Cambridge Encyclopedia :: Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 76

Trier - Geography, History, Sights, Museums, Miscellaneous, Infrastructure

49°45N 6°39E, pop (2000e) 101 000. River-port capital of Trier district, W Germany; on the R Moselle near the Luxembourg border; one of Germany's oldest towns; bishopric since the 4th-c; railway; university (1970); Roman Catholic Theological College; centre of wine production and trade; birthplace of Karl Marx; Porta Nigra (2nd-c), cathedral (4th-c, 11th–12th-c), and Roman basilica, world heritage sites.

Coordinates: 49°45′N 6°38′E

Trier
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District urban district
Population 99,685 (2005)
Area 117.14 km²
Population density 853 /km²
Elevation 124 m
Coordinates 49°45′ N 6°38′ E
Postal code 54290-54296
Area code 0651
Licence plate code TR
Mayor Helmut Schröer (CDU)
Website trier.eu

Trier (French: Trèves;

Trier lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of ruddy sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the German border with Luxembourg and within the important Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine-growing region.

Trier is the seat of the former Archbishopric of Trier - now Bishop of Trier, as well as being home to the University of Trier, the University of applied sciences of Trier (Fachhochschule Trier), the administration of the Trier-Saarburg district and the seat of the ADD (Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion), which until 1999 was the borough authority of Trier.

With an approximate population of 100,000, Trier was until 2005 ranked fourth alongside Kaiserslautern among the state's largest cities, after Mainz, Ludwigshafen am Rhein and Koblenz.

Geography

Trier sits in a hollow midway along the Moselle valley, with the most significant portion of the city on the right bank of the river. all municipalities belong to the Trier-Saarburg district

Schweich, Kenn and Longuich (all part of the Verbandsgemeinde Schweich an der Römischen Weinstraße), Mertesdorf, Kasel, Waldrach, Morscheid, Korlingen, Gutweiler, Sommerau and Gusterath (all in the Verbandsgemeinde Ruwer), Hockweiler, Franzenheim (both part of the Verbandsgemeinde Trier-Land), Konz (Verbandsgemeinde Konz), Igel, Trierweiler, Aach, Newel, Kordel (Eifel), Zemmer (all in the Verbandsgemeinde Trier-Land)

Organisation of city districts

The Trier urban area is divided into 19 city districts.


The districts of Trier together with their official numbers and their associated sub-districts (in parentheses):

11 Mitte-Gartenfeld 12 Nord (Nells Ländchen, Maximin) 13 Süd (St. Barbara, St. Matthias) 21 Ehrang 202 Quint 22 Pfalzel 23 Biewer 24 Ruwer-Eitelsbach 31 West-Pallien 32 Euren (Herresthal) 33 Zewen (Oberkirch) 41 Olewig 42 Kürenz (Alt-Kürenz, Neu-Kürenz) 43 Tarforst 44 Filsch 45 Irsch 46 Kernscheid 51 Feyen-Weismark 52 Heiligkreuz (Alt-Heiligkreuz, Neu-Heiligkreuz) 53 Mariahof

History

History of the city

Prehistory

The first traces of human settlement in the area of the city show evidence of linear pottery settlements dating from the early neolithic period.

According to legend, Trier was founded by Trebeta, the son of the Assyrian King Ninus, around 2000 BC: some 1300 years before the rise of Rome.

From 318 AD onwards, Trier was the seat of the Gallic prefecture (the Praefectus Praetorio Galliarium), one of the two highest authorities in the Western Roman Empire, which governed the western Roman provinces from Morocco to Britain. From 367 AD, under Valentinian I, Trier once more became an imperial residence (lasting until the death of Theodosius I in 395 AD) and was also the largest city north of the Alps.

Roman Trier had been subjected to attacks by Germanic tribes from 350 AD onwards, but these had been repulsed by Emperor Julian.

Middle Ages

By the end of the 5th century AD, Trier was under Frankish rule, first controlled by the Merovingian dynasty, then by the Carolingians.

From 902 AD, when power passed into the hands of the archbishops, Trier was administered by the Vogt of the archbishopric, which developed its own seal in 1149.

Elected in 1307 AD when he was only 22 years old, Baldwin was the most important Archbishop and Prince-Elector of Trier in the Middle Ages.

