Discover Trier – History you can touch

The Year 7 Latin class went on a trip to Trier during their fifth term. The long-planned trip was really exciting and informative. It lasted four days, and we all had a great time.

We set off early on Monday; by 7.30 am we were already on our way to explore Germany’s oldest city!!! We arrived at 4.15 pm. We walked straight from the station to the Porta Nigra, where one of us gave a presentation on this gate. Later, we went to our accommodation.

On Tuesday, we had lots of sightseeing planned. First of all, we met our tour guide and walked around with her a bit before she showed us the cathedral and the Basilica of Constantine, where another pupil gave a presentation. After a lunch break, we went to the Rheinisches Landesmuseum: there, a fellow student told us about the gold treasure. Something very special awaited us in the evening: we were allowed to take a look inside the Roman burial site. Did you know that the Romans weren’t allowed to bury their dead within the city?

On our last day, we visited the various thermal baths and listened to two more presentations; we went to the cathedral and watched a play about a gladiator in the evening, before heading back to Salem on Thursday. All in all, it was a fascinating experience and an unforgettable trip.

Pretty much everything you need to know about the Basilica of Constantine

The Porta Nigra in Trier is a huge city gate dating from the 2nd century BC. It has three storeys and is 30 metres high. But who would have thought you could easily slide it into the Basilica of Constantine? The Basilica of Constantine is a huge building. Around 1,700 years ago, it was a palace hall for the emperor. Later, in the Middle Ages, it became a castle and is now a magnificent church. It is 33 metres high to the roof, 27 metres wide and 67 metres long. When the Romans were still around, the interior was beautifully colourful and everything shone brightly. 

But when we were there, it was just slightly reddish and grey, though it was still very beautiful. The red bricks they used back then came from Egypt and were reserved exclusively for the emperor. The emperor’s throne stood at the far end of the hall, so his visitors had to walk almost 70 metres to reach him. But that’s not even the worst part, because his subjects weren’t allowed to turn their backs on him, so they had to walk the whole long way backwards. 

We learnt all this on our Roman excursion in Trier.