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A Brief History of Trier

A Brief History of Trier

Trier is Germany’s oldest city. Archeological finds of Celtic settlements show people living here as far back as 2000 BC. Even in terms of written history, it is the oldest, having been founded in 16 BC by the Romans as Augusta Treverorum.

Trier was mainly a residential city at the start and was overrun in 274 AD by invading Germanic tribes. It was re-conquered by the Romans, rebuilt in an even grander style, leading to its description as a Second Rome. Trier became an imperial residential city under Constantine (306-337) and functioned as the capital of Germany, Gaul, Spain and Britain. Continued waves of attacks by Germanic tribes forced the Imperial family to return to Italy and the city itself finally succumbed to the Franks by the end of the fifth century.

Constantine made Trier the first See in Germany (314 AD) and, about 500 years later, Charlemagne upgraded it to a full archbishopric. The archbishop of Trier was a Prince Elector and therefore an important religious and political figure in the Holy Roman Empire. Trier briefly became French in the aftermath of the French Revolution, but has been part of Prussia, and then modern Germany, since 1815.

Last updated March 24, 2012
Posted in   Germany  |  The Mosel Valley
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