Myth · Trier · Middle Ages
Trebeta, the legendary founder of Trier
A medieval legend makes Trier 1,300 years older than Rome.
According to a medieval legend, Trier was founded long before Rome – by Trebeta, son of the Assyrian king Ninus. Fleeing his stepmother Semiramis, he is said to have reached the Moselle and founded a city here.
The story was written down in the Middle Ages, among others in the "Gesta Treverorum". The people of Trier were proud of it: on the "Red House" on the main market square the inscription still reads "Ante Romam Treviris stetit annis mille trecentis" – "Trier stood 1,300 years before Rome".
In reality the Romans founded the city as Augusta Treverorum. But the legend shows how self-confident Germany's oldest city has always been.
Legends are traditions, not historical facts.
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