Trier (redirected from Trient)

Trier (trēr), Latin Augusta Treverorum, city (1994 pop. 99,183), Rhineland-Palatinate, SW Germany, a port on the Moselle (Ger. Mosel) River, near the Luxembourg border. It is also known, in English, as Treves (trēvz) and, in French, as Trèves (trĕv). Trier is an industrial city and the main center of the Moselle wine region. Manufactures include textiles, beer, tobacco products, machinery, and leather goods.

Landmarks and Institutions

Among the city's Roman monuments are the Porta Nigra (early 4th cent.), an imposing and well-preserved fortified gate; an amphitheater (c.100), which can seat about 25,000 persons; ruins of the imperial baths (4th cent.); and the basilica (probably built in the early 4th cent.; now a church). Trier also has a Romanesque cathedral, built (11th–12th cent.) around a 4th-century nucleus and containing the Holy Coat of Treves (supposed to be the seamless coat of Jesus). Other noteworthy buildings include the Gothic Church of Our Lady (13th cent.; Ger. Liebfrauenkirche); the baroque electoral palace (17th–18th cent.); and the baroque Church of St. Paulinus (1732–54; designed by B. Neumann). The rare exhibitions (e.g., in 1844, 1891, 1933, and 1959) of the Holy Coat of Treves have been the occasions of large pilgrimages. The remains of St. Matthew are preserved in a shrine in the pilgrimage church of St. Matthew (built in the 12th cent. around an earlier Benedictine monastery). Trier also has a theological seminary, a school of viticulture, and several museums, including one in the house where Karl Marx was born (1818).

History

One of the oldest cities in Germany, Trier has played an important role in its history since Roman times and retains many Roman monuments. Founded by Augustus c.15 B.C., the city was made (1st cent.) the capital of the Roman province of Belgica and later became (3d cent.) the capital of the prefecture of Gaul; it was named after the Treveri, a people of E Gaul. Under the Roman Empire Trier attained a population of c.50,000 and became a major commercial center, with a large wine trade. It was a frequent residence of the Western emperors from c.295 until its capture (early 5th cent.) by the Franks.

The city was made an episcopal see in the 4th cent. and an archiepiscopal see c.815. Under the rule of the archbishops, Trier flourished as a commercial and cultural center. Trier was the seat of a university from 1473 until it was occupied by the French in 1797. The archbishopric of Trier was secularized and was formally ceded to France in 1801 by the Treaty of Lunéville. At the Congress of Vienna the city and most of the archbishopric were awarded (1815) to Prussia; territory E of the Rhine was given to Nassau and, with Nassau, passed to Prussia in 1866. Trier again became an episcopal see in 1821. It was occupied by France after World War I and suffered considerable damage in World War II.

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Trier

a city in W Germany, in the Rhineland-Palatinate on the Moselle River: one of the oldest towns of central Europe, ancient capital of a Celto-Germanic tribe (the Treveri); an early centre of Christianity, ruled by powerful archbishops until the 18th century; wine trade; important Roman remains. Pop.: 100 180 (2003 est.)

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Trier 

a city in the Federal Republic of Germany, in the Land (state) of Rhineland-Palatinate. Population, 102,200 (1973). Trier has enterprises for the production of foodstuffs, tobacco, carpets and other textiles, and footwear, as well as machinery, metal products, and electronic devices. It is the center of a viti-cultural and wine-making region. The city has a university. Karl Marx was born in Trier, and his house is now a museum.

In the first century B.C., Trier was a Roman military camp, founded on the site of a shrine belonging to the Triveri, a Gallic tribe. It later became the main city of the Roman province of Gallia Bélgica. Under Diocletian, who reigned from A.D. 284 to A.D. 305, it was the most important city of the entire prefecture of Gaul and one of the four capitals of the empire.

In the ninth century, Trier became the center of an archbishopric, and in the late 12th century it was chartered as a city. From the 15th to 18th centuries the city had a university. In 1794, Trier was annexed by France, and in 1814–15, by Prussia. During the Revolution of 1848–49 it was one of the centers of the democratic movement in the Rhineland. After World War I (1914–18) and until 1930 it was occupied by French and American forces. After World War II (1939–45), Trier was made part of the French occupation zone. Since 1949 it has been part of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In the late 19th century, industrial regions developed around the medieval center of the city. Extensively damaged in 1944 and 1945, Trier was rebuilt and expanded; the last major construction was executed in 1969.

Roman buildings that have been preserved include the amphitheater (c. A.D. 100), the Imperial Baths (c. 300), the Porta Nigra (early fourth century), and a basilica (first half of the fourth century). The city has a Romanesque cathedral built between the fourth and 18th centuries and known for its 11th-century west-work and its east choir (c. 1160–69); other notable Romanesque structures are the Frankenturm (11th century) and the Dreiköni-genhaus (early 13th century). Significant buildings of other periods include the Gothic Liebfrauenkirche (1250), the Steipe mansion (1430–83), a former Jesuit college in the Renaissance style (17th century), and the baroque Kesselstatt Palace (1740–45).

REFERENCES

Kentenich, G. Geschichte der Stadt Trier. Trier, 1915.
Monz, H. Karl Marx und Trier. Trier, 1964.