Porta Nigra (the Black Gate)

The Porta Nigra was built around 170 AD as the north gate of the Roman city of Augusta Treverorum. Constructed from roughly 7,200 sandstone blocks, it was converted into a double church in the Middle Ages and stripped back to its Roman form under Napoleon. Two upper levels are open to visitors, with views down the Simeonstrasse.

The name Porta Nigra, meaning the Black Gate, has medieval origins and refers to the dark patina the pale sandstone has taken on over the centuries. The Romans used no mortar for its construction: the roughly 7,200 stone blocks were stacked dry and held together by iron clamps set in lead. Traces of this technique are still visible today in the drill holes along the outer walls.

The Porta Nigra survived at all thanks to its second life as a church. In the 11th century, the Greek hermit Simeon lived inside the structure and was buried there after his death in 1035. The gate was then converted into the double church of St. Simeon. It was Napoleon who ordered around 1804 that the building be restored to its Roman state, and the medieval additions were dismantled except for the Romanesque choir tower. The neighboring Simeonstraße still bears the saint's name today.

Since 1986, the Porta Nigra has been part of UNESCO World Heritage along with the other Roman monuments of Trier. Visitors who want to see the gate from the inside should plan for a guided tour: costumed tours with an actor dressed as a Roman centurion are among the most popular offerings and take you across both walkable floors up to the gallery overlooking the pedestrian zone. A combination ticket covering several Roman monuments pays off if you also visit the amphitheater or the Imperial Baths on the same day.