BHENISH PEUSSIA. 



207 



lying below the junction of three important rivers, the Moselle, the Sauer, and the 

 Saar, possessed many advantages for carrying on the commerce between the 

 civilised Gallo-Romans and the uncultured Germans. It quickly rose into impor- 

 tance, and almost deserved the epithet of " second capital of the Eoman world," 

 which Ausonius bestowed upon it. It became at an early date embellished with 

 fine buildings, and numerous villas arose upon the surrounding heights. Of the 

 Roman ruins still existing that known as the Porta Nigra is the most remarkable. 

 There are also vast underground vaults, and the ruins of an amphitheatre in 

 which Constantino caused thousands of captive Franks to be torn to pieces by 

 wild beasts. The cathedral dates back, in part, to the fourth century. The local 



Fig. 118. — Saarbrucken. 

 Scale 1 : 143,000. 



t°30 iiofP. 



It" 1 1*0' 



6°50' E.ofGr 



2 Miles. 



museum, in addition to many Roman antiquities, contains numerous objects of a 

 more remote age. The " Column of Igel," to the south-west of the city, is the best 

 preserved Roman tomb in Germany. 



Treves, like its great prototype, after having been a political capital, became a 

 religious one, and for more than a thousand years it was known as Saitcta cirttas 

 Treverorii/JK Out of every three buildings one was dedicated to religious purposes, 

 and the entire population was composed of ecclesiastics and their hangers-on. 

 Many of these ancient religrious buildings are now used as barracks, warehouses, 

 breweries, and private dwelling-houses. A modern city of factories has sprung up 

 around the old one, and soon it will become necessarv to go to the museum in 



