Day 8
Today we chose to take a guided walk through Trier, and on our return we had time to take in beautiful Bernkastel.
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Off at 8:50 for our Trier City Tour we stopped for a view of the city through the vineyards before continuing into the city. The walking tour started at Karl Marx’s statue, next was Porta Nigra – the only surviving Roman Gate, then down the street to Market Square and the Cathedral. Afterward, we spent a bit of time shopping before we were back on the bus. A quick overlook stop of the Pies Port vineyards before continuing on to Bernkastel. After a late lunch we did a quick tour of the Medieval ‘village’ square before stopping for a glass of Piesport wine and Apple Strudel. After dinner we enjoyed Disco night in the Opal Lounge…great fun!
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Trier, Germany’s oldest city, has evidence of human occupation since early Neolithic times. Settled by the Celts in the 4thC BC it was called Treuorum. Conquered 300 years later by the Romans, it was renamed Augusta Treverorum.
Porta Nigra was built without mortar — only iron pegs hold the sandstone blocks together. It survived because it was turned into a Church after St. Simeon’s death in 1035. A pious Greek recluse, he had lived inside the gate for seven years. Napoleon had the church destroyed in 1803 but kept the Roman Gate.
Dreikonigenhaus (House of the three Magi) is one of three surviving residential towers of the High Middle Ages. Located on Simeonstraße, on the way to Market Square, it was built in 1230 as a residential tower for a rich merchant.
The Market Cross from 958 (with an ancient Roman pedestal), celebrates the trading rights given to the town by King Otto the Great.
Cathedral of St. Peter, Germany’s oldest church has served its original purpose, as bishop’s church, throughout its 1700 years of history.
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In 1291 Bernkastel received municipal rights at the instigation of the Archbishop of Trier. The first town hall was probably built shortly afterwards. Today’s town hall with its Renaissance façade was built in 1608. On the left corner of the façade is the public pillory on which wrong doers were bound with chains and handcuffs.
Mittelalterlicher Marktplatz – The old square, surrounded by centuries-old timber-framed buildings, the Renaissance town hall (1608), St. Michael’s Fountain (1606) and the picturesque “Spitzhäuschen” (pointed house built in 1416), has been the center of a thriving community since the 12th century. The marketplace was once a popular site for regional trade and local gossip.
