- Trier
One look at the monumental beauty of the window arcades of the Kaiserthermen is enough and you already know: whoever lay in the pools of the hot water baths here knew how to live. Bathing pleasure in the imperial era was no longer just about cleansing the body. It was about otium, about leisure. And there were plenty of them in the thermal baths.
A gigantic luxury baths complex was planned as a gift from the Emperor Constantine to his people in Trier, a major project that was part of the building programme for the palace district. A viewing point gives you a good overall impression, before you then take your time for a detailed tour. You will feel really tiny under the big wall and high windows of the warm bath! Even the walls were heated here, not to mention the floor. The "underworld" of the Imperial Baths with its labyrinthine, dark service corridors shows you the shadowy side of so much luxury.
But it is not clear whether the Imperial Baths were ever actually used for bathing. In uncertain times, the complex was needed instead for military purposes. Barracks had to be built, perhaps for the mounted imperial guard. In post-Roman times, people used the ancient walls as elements for a castle, a city wall and a monastery.
A film vividly shows you the development of the city of Trier into an imperial residence and the eventful history of the Imperial Baths.
A station on the Road of the Romans.
Discount Passes
Discover Germany's centre of antiquity conveniently and at reduced rates using the AntikenCard Trier. The discount pass (available in four different versions) offers admission to Trier's Roman buildings as well as other reductions around ancient Trier.
