Destinations Menu
RSS
GERMANY | The Mosel Valley, Germany Travel Guide
Thursday, November 28, 2024
2 Of 11
Porta Nigra
Porta Nigra, Trier, Germany
Sightseeing in Trier
Porta Nigra
Trier's principal tourist draw, besides its Romanesque cathedral, is its Roman ruins, chief among them the four-story Porta Nigra (Black Gate) which is the largest Roman building in Germany and one of the best-preserved. It dates back to 180 AD and is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. As part of the city’s defenses, it has a set of double gates with an inner courtyard, leaving potential attackers exposed to assault from above and from all sides. The building is constructed out of sandstone blocks, weighing up to six tons each, colored black from centuries of pollution. It was built without mortar and some of the original iron clamps attached with lead to the stone can still be seen. Note the holes in the stones where clamps were dug out during the Middle Ages when people recycled the lead.
Städtisches Museum Simeonstift
Adjacent to the Porta Nigra is the Städtisches Museum Simeonstift (Municipal Museum in the Simeon’s College), Simeonstiftplatz. Parts of the building date back to the 11th century, with the original oak floor of 1060 still being used in the cloisters. The museum mainly features exhibits relating to Trier from the Middle Ages to the present. It also has more than 300 Coptic textiles dating from the third to the ninth century.
Last updated October 6, 2011
Posted in Germany | The Mosel Valley
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(10)
Restaurants(7)
Attractions(15)
Activities(24)
Map 
Weather Forecast
- Reported on:
Thu, 11/28/2024 - 03:20
- Reported on:
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More