Trier

The city is the oldest seat of a Christian [|bishop] north of the [|Alps]. In the [|Middle Ages], the [|Archbishop of Trier] was an important [|prince of the church], as the [|Archbishopric of Trier] controlled land from the French border to the [|Rhine]. The Archbishop also had great significance as one of the seven [|electors] of the [|Holy Roman Empire]. With an approximate population of 105,000 Trier is ranked fourth among the state's largest cities; after [|Mainz], [|Ludwigshafen], and [|Koblenz].[|[][|3][|]] The nearest large cities in Germany are [|Saarbrücken], some 80 km southeast, and [|Koblenz], about 100 km northeast. The closest city to Trier is the capital of [|Luxembourg], some 50 km to the southwest.
 * Trier** is a [|city] in [|Germany] on the banks of the [|Moselle]. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC.[|[][|2][|]] Trier lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of ruddy [|sandstone] in the west of the state of [|Rhineland-Palatinate], near the border with [|Luxembourg] and within the important [|Mosel wine region].

=Trier Cathedral and the Holy Robe= This will be available for viewing while we are in Trier!

The most precious relic in Trier Cathedral is the Holy Robe, the tunic of Christ. According to tradition, the Empress Dowager Helena brought the seamless robe of Christ to Trier. The Holy Robe is mentioned for the first time in the 11th century; the history of the Holy Robe is documented with certainty only from the 12th century, when it was removed from the west choir to the new altar in the east choir on May 1, 1196. In 1512: Opening of the high altar in the presence of Emperor Maximilian under Archbishop Richard of Greiffenklau and the first pilgrimage to the Holy Robe Further Pilgrimages: 1513, 1514, 1515, 1516, 1517, 1524, 1538, 1545, 1655, 1810, 1844, 1891, 1933, 1959, 1996 Since the Cathedral renovation in 1974, the Holy Robe has been kept in its wooden shrine from 1891, lying under an air-conditioned glass shrine. The last great pilgrimage, in 1996, became a celebration of all the faithful, with its continuation in the annual Holy Robe Days. Only during the Holy Robe Days is the Holy Robe chapel accessible, but the garment cannot be viewed. The original state of the textile has altered because of past events and the unfavorable storage conditions, as repairs have frequently been made.´ The question of the genuineness ot the Holy Robe cannot not be answered with certainty. For the faithful, the symbolism is important: the relic signifies Jesus Christ Himself, His incarnation and the other events in His life up to the crucifixion and His death. The undivided and seamless garment is also a symbol of undivided Christianity and evokes the binding power of God, as ist expressed in the Trier pilgrim's prayer: Next Pilgrimages: 13th April – 13th May 2012
 * || [[image:http://www.dominformation.de/internet-en/nav/17b/binarywriterservlet?imgUid=94d70571-8ae7-a7f0-eb30-bd8bc1d2b31b&uBasVariant=22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222 caption="The Holy Robe"]] ||
 * || || The Holy Robe || ||

Trier is well known for its well preserved Roman and medieval buildings, which include:
 * the //[|Porta Nigra]//, the best preserved Roman [|city gate] north of the [|Alps];
 * ruins of three [|Roman baths], among them the largest Roman baths north of the Alps;
 * the huge [|Constantine Basilica], a [|basilica] in the original Roman sense, was the 67 m (219.82 ft) long throne hall of [|Roman Emperor] [|Constantine]; it is today used as a [|Protestant] [|church].
 * the [|Trier Cathedral] ([|German]: //Trierer Dom// or //Dom St. Peter//), a Roman Catholic church which dates back to Roman times 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. It is only exhibited every few decades, at irregular intervals.
 * The //Liebfrauenkirche// (German for //Church of [|Our Lady]//), which is one of the most important early [|Gothic] cathedrals in Germany and falls into the architectural tradition of the [|French Gothic] cathedrals;
 * the Roman [|amphitheatre];
 * the 2nd century AD [|Roman bridge] (//Römerbrücke//) across the Moselle, the oldest bridge north of the Alps still crossed by traffic;
 * [|St. Matthias' Abbey] (//Abtei St. Matthias//), a still-in-use monastery in whose medieval church the only [|apostle] north of the Alps is held to be buried
 * St. Gangolf Church was the city's market church that rivalled the Archbishop's Trier Cathedral.
 * [|Saint Paulin Church], one of the most important [|Baroque] 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 [|Baroque] crane called the "(Old) Customs Crane" (//(Alter) Zollkran//) or "Younger Moselle Crane" (//Jüngerer Moselkran//) (see [|List of historical harbour cranes])
 * The old Jewish cemetery ([|DE]) (Weidegasse)
 * Judengasse- near the Trier Hauptmarkt (main market) the Jewish quarter of the city in the Middle Ages.