Porta Nigra

Roman city gate the 2nd cent., sandstone blocks held together by iron clamps: from the 11th to the 18th century two-storied church of which the Romanesque apse is still preserved.

The gate itself dates back to a time (about A.D. 180) when the Romans often erected public buildings of huge stone blocks (here, the biggest weigh up to six metric tons). The slabs were cut by bronze saws powered by mill wheels (some cutting traces are still visible) and put together without mortar. Instead, two stones each were held together horizontally by iron clamps whose bent ends were embedded in corresponding holes by molten lead. One clamp is visible inside the gate near the eastern spiral staircase; rust traces can be seen in many holes on the outside because in the Middle Ages people chiseled these holes to retrieve the metal for recycling.

The stone blocks were spared a recycling because of the Greek monk Simeon, who had himself walled up in the eastern tower as a hermit after 1028. After his death in 1034/5, he was buried inside the gate and made a saint. In his honor, two churches were built into the gate (torn down 1804-1819). The upper story of the eastern tower was razed - the only real damage to the stone gate, whose name, "Black Gate," is medieval and goes back to the black pollution patina on the gray sandstone. Inside , traces of the double church, Roman stone masons' marks, and date inscriptions are visible. You can climb up - for a small fee - and have a look over the city and the vineyards around.

Quick Info:

Porta Nigra was built in Trier , Germany and was used as a church during the middle ages. Porta Nigra also called Black Gate because of the layer of black soot. The Gate dates to the time of 180 AD, a time of when the Romans built buildings made out of huge stone blocks.