On the bank of the river Moselle not far upstream from the city of Trier lies a Roman temple with a beautiful view of the Moselle valley just before the Saar and Moselle rivers merge. This Roman temple (Grutenhäuschen) dates back to the 3rd/4th century AD to the time after Trier had become one of the imperial capitals of the Roman Empire.
The temple served as a funerary temple during its height; the upper floor of the temple (reached by steps) was for the funeral ceremony and the lower floor (partially sunken into the ground) was the resting place of coffins and sarcophagi.
The temple was built in this location due to the placement of Roman roads; one ran slightly downhill from the temple along the river, heading into modern-day Luxembourg and France. The modern road follows the path of the old Roman road as seen in the image below:
Today the temple is a cultural monument to the local Roman history of the area; the public can visit it. There is no charge and you can walk directly up to and into the building; you could easily stumble upon the temple while going for a walk among the vineyards. You can rent the temple for private parties as well as for civil wedding ceremonies.
Here are some more photos from the Grutenhäuschen:
Thanks for reading! Want to do some more exploring? Have a look at the travel map:
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
Key: Sightseeing (blue), Nature (green), Food (purple), Art/Festivals/Culture/Religion (orange), General Information (black), Quora question (red)
Interested in seeing our social media? Follow us on Instagram for travel photos!