Monday, 10 August. It was another cool, rainy morning when we woke up in Trier, though, like the day before, the rain stopped by mid-morning, the sun came out, and the afternoon was warm. (We'd been to Trier twice before, in 1961 and in 1999.)

Old crane for unloading ships Roman Bridge (but just the pillars)

We drew lots for departure times again, and this time the yellow group was last for the tour of Trier, leaving at 9:15. The ship was just far enough from the old city that we had to go in by bus. The bus took us along the river past the two treadmill cranes (1413 & 1774) and the Roman Bridge. Only the bridge pillars date from the Roman construction (about 150 A.D.). The span that originally rested on them was made of wood.

Model of the Imperial Baths

Our destination was the old Roman Imperial Baths. When we arrived, a local guide led us on a tour of the ruins. Construction of this complex began before 300 A.D. but, due to disruptions in the Roman Empire, it was never completed. It was converted into an army barracks, became a Frankish castle, served as part of the city walls, and eventually was mostly demolished. Actually, even the semicircular caldarium, the most prominent structure on the site today, is partially reconstructed. Far more of the underground system of tunnels and rooms survives than what's on the surface. From the ruins that remain, it's hard to picture what the structure was like, so a look at the model is very helpful.

 

Partially-reconstructed caldarium (hot bath)

One of the many tunnels

Jane at the baths - earphones & all

Our Tour Director then led us to the Archbishop/Elector's Palace and the adjoining Basilica of Constantine. The Basilica was built by emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) about 310 A.D. and served as his throne room where he received visitors. It was later used as the Bishop's residence. Just after 1600 the connecting Palace was built as the new Archbishop's residence. Still later the Basilica was restored to it's original Roman condition, but all the inner decorations were lost in a 1944 air raid. The Basilica is now a Protestant church.

Basilica & the Elector's Palace

Interior of the Basilica

Basilica from the back

Next we walked to St. Peter's Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in Germany. Right next to it is the Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche). The original cathedral, built by Constantine, was part of a huge complex of four basilicas, covering the space now occupied by the present Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady, and again as much space to their front, extending into the present Marktplatz That complex was destroyed by the Franks when they drove out the the Romans, and again by the Normans. The present St. Peter's Cathedral was built in the late10th Century.
 

Cathedral & Our Lady's Church

Marktplatz & St. Ganglof's Church tower

The Porta Negra from Hauptplatz

From the Cathedral, we walked into Marktplatz, then down Hauptplatz to the Porta Negra (Black Gate). Certainly the Romans never called it that, though, because it was built of yellow sandstone. The dark color only came over many centuries of pollution. The Tour Director pointed out the places where the iron bars that held the stone blocks together had been chiseled out of the gate by people who wanted the iron.

Our group then walked a block toward the river to catch the shuttle bus back to the ship, and we were aboard by noon. We had arranged to meet our German friends, the Marenbachs, at 2:00, but we knew they were always early. So we were disappointed when we went to the dinning room at 1:00 and found they were going to call tables randomly for a buffet lunch. We explained the situation to the manager, and he made a point of calling our table first so we could finish in time. We left the dining room at 1:40, and as we passed through the lobby, there were the Marenbachs coming on board.

 

Grimburg Castle Jane at the Witches Tower (Hexenturm)

They had offered to take us to some of my ancestral villages, and we had accepted with the understanding that we would go only if the weather was sunny. By this time it was mostly sunny and quite warm. Our first stop was the village of Grimburg, site of an old castle (1190) from which the authorities in Trier administered this area. The castle was destroyed about 1690, then partially rebuilt in 1978, mostly as a tourist attraction.
 

St. Bartholomu's Church in Kell

We then drove on to the Village of Kell am See, just a few miles away. My ancestors moved here from Grimburg around 1730. We found St. Bartholomu's Church (1840) and the site of the house where my great-grandfather had lived. By this time it was after 4:30 and we had to head back to Trier. We had a drink with the Marenbach's at the ship's bar, then said our good-byes.

 

 

 

Site of the performance The musicians

 

 

The reason we had to rush back was that dinner was at 6:15 instead of the usual 7:00. This was to accommodate the optional "Musical Trier" tour at 8:00. The bus took us to an small palace where a pianist and violinist performed "Andre Rieu-type" music for an hour. It was very enjoyable. We were back on the ship before 10:00. The ship sailed at 11:15 for Traben-Trarbach.

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