TRIER, or TREVES, the capital of the government of Trier, in Rhenish Prussia, is situated in 49° 46' N. lat., 6* 33' E. long., on the right bank of the Moselle, over which there is is stone bridge of eight arches, 690 feet long, and 21 feet wide. It lies in a valley of extra ordinary fertility, bounded by low hills covered with vines. This city is undoubtedly one of the oldest in Germany. When Julius Cmsar was in Gaul, the Treviri were a powerful people. The chief city of the Treviri was afterwards called Augusta. In later times it was the residence of the emperors Constantius, Constantine the Great, Julian, Valentinian, Valens, Gratian, and Theodosius; and was so eminent for its commerce, manufactures, wealth, and extent, that Ausonius calla it the second metropolis of the empire. It was nearly annihilated by the Huns, the Goths, and the Vandals, yet subsequently almost recovered its ancient splendour under the archbishops of Treves, some of whom maintained large armies, which they led to the field in per son, and greatly enlarged their dominions, so that they obtained considerable political influence in Germany. Treves was taken by the Duke of Marlborough in 1704, and during the wars of the French revolution suffered, like other German cities, by having its churches and convents plundered of their wealth, their buildings being con verted into stables or warehouse.. It was assigned to Prussia by the congress of Vienna. The population (exclusive of the garrison and the suburbs) is about 17,000. The city is an oblong parallelogram a mile and a half in length, and including within its limits several large gardens. The streets are irregular and for the most part narrow ; there are nine suburbs and eleven gates. Treves is the seat of the governor, of a Catholic bishop and chapter, and of several tribunals and public office+. The university, founded in 1454, and greatly extended in 1722, was converted by the French into a central school, and is now called a gymnasium ; it has a library of above 70,000 volumes and 2000 manuscripts, among which is a Codex Aureus of the four Gospels. Among the public buildings, the following are the most worthy of notice :—The ancient electoral palace, now converted into barracks; it stands partly on the site of an immense Roman edifice, of which only a fragment now remains, the walls of which are 90 feet high and 10.fect thick. It is said to have been the residence
of Constantine. The cathedral of St. Peter and St. Helena, in the earliest Byzantine style, is chiefly remarkable for its altars and its marble gallery. It is believed to have formed part of the basilica, or palace of the empress Helena, who converted her residence into a church. The Liebfrauenkirche (church of Our Lady), built between 1227 and 1218, is one of the finest specimens of the pointed style. But the church of St. Simeon is the most important Roman monu ment in Germany. It was probably built in the time of Constantine, between 314 and 322. In the 11th century It was consecrated and dedicated to St. Simeon by Archbishop I'oppo. The double gateway, or portal, formed the entrance to the city, and was called Porta Martin, and also Porta Nigra, and is now called the Roman Gate. Since Troves has been in the possession of Prussia, all the additions by which the Roman Gate was deformed have been cleared away, and it is restored as far as possible to its original form. Few cities are so rich in Roman antiquities. Among other Roman remains are the baths, the amphitheatre, now nearly destroyed, and the bridge over the Moselle. The village of Igel, about 6 miles from Treves, is remark able for a Roman obelisk 72 feet high, presumed to be the monument of the family of the Seciandini. It is the most richly-ornamented Roman monument in all Germany. Treves, though not a manu facturing town, properly speaking, has however some manufactures of cloth, woollens, porcelain, hats, tobacco, paper-hangings, soap, several breweries and distilleries, and a very considerable trade in wine, timber, coals, and corn.
The archbishop of Troves was archchancellor of the holy Roman empire, and had the bishops of Metz, Tool, and Verdun as his suffragans. Ile was the second in rank among the electors, and gave the first vote at the election of the emperors. From Eucherius to the last archbishop there were 114 bishops and archbishops. When France, by the treaty of Lnneville, ohtained the greater part of the country, the archbishopric, with the electorate, was abolished. Clemens Wenceslaus, of the house of Saxony, the last elector, received as an indemnity an annuity of 300,000 florins, and the episcopal palace at Augsburg, where he died in 1812.