Trier Off The Beaten Path

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The Mosel River runs through one of Europe's most beautiful valleys, which you can traverse in a day. The Mosel Valley offers many picturesque towns, forests, and wineries to explore and enjoy. Because it is easily traversed and is populated with many villages tucked into the low green hills, the Mosel Valley is a wonderful place to take a serendipitous journey, wherever you wants to go. Quoting Michael T. Schumacher and Mary Schumacher

Being at this historical spot is quite amazing. It's almost impossible to imagine that this structure is trully dating back to the first century AD and was used in the Roman imperial era (until the 5th century) for gladiator fights and animal contests. It's even more exciting to learn that this entire structure, consisting of an elliptical arena and stepped auditorium, was surrounded by a high wall, divided into individueal stories by colonnaded arcade. We saw a drawing how it must have looking in those days, by the brochure we received. Amazing!

Because of its size the Amphitheater (amphitheatre) of Trier is ranking on the 10th place among all worldwide existing amphitheatres. We concluded that this former place of entertainment for the inhabitants of Trier (so called 'Treverer') - the venue of bloody battles and games between gladiators and animals - invites people to learn more about the Roman life. Even today the Amphitheater of Trier has a social function for the city as it is used for the Antiquity Festival and open-air concerts.

Opening hours:
1. April to 30. September: 09:00h - 18:00h
October and March: 09:00h - 17:00h
1. November to 28. February: 09:00u - 16:00h

Address:
Petrisberg, Trier.

Directions:
Outside the old city walls, south east of the historical city centre.

Phone:
+49 651/97808

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So, we found the Amphitheater (amphitheatre) of Trier on the outskirts of the city. Right here we found something different from what we usually think of when we imagine a Roman amphitheatre; for the builders at Trier utilized the side of a hill, and rather steep hill at that, using the slope for seats on one side and grading up the dirt taken from the arena area to make an embankment for seats on the side towards the city. So, the result was an theater seating of about 20,000, quite an amazing size!

Today almost all of its onaments masonry has gone, there being only a few tunnels left. Yet the whole is well planted in grass and neatly kept. And what was of more interest to us, the underground area has been excavated and reroofed, so that we went beneath the arena floor and, amid the darkness and the rain water which had drained in, realize the true conditions in which the victims of the contests were kept. In this vast basement we felt the fear of the gladiators, criminals and exotic beast that were kept her prior to their release into the arena.

Opening hours:
1. April to 30. September: 09:00h - 18:00h
October and March: 09:00h - 17:00h
1. November to 28. February: 09:00u - 16:00h

Address:
Petrisberg, Trier.

Directions:
Outside the old city walls, south east of the historical city centre.

Phone:
+49 651/97808

Trier is the oldest town in Germany and famous for its Porta Nigra gate and imperial baths. The imposing gateway, the massive walls of the bath buildings and other ancient monuments are great attractions for everybody visiting this 'Rome of the North'. Most of the Roman buildings date back to the time of the emperor Constantine who ruled the western Roman empire from Trier. One of these Roman buildings we definately wanted to visit was the Amphitheater (amphiteatre) of Trier. To be honest, we didn't know exactly where the Amphitheater was situated, but we figured that when we would follow the masses of people, we would get there anyway. But, we were surprised to see that there was trully not that much interest in this Amphitheater, no tourist trap type of thing! Therefore we had to figure it out for ourselves. We already knew that the Amphitheater in the 4th and 5th century was a town gateway, so that the north entrance lay inside and the south entrance outside the town walls. So following the old town walls towards the south east took us there.

Now that we know where it is we can say that the Amphitheater, on the outskirts of the modern, as well as the Roman town, was built into the very slope of the Petrisberg, not far away from the Weinlehrpfad. The Amphitheater was built about 100 AD richly decorated during the following centuries.

Opening hours:
1. April to 30. September: 09:00h - 18:00h
October and March: 09:00h - 17:00h
1. November to 28. February: 09:00u - 16:00h

Address:
Petrisberg, Trier.

Directions:
Outside the old city walls, south east of the historical city centre.

Phone:
+49 651/97808

Trier is up in the North West of Germany, near the borders of Luxembourg and France. It's an easy day trip across the border, especially to Luxembourg. More locally you can take also take easy side trips to Saarbrucken, the capital of one of Germany's smallest states. Don't miss it's fascinating satellite town of Volklingen, with its amazing and enormous UNESCO protected relic of the state's industrial history.

The Moselle river provides even more things to do if you get bored in Trier. Trips on boats or train down the Moselle to Koblenz have all kinds of sights to see on route. Two of the highlights are the small town of Cochem, and the incredible Castle Eltz. I haven't had chance yet to get up to Castle Eltz, but you will understand from visiting the website below why it's high on my list of places to visit next in Germany.

The Toy Museum (Spielzeug-Museum) in Nagelstrasse is the most recent among the Trier museums, the display of an immense private collection. Mechanical toys, armies of tin soldiers, dolls, stuffed animals, toys from the Third Reich, a complete zoo, wind-up and electric trains, etc.

The adults are at least as fascinated as the children when, in a time warp, they see their own past presented as the present.

Spielzeug-Museum Trier, Jakobstrasse 4, 54290 Trier, Germany

Shortly before the market, Jews' Alley (Judengasse) on the right leads into the former medieval Jewish Quarter. Locally produced weights with Hebrew inscriptions show that there were Jews in Trier as early as the first or second century. Starting with the eleventh century, we have records of a Jewish community in Trier, and in 1235 four Jews had four houses built on the left of the later Judengasse.

The cellars are still the original ones; in the Pub »Abwaerts«, you can still see the walled-up entrance to a flight tunnel leading to the Cathedral Close.

The Jews were expelled from Trier in 1418. Many Jews went east; Yiddish has preserved traces of Trier Middle High German up to today. When the Jews were called back after 1600, they settled in different parts of the city. After the Holocaust of the Nazi era, the Jewish community in Trier is quite small (the New Synagogue is located in Kaiserstrasse).

Drive west across the river and up to the hill. There is a great lookout spot where you can see over the whole Trier in one look. It seemed to be in favour by the locals to spend a romantic moment with your love...