Trier

The history of Trier begins in 16 B.C. as a Roman settlement called Augusta Treverorum. The architectural face of this lively university town on the Moselle testifies even today of a splendid past. All in all nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites belong to the urban area of Germany's oldest town. The most widely known are Porta Nigra, the powerful Roman town gate made from colossal sandstone blocks blackened over the millennia and the Roman imperial palace basilica, the largest preserved single hall of antiquity. In the amphitheatre at the foot of Petrisberg mountain and in the imperial thermea there are regular antiquity festivals.