The Imperial baths of Trier are one of the largest extant complexes of Roman baths. Above the ground, we can only see the ruins of a two-story pavilion, and underground there are vast labyrinths of corridors and rooms intended for recreation and water treatments.
In the 2nd century AD, a large thermal complex was built in Trier on the Moselle river. It is now called the Baths of Barbara (after the Church of Saint Barbara, which was located there in the Middle Ages). It was one of the largest bath complexes of the Roman Empire, comparable to the Thermae in Rome.
In the 4th century, under the Emperor Constantine, the importance of Trier grew. It became known as "Northern Rome", so the construction of the Imperial Baths of Trier was started, 1 kilometer East of the Baths of Barbara. They were just as large in scale: 250 meters long and 145 meters wide.
Visitors could enter the Imperial baths of Trier through the palaestra, which was a platform for gymnastic exercises and games. It was framed by a colonnade. Nearby was Imperium pavilion with mineral water.
However, during the life of Constantine, the construction of the Imperial baths of Trier was not completed and, according to the conclusion of archaeologists, they were never used for their intended purpose. In later centuries, it housed barracks for soldiers and a Bastion of the fortress wall.
