The Electoral Palace (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: Kurfürstliches Palais) in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, was the residence of the Archbishops and Electors of Trier from the 16th century until the late 18th century. It now houses various offices of the federal government and often hosts classical music concerts.

History

The site of the current Electoral Palace was already part of the Ancient Roman Imperial Palace that was used by

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

in the early 4th century. The ( Basilica of Constantine or Aula Palatina,) used as the Elector's throne room, is Roman. Some Roman

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s also survive. From the 11th century onward the archbishops of Trier used the Basilica, of which only the outer walls were standing, as a stronghold. The

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

was fortified to serve as a '' bergfried'' and

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

s were added to the other walls. In the late 16th century, archbishop Johann von Schönenberg planned building a residence in the style of the

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and sciences ...

for which parts of the Medieval fortress, as well as many houses, were demolished. It was only because the Roman walls proved to be resistant that some of them were incorporated in the new structure. Von Schönenberg's successors, Lothar von Metternich and Philipp Christoph von Sötern, completed the lower palace (''Niederschloss'') around 1650. The new residence was known as

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

's Castle (''St. Petersburg''), after the town's patron saint. A chapel dedicated to

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

stood on the south-west corner. In the same period work had started on the upper palace wings (''Hochschloss'') but this project was halted as a result of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. At this time, the bishops preferred their

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

residence at Ehrenbreitstein, which was considered safer. From 1756 onwards, archbishop-elector Johann IX Philipp von Walderdorff had the south wing of the Trier Palace rebuilt in

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style by Johannes Seiz. Around the same time the

Baroque garden The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ...

s were fitted out with garden statues by Ferdinand Tietz. In 1794 the French revolutionary armies conquered half of the Rhineland, including Trier. The Electoral Palace was confiscated and used as

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

. This continued after the Prussians took over in 1814. Around 1850 it was decided that the Basilica of Constantine was going to be rebuilt as it had appeared in the fourth century. For that reason the west wing of the Electoral Palace (then barracks) were to be demolished. In the original plans, the south wing would be demolished too but this was prevented as the Rococo staircase in the interior was considered monumental even then. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the palace was severely damaged. After the war only the ''Hochschloss'' was restored. The ''Niederschloss'' was demolished except for the Red Tower and the Petersburg Gate. Today most of the palace is in use as governmental offices. Classical music concerts are performed in the Grand Chamber of the rococo south wing and the courtyard. Part of the north wing is used by the Evangelical-Lutheran congregation of Trier which holds its services in the adjacent Basilica.

Architecture

Exterior Niederschloss

Of the Niederschloss only the Red Tower (''Roter Turm'', 1647) and the Petersburg Portal (1620s) remain. It was not until 1968 that the Red Tower got its roof back. It was then used as a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

for the Basilica. The site of the demolished wings is now called Willy-Brandt-Platz. It features a "water dial fountain" (''Wasseruhrbrunnen''). This was designed by Frankfurt artist Karl-Jakob Schwalbach in 1984. File:Trier Roter Turm.jpg, Red Tower File:Trier BW 2014-06-18 19-47-39.jpg, Petersburg Portal File:2018 Trier, Roter Turm (cropped).jpg, Detail tower and portal File:2018 Trier, Willy-Brandt-Platz, Wasseruhrbrunnen 2.jpg, Willy-Brandt-Platz

Exterior Hochschloss

The Hochschloss consists of three wings built in a mix of architectural styles:

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

. In the 19th century the westernmost bays of the south wing were demolished in order to reveal the south façade of the Basilica. As a result the south wing of the palace is no longer symmetrical. Only the central part is in Rococo style. Somewhat odd is the overlap between the severe brick architecture of the Late Roman Basilica and the decorative Baroque and Rococo architecture of the adjacent building. File:Trier Kurfürstliches Palais BW2017-09-10 10-29-32.jpg, Courtyard with north and east wing File:Trier D PM 011470.jpg, North wing: Renaissance door File:Trier Kurfuerstliches Palais BW 5.JPG, East wing and part of the south wing File:2018 Trier, Kurfürstliches Palais, Südfassade 02.jpg, South façade

Interior south wing

The famous Rococo staircase is the main reason why the south wing was not demolished in its entirety. Despite severe war damage, the precious stair is still in situ and was restored after WW II. The stucco on the walls of the staircase was added around 1906, because the originals were lost since early 19th. century. The paintings on the walls and on the ceilings of the staircaise and the next room are no historical remains, they were added in the 1970s. File:Trier Kurfürstliches Palais BW2017-09-10 09-50-35.jpg, Staircase File:Trier Kurfürstliches Palais BW2017-09-10 09-57-14.jpg, Detail staircase File:Trier Kurfürstliches Palais BW2017-09-10 10-31-56.jpg, Reception hall File:Trier Kurfürstliches Palais BW2017-09-10 10-18-22.jpg, Detail reception hall

Palace garden

Since the early 20th century the former palace gardens have been open to the public. A notable feature are the garden statues by Ferdinand Tietz. Some of the more frivolous ones seem at odds with the former ecclesiastic purpose of the palace. File:Konstantinbasilika und Kurfürstliches Palais in Trier.JPG, Garden statues by Tietz File:2018 Trier, Kurfürstliches Palais, Südfassade 04.jpg, Terrace stairs, sphinx File:Kurfürstliches Palais in Trier.jpg, Main pond with statues File:Trier-barockbrunnen.ogv, Fountains display

External links

360° panorama

References

{{Coord, 49, 45, 11, N, 6, 38, 37, E, display=t Buildings and structures in Trier Palaces in Rhineland-Palatinate Baroque architecture in Germany Episcopal palaces in Germany Music venues in Germany Electorate of Trier