Tempelbezirk Irminenwingert

The temple complex at Irminenwingert stands on the western bank of the Mosel near Trier, once the Roman city of Augusta Treverorum. It was a major religious site for the Treveri, a Celtic people, and one of the most important shrines dedicated to Lenus Mars. Inscriptions show that the god was worshipped here alongside his companion Ancamna, and also by the local god Intarabus. Archaeologists first noticed Roman walls here in 1825, and systematic digs began in 1880 under Felix Hettner. Later excavations uncovered altars, statues and benches carved with dedications, including one set up by two Treveran cantons. The site was used from pre-Roman times until the late 4th century, when coins of Gratian were found among its ruins. Visitors walk through a walled enclosure more than a hundred metres across. Along the front stood buildings that may have housed pilgrims, and in the south a smaller temple and a chapel have been found. At the north end, the temple of Lenus Mars rises on a podium reached by a broad flight of steps. Behind it stretches a portico, and a theatre with richly decorated stage front lies to the east. A healing spring once rose here, later called the Heideborn, adding to the sacred atmosphere of the place.