Trier

City in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the River Moselle, near the Luxembourg border, 115 km/71 mi west of Mainz; population (1995) 99,300. It is a centre for the wine trade. Once the capital of the Treveri, a Celto-Germanic tribe, it became known as Augusta Treverorum under the Roman emperor Augustus about 15 BC and was the capital of an ecclesiastical principality during the 14th-18th centuries. St Ambrose and Karl Marx were born here. There is a university.

History Founded by the Emperor Augustus about 15 BC, during the 3rd and 4th century it was frequently an imperial residence. The ‘Golden Bull’ of 1356 created the Archbishop of Trier an Elector of the Empire, and from the Middle Ages until the end of the 18th century, the city was the capital of an ecclesiastical principality.

Architecture Trier has more important Roman remains than any other place In Northern Europe, including a bridge, a 1st-century amphitheatre, a 4th-century imperial palace, two ruined baths, and a gate dating from the 2nd century, the Porta Nigra. The cathedral, rebuilt from a Roman basilica, was extended in the 12th and 13th centuries, and also has baroque additions. The adjoining Liebfrauenkirche is one of the finest Gothic buildings in Germany. There are other interesting medieval and baroque structures and several museums.

Economy Trier is an important centre of the Moselle wine trade. Its main industries are tyres, machinery, artificial fibres, food, and brewing. There are research laboratories associated with the university. It is a river port and also a tourist centre.