Trier's status as an archbishopric city was confirmed in 1364 AD by Emperor Charles IV and by the Reichskammergericht;

Modern age

In 1473 AD, Emperor Frederick III and Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy convened in Trier.

In the 17th century, the Archbishops and Prince-Electors of Trier relocated their residences to Philippsburg Castle in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz.

With the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648 AD), more than two centuries of warfare began for Trier.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Trier was occupied again by a French Army in 1702.

In 1814 AD, the French era ended suddenly as Trier was taken by Prussian troops. Trier became seat of one these district administrations, the Regierungsbezirk Trier.

During the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, Trier also saw protests and conflicts. Trier was on the eve of a civil war when the commander of the VIII Prussian army corps arrived and threatened to shell Trier.

According to research by the historian Adolf Welter, at least 420 people were killed in the December 1944 attacks on Trier.

Other significant events of the 1970s include the discontinuation of the 99-year-old "Trierische Landeszeitung" newspaper on March 31, 1974 and the reopening of the restored Trier Dom on May 1 of that same year.

Incorporation of municipalities

Formerly autonomous municipalities and territories that have been incorporated into the City of Trier.

Year Localities
1888 St. Paulin, Maar, Zurlauben, Löwenbrücken, St. Barbara
1888 Separation of Heiligkreuz and Olewig
1912 Pallien (southern part), Heiligkreuz, St. Matthias, St. Medard, Feyen (with Weismark)
1930 Euren, Biewer, Pallien (northern part), Kürenz, Olewig
June 7, 1969 Ehrang-Pfalzel (formed on March 1, 1968 through unification of the two previously autonomous municipalities)
June 7, 1969 Eitelsbach, Filsch, Irsch, Kernscheid, Ruwer, Tarforst, Zewen

Population development

At the beginning of the 4th century AD, Trier was the residence of the Roman Emperor and, with an estimated 80,000 inhabitants, the largest city North of the Alps.

The Second World War cost Trier roughly 35% of its population (30,551 people) and the number of inhabitants had dropped to 57,000 by 1945.

Year Population
100 20,000
300 80,000
400 50,000
1363 10,000
1542 8,500
1613 6,000
1697 2,677
1702 4,200
1801 8,829
December 1, 1831 ¹ 14,723
December 1, 1840 ¹ 15,717
December 3, 1855 ¹ 20,172
December 1, 1858 ¹ 20,060
December 1, 1871 ¹ 21,442
December 1, 1875 ¹ 22,100
December 1, 1880 ¹ 24,200
Year Population
December 1, 1885 ¹ 26,126
December 1, 1890 ¹ 36,166
December 2, 1895 ¹ 40,026
December 1, 1900 ¹ 43,506
December 1, 1905 ¹ 46,709
December 1, 1910 ¹ 49,112
December 1, 1916 ¹ 47,107
December 5, 1917 ¹ 45,709
October 8, 1919 ¹ 53,248
June 16, 1925 ¹ 57,341
June 16, 1933 ¹ 76,692
May 17, 1939 ¹ 88,150
December 31, 1945 57,599
Year Population
October 29, 1946 ¹ 63,420
September 13, 1950 ¹ 75,526
September 25, 1956 ¹ 84,869
June 6, 1961 ¹ 87,141
December 31, 1965 86,808
May 27, 1970 ¹ 103,724
December 31, 1975 100,338
December 31, 1980 95,536
December 31, 1985 93,472
May 25, 1987 ¹ 94,118
December 31, 1990 97,835
December 31, 1995 99,428
December 31, 2000 99,410
June 30, 2005 99,685

¹ Census figure

Sights

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;

Museums

Rheinisches Landesmuseum (one of the two most important German archaeological museums for the Roman period, along with the Römisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne) Städtisches Museum Simeonstift (history of Trier, displaying among other exhibits a model of the medieval city) Toy Museum of Trier Ethnological and open air museum Roscheider Hof, a museum in the neighboring town of Konz, right at the city limits of Trier, which shows the history of rural culture in the northwest Rhineland Palatinate and in the area where Germany, Luxembourg and Lorraine meet. site in the municipality of Fell, 20 kilometers from Trier, containing an underground mine, a mine museum, and a slate mining trail

Miscellaneous

Trier is the oldest seat of a Christian bishop north of the Alps.

Established in Trier is the University of Trier, founded 1483, closed 1796 and started again in 1970.

Infrastructure

Trier has direct railway connections to many cities.

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