ETE: Trier Museums

Published April 28, 2015
By Iris Reiff
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- A great way to experience ancient Trier and the Roman Empire is by visiting one of the city's museums.

People can either walk through the museum halls and rooms at their own path, with an audio-guide or catalogue, or follow a guided museum's tour in the English language, where one can just watch, listen and learn.

Here are four key museums, found in Trier and that show off the history of different time époques like nowhere else.

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier; Rhineland Regional Museum; Roman Museum of Trier

According to Frommer's Germany guide, the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier is one of the most outstanding museums of Roman antiquities north of the Alps. Visitors can expect to walk and learn from collections that are grouped into four sections: Prehistoric, Roman, Franconian-Merovingian and medieval to contemporary.

However, the largest collection in displays features Roman artifacts to include tombs, mosaics and daily objects from the Roman Empire. Numerous reliefs from funerary monuments show the daily life of the Romans.

The museum's most popular exhibit is possibly the Mosel Ship, a sculpture of a wine-bearing vessel crowning a big burial monument from 220 AD; the second highlight exhibit is a magnificent mosaic of Bacchus from the dining room of a Roman villa and the third one is a scale model of the Roman city of Trier that provides an excellent overview of the entire city.

Furthermore, people can find displays of many other mosaics and frescoes, including an exhibit on how mosaics are made; ceramics, glassware, a 2,700-year-old Egyptian casket complete with mummy, an outstanding numismatic collection, and prehistoric and medieval art and sculpture.

The museum offers a 45- minute multi-media show which takes place in a room filled with beautiful original Roman memorial grave stones. The story presented talks about a man looking for his deceased wife in the underworld , a world inhabited by "shadows" of formerly living souls, where he is willingly taken by the god Mercure. As he searches for his wife, he meets the many people behind the various memorial stones on display.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.m Tuesday through Sunday. Guided group tours may receive entry at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday with prior arrangements.
Latest admission time is however 4:30 p.m. for all visitors. The Trier Roman museum offers free audio phone guides in the English language.

Admission is 6 Euro per adult or 4 Euro for groups. College students pay 4.00 Euros. Children up to age 18 pay 3 Euros while school classes with 10 students and more pay 1 Eur0. Children up to age 6 get in for free.

The Trier Rheinische Landesmuseum or Rhineland Regional Museum and Roman Museum of Trier is located on Weimarer Allee 1 in 54290 Trier.

A few parking lots are available near the museum, however, it is recommended to park outside the center of Trier and take public transporation to the center of town and the museum.

Municipal Museum, Stadtmuseum Simeonstift

Right next to the famous Porta Nigra people can find the Stadtmuseum or Municipal Museum Simeonstift, dating back to the 11th century Simeon's College (Simeonstift), residence of priests who read mass in the two churches of St. Simeon.

This museum offers Coptic, medieval arte and more modern artifact collections. A few statues are located on the upper story, in the southern part of the cloister building, whose floor still rests on the original oak beam floor from 1060.

The museum hosts collections from both, Trier's medieval and early modern eras to personal donations, to include the famous "Schunck" collection of paintings from the Renaissance time to the twentieth century and a collection of Coptic textiles, dating from the third to the ninth centuries.

Altogether, more than 300 pieces are on display at the Stadtmuseum. Furthermore, people will be able to view Egyptian mummy portraits, Coptic statuettes, and antique oil lamps from the. For those who would like to take a break and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, the building has a restaurant in the basement.

Opening times are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry is 5.50 Euro per person. Students and groups of 10 or more people pay 4 Euro per person. Children up to age 10 get in for free. Additional entry reductions are available to visitors. Audio guides are provided free of charge in German, English and French.

The Trier Stadmuseum Simeonstift is located on Simeonstrasse 55 in 54290 Trier. Parking is not available near the museum. People must park in an official parking lot and take public transportation or walk to the museum.

Bischöfliches Museum; Bishop's Museum

The Bishop's Museum is located near the Trier Dom cathedral inside a building that was one a Prussian prison and which dates back to the 19th century. Today, people can find an art collection of the Diocese of Trier, including mainly early Christian art.

This museum is know to be a highlight attraction in Trier. Highlights are a 3rd-century ceiling fresco from the imperial palace over which Trier Cathedral was built, a reconstructed crypt of the Benedictine church of St. Maximin, which has important 9th-century Carolingian wall paintings, the sepulcher of Bishop Karl von Metternich, who represented the archbishopric during the Thirty Years' War, a collection of Roman textiles and medieval church vestments, original Early Gothic statues from the Liebfrauenkirche and creations of sculptors, ivory carvers, and goldsmiths over several centuries.

The museum is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and holidays. Mondays are closed.

Entry is 3.50 Euro per adults and 2 Euro for students. School classes pay 50 centers and groups of more than 10 adults pay 3 Euro per person. Family tickets are 6 Euro, covering two adults and children up to age 18.

The Bischoefliches Museum is located on Windstraße 6-8 in 54290 Trier. Parking is not available near the museum. It is best if people park outside the city center and take public transportation or walk to the museum.

Karl Marx Birthhouse

Not only was Karl Marx born here, but the birthplace serves as a museum today and shows the life, work and influence of Karl Marx from the past to the present. Books, documents and visuals focus on the development of Marx's philosophical and economic ideas and their influence on the course of history, all the way up to today.

The front of the Karl Marx birthhouse was built in 1727; the facade was completely restored to its original look from older models in 1930/31. The annexes in the back of the building date back to the 19th century.

Today's Karl Marx museum is administered by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

The Karl Marx museum is open daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and the first Friday of each month, from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., now through Octobe; and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 2 to 5 p.m., Monday, November through March.

Entry is 3 Euro per adult and 2 Euro per child or students. Groups of 15 or more people pay 2 Euro per person School classes pay 50 centers per student and family tickets are 6 Euro for the entire family.

The Karl Marx birthhouse can be found off the pedestrian area in Trier, located on Brueckenstrasse 10. Parking is not available at the museum. People must take public transportation or walk to the museum.

Reduced tickets to Trier's tourist sites, including the museums can be obtained via the Trier tourist information office, located near the Porta Nigra.