Holiday Road #trier

Of course, we couldn't leave Luxembourg and drive straight to the Mosel Valley without at least one more historical stop, so to Trier we went.

A Unesco World Heritage Site since 1986, Trier is home to German's finest Roman monuments.  Founded by the Romans as Augusta Treverorum in 16BC, Trier's rise was as meteoric as its citizens were well bathed.  The capital of the Belgian provinces of Roman Gaul by the 2nd century, it served as the capital of the Gallic Empire in the 3rd century and as the residence of Constantine the Great in the 4th century.

The Thermen am Viehmarkt was found by accident in the 1980s during the construction of a parking garage.  It's now sheltered by a dramatic glass cube. 

Rotes Haus am Marktplatz

Dreikoenigenhaus - a late Gothic residence
with a geometrically painted facade. Originally
the entrance was up on the 1st floor, reachable
by stairs that could be retracted in case
of danger.

The Porta Nigra is a 2nd century gate that's been blackened by time. A marvel of engineering and ingenuity, it's held together by nothing but gravity and iron rods. In the 11th century, Archbishop Poppo converted the structure into St Simeonkirche, a church named in honour of a Greek hermit who spent a stint holed up in its east tower.

Looking down into the one-time monastery but now the
Stadtmuseum Simeonstift.

The old Roman town walls and key monuments

East of the Hauptmarkt looms the fortress like Dom, built above the palace of Constantine the Great's mother, Helena. The present structure is mostly Romanesque with some soaring Gothic and eye-popping baroque embellishments.

And inside is the most grand organ you will ever see...

Just to the south of the church is the Liebfrauenkirche, one of Germany's earliest Gothic churches. The cruciform structure is supported by a dozen pillars symbolising the 12 Apostles and is gorgeous inside.

Kurfuerstliche Palais (Prince-Electors' Palace)

The Kaiserthermen, or Imperial Baths, are a vast thermal bathing complex created by Constantine.  They were built in the 4th century, but remained unfinished and were used, still in Antiquity, for another purpose - when the medieval city wall was built, the remains of these baths were transformed into a mighty corner bastion with a city gate in the south wall of the caldarium.

About 700m to the southeast of the baths is the Roman Amphitheatre.  It was once capable of holding 20,000 spectators during gladiator tournaments and animal fights - or when Constantine the Great crowned his battlefield victories by feeding his enemies to voracious animals.

Underneath the arena, a cruciform cellar extended about
30m in width and 50m in length.

Trier was actually supposed to be our original meeting and start point for a week of cycling down the Mosel River to Koblenz on the Rhine.  But since the Don's injury meant we had no idea when booking / planning whether he could drive, let alone cycle long distances, we changed plans and picked a central base for our week's holiday where we could, instead, cycle for day trips. So to Graach an der Mosel we went.