In the heart of the city, the present Cathedral stands on top of a former Constantinian Palace, later the largest Christian church in Antiquity.

The present Cathedral stands on top of a former Constantinian Palace. After Constantine's last visit to Trier in A.D. 328/9, the palace was leveled in 330 and replaced by the largest Christian church in Antiquity, about four times as big as the present-day church and covering the area of the Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady, the Cathedral Square, the adjoining garden, and the houses almost up to the Market.

Today's Cathedral still contains a Roman central section with the original walls rising up to a height of 26 m (86 ft). The huge fragment of a granite column next to the entrance to the Cathedral is another indication of the Roman origin of the building. After destructions in the 5th and 9th centuries, the remaining nucleus was enlarged by Romanesque additions - today, the Cathedral, with its three crypts, its cloister, Cathedral Treasury, and Holy Robe Chapel, displays architecture and artwork from more than 1650 years.

The south part of the Roman double church was torn down around 1200 and completely replaced by the Early Gothic Church of Our Lady. Nothing above the surface is Roman any more, but there are extensive excavations (not open to the public) underneath the church and several of the Gothic pillars stand on top of Roman column foundations.

The medieval church, however, was no longer a long, three-aisled structure, but a church-in-the-round, whose cross-shaped vaulting with four corresponding portals in rounded niches was completed by eight rounded altar niches so that the floor plan resembles a twelve-petaled rose, a symbol of the Virgin Mary, the rosa mystica, and reminiscent of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles. The apostles as well as the twelve articles of the Apostle's Creed are painted on the twelve supporting columns, completely visible only from one spot marked by a black stone. The intriguing optics are matched by splendid acoustics.

On the way out, the visitor passes stone masons' marks and graffiti from seven centuries, the elaborate west portal, the Bishop's Palace, the Kesselstatt Palace, and the gate marking the end of the Cathedral Close.

Further information:
Domfreihof
Dominformation
Tel: +49 651 9790790
Official website of the cathedral: www.trierer-dom.de

Opening hours:
November - March: daily 6.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m.
April - October: daily 6.30 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Note: During the services and concerts it is not possible to visit the cathedral! Cost: There is no admission charge for the cathedral.

 
Guided tours for individual guests:
April 1 - October 31: daily tours for individuals at 2 p.m. (in German), duration: 1 hour


Guided tours for groups:
Cathedral tours only (without city tour) can be booked only through the Cathedral office (Dominformation),
telephone +49 651 9790790.


Combined city and Cathedral tours may be booked through Tourist-Information Trier. Telephone +49 651 9780820 or +49 651 9780821.