The Trier Cathedral of St. Peter is not only Germany’s oldest church but also, in its 1700 years of history, the oldest structure in Germany which has served uninterruptedly – and continues to serve – its original purpose as bishop’s church. All phases of European construction, art, and religious history can be traced from its oldest structural core, the Roman “square” from the 4th century, to the present 21st century. Tradition says that the mother of Emperor Constantine, St. Helena, brought the Tunic of Christ, the Holy Robe, from a pilgrimage to Trier in the 4th century, where it was first displayed publicly in 1512 and gave rise to large pilgrimages, the last in 2012.
