Trier, Porta Nigra, Shopping Street

Trier is the oldest city in Germany (legend says 2000 BC, 1300 years before Rome), and it was the Roman capital for many centuries. The Porta Nigra (black gate), the entrance to the shopping area, was built in the last third of the second century AD as part of the four mile wall around the city. Over the years the Porta Nigra has been a city gate, a fort, a church, an office, and whatever.

We have visited Trier many times, and found it difficult to take a good close-up photo of the Porta Nigra. The “eye” of the camera sees the black stone, and thinks we are in a tunnel or something, and often the close-up picture just doesn’t do it justice.

The first building on the left in this photo is the Karstadt Department Store, part of a large chain of stores. Soon after the Berlin Wall fell, we found Karstadt Department Stores being built in Leipzig, Dresden, and several other cities in the former East Germany.

On more than one occasion, we were unlucky enough to see a sign for the Trier flea market. We remember one year we followed the signs that directed us for many twists and turns, and finally Emmy was able to spend the great sum of $2 for a little dish in Trier’s flea market.
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And yet another view of the shopping street, with the old town gate.