Pilgrims in Trier and the Region

For around 1000 years, Trier has been a significant pilgrimage center in Germany. It is the gathering point of several routes for the St. James Way to Santiago de Compostela, a distance of about 1,120 mi/1,800 km. The Way leads over the Via Ausonius from Bingen across the Hunsrück mountains into Germany’s oldest city. The Moselle Camino takes the pilgrim from Coblenz along the Moselle to Trier. The actual St. James Way also leads from Bonn/Cologne through the Eifel mountains into Trier on the Moselle, Germany’s oldest bishop’s city. Whoever makes a pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Martin (AD 316-397) as well comes through Trier on the Via Sancti Martini (from Szombathely, Hungary to Tours, France). A tour in the city, about 7.5 mi/12 km long, goes to stations where St. Martin acted.