Trier (pop 99,700) is one of Germany’s oldest cities, founded by the Romans and is home to some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the country.

The city hosts an annual Antikenfestspiele, an open-air festival of works based on ancient Roman and Greek writers. It takes place in the Amphitheater where once 20,000 spectators could watch gladiators in combat.

Visitors today still come across the many legacies and reminders of the era of the Romans, such as wine, which was introduced and cultivated here by the Romans.

Another example is the monumental architecture in Trier (a UNESCO world heritage), such as the Porta Nigra, the amphitheatre and the remarkable imperial baths.

The Rhenish State Museum (Rheinisches Landesmuseum) here has a scale model of Trier in the 4th century.

Karl Marx was born in Trier, and his birthplace – the Karl-Marx-Haus – is now a museum of his life and ideas, and also those of his associate Friedrich Engels.