Cathedral of Trier

The Cathedral of Trier (Trierer Dom) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the centre of Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, and is the oldest bishop’s church in Germany with origins reaching back to the 4th century.

The cathedral complex combines Roman, Romanesque and Gothic architecture and is known for its monumental nave, chapels and a major medieval treasury. The building houses the relic known as the Holy Tunic, which is exhibited to pilgrims on special occasions.

The site has been a Christian place of worship since the late Roman empire; the present complex incorporates elements from a 4th-century church and underwent large-scale rebuilding during the 11th to 13th centuries. Over time the cathedral has been altered and restored while retaining significant Romanesque and Gothic fabric.

Sitting in Trier’s historic centre near the Hauptmarkt and close to the Moselle River, the cathedral is within walking distance of other Roman monuments and about 50 km southeast of Luxembourg City.

• UNESCO: Part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral and Church of Our Lady in Trier World Heritage ensemble inscribed by UNESCO in 1986.
• Age and construction: The cathedral complex includes medieval and Roman fabric - origins date to a 4th-century church with major rebuilding in the Romanesque and Gothic periods.

What to See #

• Domschatzkammer (Treasury): Located alongside the cathedral complex, this treasury preserves medieval and Renaissance reliquaries, liturgical metalwork and manuscripts dating from the early Middle Ages to the modern period.
• Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady): A separate Romanesque-Gothic church directly adjacent to the cathedral, begun in the 13th century and notable as one of the earliest Gothic churches in Germany.
• Holy Tunic (Heiliger Rock): A long-held relic kept at the cathedral and displayed on special occasions; it has made the cathedral an important pilgrimage site.