Daily Archives: 23/10/2018

Tuesday, 23rd October 2018 Trier lays claim to being the oldest city in Germany having been capital of the Western Roman Empire in the third century. Several of its buildings have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and it is also the birthplace of Karl Marx. We left our aire on the banks of the Moselle and made our way into town, past the remains of an ancient synagogue, . . . . . . .the Kaiserthermen [Roman Imperial Baths – dogs not allowed] and the ornate eighteenth century Rococo Kurfürstliches Palais [Palace of the Electors]. . . . . . to the Konstantin Basilika [Imperial Throne Room]. The Basilika was originally built about AD 310 as the Aula Palatina or audience hall of the Roman Imperial Residence of Constantine the Great. Modified many times since Rome fell, it has subsequently been used by the Frankish counts of this district and then by local archbishops. Latterly it was restored to its original size and has been a Protestant Church since 1856. It was burnt out in 1944 during WWII but it was rededicated as a place of worship in 1956. We alternated going inside with staying outside in the comparative […]