TRIER

Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), western Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. Trier is bordered by Luxembourg and Belgium to the west, North RhineWestphalia Land to the north, the Regierungsbezirk of Koblenz to the east, and Saarland Land to the south. The district forms a southern portion of the larger historical region of the Rhineland (q.v.). The Regierungsbezirk takes its name from that of the largest city and administrative seat of the district. Trier lies in the western Middle Rhine Highlands and is crossed from southwest to northeast by the meandering course of the Mosel (Moselle) River. The principal city of the Mosel valley is Trier, located near the western border. It is an important road, rail, and water transportation centre and a leader in Mosel wine production and trade. Downriver the narrowness of the valley has prevented the growth of large cities and industrial areas. The scenery is dominated by old-world wine villages, castle ruins, and vineyards lining the sunny south-facing valley slopes. The Hunsrck highlands rise south of the Mosel, reaching their highest point, the Erbeskopf (2,677 feet ), at the southeastern border with Koblenz. The Hunsrck-Hhenstrasse (Hunsrck Ridgeway) runs the length of the range through extensive deciduous forests and many small settlements. North of the Mosel is the wooded Eifel region, comprising the northwestern Middle Rhine Highlands and an eastern extension of the Ardennes Mountains of Belgium and Luxembourg. The region is traversed by the Eifel upland, a rolling plateau of lower elevation situated between the Schneifel and Hohe Eifel ranges. Dairy farming is the chief source of income. The fertile Bitburg land is a southern continuation of the Eifel upland. Together the two provide a transportation route between the Trier basin and the city of Cologne. Nearly three-fourths of the Bitburg between the Prm and Kyll rivers is devoted to arable crops, most importantly potatoes, cereals, and sugar beets. In eastern Trier the Eifel upland is characterized by funnel-shaped volcanic craters filled by small scenic lakes called Maare. The Eifel upland has traditionally been one of Germany's poorest and most remote regions. More recently a greatly improved road network has increased tourism and made commuting from the fringes to more industrialized regions possible. The majority of the district's population are of Frankish descent and speak the Moselle Franconian dialect. More than four-fifths of the people are Roman Catholics. The predominant rural settlement pattern is one of irregular, compact villages with some isolated farmsteads in the Schneifel and Hohe Eifel highlands. Area 1,902 square miles (4,926 square km). Pop. (1989 est.) 472,908. French Trves, Latin Augusta Treverorum, city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany, on the right bank of the Mosel (Moselle) River, surrounded by the foothills of the Eifel, Hunsrck, and Mosel mountains, just east of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg frontier. A shrine of the Treveri, a Germanic tribe, existed at the site (c. 400 BC). The Roman town was founded by the emperor Augustus about 15 BC. The city's strategic position at a crossroads contributed to its rapid rise as a commercial and administrative centre; it was the capital of the Belgic division of Roman Gaul in the 2nd century AD, an imperial seat in the 3rd century, and later, as Treveris, it became the seat of the emperor responsible for Gaul and Britain. After it became a bishopric in the 4th century, the town was a centre of Christianity north of the Alps, a status it maintained after its capture by the Franks in the 5th century. Trier was designated an archbishopric in 815, its archbishops becoming temporal princes with power over extensive territory; they were made electors of the Holy Roman Empire in the late 12th century. Trier flourished as a commercial and cultural centre with a university (14731797) until French encroachments led to its decline in the 17th century. It was occupied by the French in 1797 and was formally ceded to them in 1801, when the electorate was dissolved. Trier passed to Prussia in 1815, and the bishopric was reconstituted in 1821. The city grew rapidly in the 19th century but suffered French occupation again after World War I and was considerably damaged in World War II. It revived as a commercial and cultural centre after 1946 and has been rebuilt. The hot room of the imperial baths at Trier, Ger. Trier has preserved more Roman monuments than any other German city. They include the 4th-century Porta Nigra, a fortified town gate; ruins of 4th-century Roman baths and substructures of baths from the 2nd century (see photograph); the amphitheatre (c. AD 100); and the basilica, with the throne room of the Roman emperors, and the nucleus of the cathedral, both from the 4th century. Both the Porta Nigra and the basilica were converted into churches in the Middle Ages but have since been restored. The cathedral, largely Romanesque, was rebuilt in about 550 and extended in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. Other notable churches include the Church of Our Lady (123570); the Church of St. Gangolf (13th to 15th century); the Abbey Church of St. Matthias (112760), with the tomb of the saint; and the Baroque Church of St. Paulin (173457), designed by Balthasar Neumann. Civic monuments include the Market Cross from 958 and the Petersbrunnen (Peter's Fountain; 1595), both in the market square; nearby are the Kesselstatt Palace (174045) and the Electoral Palace (1614). The Catholic theological faculty, part of the university founded in 1473, was refounded in 1950. The University of Trier (founded 1970 as part of the Trier-Kaiserslautern University) became autonomous in 1975. Trier serves as an important centre for road, rail, and water traffic on the western border of Germany. It is the trade centre for the surrounding region, especially for wines. Diversified industries include the manufacture of beer, tobacco products, textiles, leather goods, and machinery. St. Ambrose, who converted and baptized St. Augustine, was born (c. AD 339) in Trier as was Karl Marx (1818), the German political philosopher and socialist. Pop. (1989 est.) 95,692.