Trier Dom Cathedral has an exceptional historical and cultural value for Germany, as it is the oldest Cathedral in the country. The building of the 11th century has been preserved to this day with the features of the Romanesque style: massive walls, small windows and semicircular arches. It houses the pulpit of the Archbishop of Trier.
Trier Cathedral was founded in 320 AD by the Roman Emperor Constantine. In those years, Trier was the largest Roman city North of the Alps. According to the edict of Milan, Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire in 313, so that Trier Cathedral can be recognized as one of the oldest Christian churches in the world.
Saint Queen Elena gave her Palace for the construction of the Cathedral on the Foundation of which the Southern and Northern churches were built. This is how the unusual design of the Trier Cathedral was formed, which actually consists of two cathedrals: the Trier Cathedral, built in the Romanesque style, and the Gothic Church of the Liebenfrauenkirche, which was built a century later.
In 380, the construction of the Northern Church was completed on the basis of the Roman core (a square building with granite columns). Now one of these columns can be seen lying in front of the entrance to the Cathedral. However, a few years later, Trier was captured by the Franks, and they destroyed the Northern Church. In the 6th century, Bishop Niketius restored it, but in 882 the city was captured by the Normans and the temple was again destroyed.
The re-restoration of the Trier Cathedral began under Bishop Egbert in 980. The ancient columns had cruciform facing, but the full construction of the Cathedral in the Romanesque style began only under Bishop Poppo von Babenberg. He significantly expanded the Roman core, founded under the Emperor Constantine. The towers and the Western Apse were built. Initially, the Cathedral had a flat roof, since the architects of that time did not know how to build vaulted ceilings, but in the 13th century they were made.
Trier Cathedral was consecrated on 1 may 1196. Its exterior has remained unchanged to this day, and the interior of the Cathedral in the 18th century was significantly rebuilt in the Baroque style. The interiors of Romanesque cathedrals are dark and ascetic. The new altar and sculptural decorations made the interior of the Trier Cathedral magnificent. A Baroque organ was installed in the central nave. In the 13th century, a small garden was created near the Cathedral.
The crypt and altar of the Trier Cathedral contain many Christian shrines. The chapel of the Holy Tunic was built in the Eastern choir of the Cathedral in the 18th century. Here is kept the Tunic of Christ, which was given to the Cathedral by Queen Elena. According to legend, Queen Elena found the Tunic of Christ in Jerusalem in the 4th century and later it was delivered to Trier. In 1196, it was immured in the altar of the Cathedral and only in 1512, access to it was restored.
Also, the Cathedral houses the reliquary with the Head of Queen Elena, part of the chain which had bound the Apostle Peter, sandal and nail, which was nailed to a cross of Holy Apostle Andrew, the relics of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of Virgin Mary, the ark with the relics of St. Martin.
