metz. The first railway line, linking Trier with Saarbrücken and Luxemburg was inaugurated in 1860, followed by the Trier-Köln line across the Eifel in 1871 and the Moselle railway to Koblenz in 1879. Minor lines to Bitburg via Irrel along the Sauer River, to Hermeskeil along the Ruwer River and the Moselbahn to Bullay where built later. A sign for prosperity were the first trade-fairs in modern Trier in 1840 and 1842.
During the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, Trier also saw protests and conflicts. The city council sent a letter to King Frederick William IV of Prussia, demanding more civic liberties. The lawyer Ludwig Simon was elected to represent Trier in the first German parliament in Frankfurt. As Prussian soldiers killed a citizen and wounded some other in a melee, the situation escalated. The people of Trier hoisted black-red-gold flags as democratic symbols, rang the church bells, organized a militia and took away the signs of Prussian rule. As there was again a melee between demonstrators and soldiers, leaving two citizens dead, this lead to an outburst of fury. The people began to build barricades and wave the red flag. There were even reports that a statue of the Prussian King was smashed into pieces. Trier was on the eve of a civil war when the commander of the VIII. Prussian army corps arrived and threatened to shell Trier. After being confronted with superior Prussian military power, the citizens gave up and removed the barricades. Some Trierers were jailed for their democratic attitude; Ludwig Simon emigrated like many others and died in Switzerland.
Sights
Trier is well known for its well-preserved Roman buildings, which include:
- the Porta Nigra, the best preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps;
- a complete amphitheatre;
- the Roman bridge across the Moselle River: it is the oldest bridge north of the Alps still crossed by traffic
- ruins of several Roman baths
- the huge Basilica, a basilica in the original Roman sense, being the 67 m long throne hall of Roman Emperor Constantine; it is today used as a Protestant church.
Other edifices of interest include:
- the Cathedral (Dom St. Peter), which is home to the Holy Tunic, a garment that presumably goes back to the robe Jesus was wearing when he died. It is exhibited at irregual intervals, typically twice a century.
- the church of St. Paulin, built by the famous architect Balthasar Neumann and one of the most important Baroque churches in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Miscellaneous
Trier is the oldest seat of a Christian bishop in Germany. In the Middle Ages, the Archbishop of Trier was an important ecclesiastical prince, controlling land from the French border to the Rhine. He was also one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire.
Trier is also the birthplace of the influential philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx. The Karl-Marx-Haus is the house where he was born. It was opened in 1947 and renovated in 1983.
It is also the birthplace of Saint Ambrose, who later became the bishop of Milan and was named a Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church.
Established in Trier is the University of Trier, founded 1483, closed 1796 and started again in 1970.
Trier has been the base for the German round of the World Rally Championship since 2000, with the rally's presentation held next to the Porta Nigra.
Infrastructure
Trier has direct railway connections to many cities. Nearest cities by train are Cologne, Saarbrücken and Luxemburg. Via the motorways A1, A48 and A64 Trier is linked with Koblenz, Saarbrücken and Luxemburg. Nearest international airports are in Luxemburg (0:40 h by car), Frankfurt-Hahn (1:00 h), Saarbrücken (1:00 h), Frankfurt (2:00 h) and Cologne/Bonn (2:00 h). The Moselle River is an important waterway and is also used for river cruises.
References
External links
- city website
- Trier City Panoramas - Panoramic Views and virtual Tours
- Karl-Marx-Haus birth house and museum
- Trier Daily Photo
- City Guide Trier - from the University of Trier website
