Alfred Bradley Gough

“ On the Constantinsplatz stands the magnificent brick basilica, probably of the age of Constantine, though the south and east walls are modern. Having been converted into a palace for the Frankish kings and their deputies, it passed in 1197 to the archbishops, and was restored (1846–1856) and turned into a Protestant church. ”

“ The adjoining barracks were formerly the elector's palace. Another Roman basilica forms the nucleus of the cathedral. Built under the emperors Valentinian I. and Gratian as a quadrilateral hall with four huge granite columns (now removed) in the centre, it was converted into a church about the close of the 4th century, and restored by Bishop Nicetius about 550. It is the most important pre-Carolingian church in Germany. Archbishop Poppo and his successors in the 11th and 12th centuries extended the cathedral westwards and added an apse at each end. ”

“ Baldwin raised them to great prosperity by his energy and foresight, and chiefly as a result of the active political and military support he rendered to the emperors Henry VII., Louis the Bavarian and Charles IV. enlarged his dominions almost to their ultimate extent. He assumed the title of archchancellor of Gaul and Arles (or Burgundy) , and in 1315 admitted the claim of the archbishop of Cologne to the highest place after the archbishop of Mainz among the spiritual princes of the empire. Thenceforward the elector of Trier held the third place in the electoral college. ”