The Rhineland regional Museum (Rheinisches Landesmuseum) is located in Trier. Despite the fact that Trier is located on the Moselle river, the Museum is called Rhenish, since Trier is located in Rhineland-Palatinate. This Museum is recognized as one of the largest archaeological museums in Germany.
The historical importance and one can even say the uniqueness of the collections of the Regional Museum of Trier is due to the fact that Trier is the oldest city in Germany, founded by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, it was called "Northern Rome", and under the Emperor Constantine, it was even his residence. Excavations in and around Trier have resulted in a collection of ancient artefacts of high historical and cultural value.
The Museum was founded in 1877. Its collections are divided into 4 stages. Primitive, Roman, Carolingian, and Medieval. Collections of all periods are of great interest, but the largest exhibition is dedicated to the Roman period, which is quite logical. In the era of Ancient Rome, the city`s population numbered 100 thousand people, and in the middle ages, Trier turned into a small provincial city with a population of 4 thousand inhabitants.
There are magnificent mosaic floors from the Roman estates of Trier, sculptures and porticos of Roman temples, gold coins and much more. No less interesting is the Carolingian period, when Trier was still a major city. Here you can see the beautiful tombs of the Celtic nobility.
The most impressive exhibit is a bas-relief depicting a ship loaded with barrels of wine and merchants sailing on it. This masterpiece of the Roman era (220 AD) decorated the tomb of a rich wine merchant.
