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October 21, 2016

Germany - Trier - An Irish cross on a German church

I've been in Trier many times, but every time I discover something new. That was not my thought though when I found out that we had to spent 8 nights in Trier at the end of the Freedom Bus project. For me Trier is the place where we go shopping, or to eat schnitzels, or we go to the Christmas Market, not the place to stay. Still, the trip to Trier was interesting and now I am going to talk about something new that I discovered, a church. OK to find a church in Trier is not a big deal, but this church had on top an Irish or Celtic Cross.
What is a Celtic Cross doing on a church in Trier?
Since this particular church is opposite to the University of Art in Trier, I had the time to go inside and to search for someone who could answer my question. The church is actually, St. Paulus Church and I've read somewhere that it was build in 1907 in Romanesque style.  
On wiki I was able to find that the name Celtic Cross was given to the Irish crosses in the 19th century. It represents a ring that surrounds the intersection of the vertical and horizontal members of a Christian cross. The arms of the cross are decorated with Irish motifs.
As I was not able to find someone from the church, despite the fact that I went inside, I asked my fellow Freedom Bus travelers, some of them passionate by history. The answer came from a Polish professor who said "aesthetics". It seems that when the church was build, the architects thought that an Irish Cross would look good on the church. So it has no other meaning than aesthetics. Apparently they thought that the Romanesque style goes well with a Celtic Cross.
That was the explanation I found and although I've combed the Interned, I couldn't find another one. If there is, I am more than eager to find it.
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Raluca

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